Disclaimer: I own nothing and am just borrowing Barbara Hall's wonderful characters.
Happy Birthday
She would have been 17 today.
It should have been a happy day, full of balloons and cards and presents and laughter. Instead it was just like any other day, without fanfare or celebration, because she, along with her smiles and laughter, had been missing for over three months now. Joan shut her eyes and held her breath as a fresh wave of pain swept over her. Three months. Sometimes it felt like a lifetime ago, and at other times it seemed like it was just yesterday.
Joan slowly approached the grave and noticed she wasn't the first visitor. A colorful bouquet of flowers rested at the base of the headstone, probably left by Fran and Bill. A copy of Hamlet also lay there. Joan kneeled down and added her own offerings to the pile as memories of her friend played through her mind. She had been her comforter and protector at camp, her partner in crime at school, and like a sister through everything, even when they fought.
Joan didn't know how long she sat there before she realized it was getting dark. She placed a kiss on the headstone and got to her feet. "Happy Birthday, Judith. I love you."
As she walked away through the growing shadows of the cemetery, three small blue balls softly lit the grave, chasing away the darkness.