“Why?” Jamie moaned. “Why? Why’d you pick her? Do you enjoy snuffing out a life? Taking them away just like that?” Jamie didn’t know who she was talking to. She knew it was foolishness accusing someone who wasn’t there. But she needed someone to be there. She needed to just scream at someone. Tell them it was all their fault and she’d never forgive them. So that was what she did, but to an empty wall. Finally she flung herself against her pillow and sobbed uncontrollably. “How could this have happened? People her age weren’t supposed to have this heartache. She was a normal person, someone with a normal life, someone with a normal friend. But it had happened.
She would never again feel Bettie’s hand in hers. Never again get a comforting hug from her. Never again would she see her smile light up the world. This realization brought another burst of tears. Jamie’s whole body ached. She found it hard to breathe. How could she keep going through life like this? She longed for it to all go away. But it wouldn’t. This was real. She felt like crying again. But there was a blanket over her heart, too big to let the tears through. The dull pain she felt wouldn’t go away. Jamie rolled over and stared at the wall. A picture hung there of her and Bettie together on a sweet summer day. That would never happen again. Why? Her mind reeled. Bettie was the sweetest girl she had known. She was the most “saint like” out of all of them. If anyone, Jamie thought. She herself should have died. Why hadn’t she? Bettie deserved a long life. So why? Why? Why? Again, she didn’t know who exactly she was asking. But this time she knew someone or something was out there, and this time. She felt an answer. A small voice saying, “ Bettie finished her job on earth. But I’m not done with you yet.”