Bearing witness

More death, this time horrendous.

In our small town last week, a teenage girl hung herself. We heard the news privately as it hasn't made the papers. Rejected by an abusive family, she died alone and we think she was cremated without a funeral service.

I never met this young woman, though I know the teacher who worked hard to give her chances and wept when she heard the news.

I want to bear witness here that her life was worth something and that she deserved the dignity of a sendoff by people she loved and who loved her.