We said good bye today. My cousin, the saxophonist, played when she was brought into church. The tunes so pure it filled every inch of the hall and my soul. His last note left a silence that echoed the stillness inside. Nothing else needed to be said or done. For me, the music had done it all. It had reached where no words, no reason could go. 

Then, her daughter did the most courageous thing of all: She walked out in front of all those people and sang. There, for the whole world to see, she lived through her pain and created beauty. It left me feeling fragile. At the same time it gave me courage.