The California coast was ignited in hues of red and orange as the sun slowly dipped into the ocean.  Alice Pieszecki sat in silence on the beach as she watched the giant sphere descend in the distance.  A solitary tear made the trek down her cheek while she caressed a red rose lying in her lap. 

     It was one year ago that day Dana had passed away.  The blonde felt a pang in her heart at the empty hole left in her life.  They might have been lovers at one point and avoided each other at another, but through it all Alice knew that the athletic brunette had been her friend.  They had each other through the good times and the bad, knowing that no matter what the situation was that the other would be her anchor.  Dana had been the sun shining warm on her face on a cold day, and if she were to think back on the “bad days,” then Alice might even have to say that Dana was the Sun the way her world revolved around the brunette.

     She had received a phone call earlier during the day from Shane to see how the blonde was holding up.  No one else out of the scattered group of friends really recalled the magnitude of what that day meant.  To Alice the day was one of celebration, not party celebration but in remembrance of the beautiful life carried out by her best friend.  Dana’s time might have been cut short but it seemed that she had touched everyone in her life in some way and had changed them just from having known her.  At times Alice wondered if the athlete’s presence in her life had changed her for the better, but then her mind reminded her that better or worse didn’t matter just that from having known Dana she knew she had been loved and had been able to love someone in return.

     Alice brought the rose up to her lips for a gentle kiss and then rocked forward so that she was almost kneeling in the surf.  She placed the flower on top of the receding water with a gentle smile, and with a whispered “I love you” she stood and walked towards the waiting silhouette of Shane.

     The blonde couldn’t be sure if she’d ever “see” Dana again, but she was positive that the other woman would live on forever in her heart because that was where she had burrowed her way in.  Alice knew one thing for sure about her time with Dana and it was that she had been changed…for good.