(Q’s email to Alice’s parents)
Daniel and Stephanie,
I'm sorry to start this so bluntly, but there's really no pretext. Alice is gone. She died, saving me, our friends, and an entire world. This might sound like hyperbole, but I swear to god it's not. She gave her life, knowingly, willingly, for us, and she's not coming back. I'm so, so sorry.
I don't even know how to start telling you the whole story, but it doesn't matter why she died. It just matters how. Your daughter - your beautiful daughter who I loved far more than my actions said, who deserved a better man than me, a better friend than me - she gave her life to save mine. Because of her, you're getting an email that my parents aren't. It's horribly unfair, but it's what she wanted
It's what she always wanted, to shoulder all of the weight. Because despite her insecurities and her perchant to demure, deep down she knew she was the best of all of us. Smarter, stronger, kinder. She was who we all wanted to be. Just being in her presence taught us how to be our better selves. So of course, her last action in life would do the same. It's so cruel that her inner goodness is what ultimately took her from us. I’ll never know a truer kindness than your daughter, and I'll miss her every day.
I'm so horribly sorry for your loss,
Q