Snow drifted from the gray sky, littering the already white ground. Headstones poked out from the snow, some large, others cracked, in a pattern. Twenty in a row, seven rows. As I walked, my gray skirt brushing my stocking covered shins, I counted the rows. At six, I turned and walked down the gravestones, counting again.

At twenty, I turned and kneeled, greatful that my dress was long enough to cover. In my white gloved hands were three red roses, tied with a pretty pink bow. Pink was her favorite color.

I ran my fingers over the words, etched for eternity onto the onyx gravestone. I could imagine her in the days before she died, smiling and laughing, never fearing anything.

"You were so brave, Angela." Angela was probably the bravest person I knew. Her and I would clutch to each other during scary movies. And when we were little, we'd hide together during storms. But she was always the voice of reason.

"It's just a movie, Laura."

"The storm will pass, Laura."

Of course, she was always right. And of course, I'd laugh at myself later. But she didn't make me feel childish. Hell, I was born the day before her and yet she always ended up calming me down.

"We were a pair, huh, Ang?" We drove our family crazy during family get togethers. Her parents were a lot less strict than mine but sometimes even they'd yell at us, telling us to settle down. Not that we ever listened. We were young, we were free.

Angela was my cousin, my best friend, and the closest thing to a sister I had. She knew all my secrets and I knew all of her's. I was the first person she told when she found out she had cancer.

"Are you scared, Ang?" I remember her blonde hair falling in her eyes as she rested her head in my lap.

"A little. But I'm more scared of what I'm going to do if my hair falls out."

It didn't fall out, but that she could joke like that at such a serious time was amazing. She was so strong. She was strong for me, for our family.

I never ceased to be amazed by her strength. She could be bearing the weight of the world and you'd never know it. She smiled until her last breath.

"God, Ang. You were so brave, so strong. How can we make it without you? If you couldn't make it, how can I?" I traced my fingers over her name again, smiling a little as my glove caught slightly on the rough edges of the etchings.

"If I could have one more day with you, Angela, I'd tell you how important and amazing you were to me. You were my best friend, Ang, and I don't know how I got through a year without you."

I placed the flowers down, pushing them into the snow, and stood up. As I did, my brown hair fell from its place tucked under my scarf. Angela always said I looked cute in the winter. Something about the snow complimented me.

I put my fingers to my mouth, kissed them, and then put them on her headstone. Whispering an 'I love you', I turned and started back down the row. Counting twenty, I turned.

My shoes made a light pattering sound as I walked slowly towards the gates. A few other people littered the cemetary, but not many.

I stopped at the gate and turned back, watching it snow on the graves and the people below the ground. I inhaled deeply, my chest feeling tight as I did so, and then let it out slowly.

"I don't mean to intrude..." I turned around a little and smiled at the young blonde woman at my side. She offered a handkerchief to me which I dabbed my eyes with, holding it there for a moment.

"Thank you. I needed that." She smiled back and nodded her head, showing me that she knew I needed it.

I stood by the woman, not talking for a few minutes, just watching the snow.

"I'm Anna, by the way. Anna Reynolds." I held my hand out to her as she introduced herself.

"I'm Laura Miller. I was here, visiting my cousin's grave." She smiled and looked back out the the headstones.

"I was visiting my parents. Side by side graves."

During the silence I could hear a clock chime somewhere in the distance. Probably the church clock. I could also hear kids playing across the street, and a car back firing as it tried to drive on the ice.

"I wish Angela could see me." I hadn't realized I had spoken the words until the woman turned and smiled at me.

"She can, dear. She really can." The mysterious Anna Reynolds turned and walked out the gate, not turning back. I watched her walk away until I realized I still had her handkerchief. I made a sound and started after her, but she had disappeared into the snow.

I unfolded the cloth and looked it over. There were stitchings of roses and blue jays on it, in opposite corners. I smiled, remembering that those were two of Angela's favorite things.

And in the middle of the handkerchief were two letters that had me glancing up towards the sky.

A.R.

I wanted to believe that this was just a coincidence, but I knew what it really was. It was Angela's way of showing that I'd be okay.

It was her way of telling me that everything was going to be okay.

A/N: So, this was brought on by an anniversary of the death of a beloved aunt.
And because I really wanted to write something.
Review and let me know what you think!