It was approximately 1:45pm on April 8 while browsing a local retail store when my dearest friend received a phone call no one ever wants to receive. The look on Ashley's face is one I've never seen before nor do I ever wish to see again. Her expressions of shock, fear and sadness told the story of what the call was about. We dropped our nearly purchased wares and made our way to her apartment as quickly as the wet roads would allow. We pulled up to see a fire truck, police cruiser and a couple other fire department vehicles out front. Ashley dashed out of the car, darted across the lawn towards her apartment to be halted by the fire chief who proceeded to inform her a fire had started in her apartment (wall outlet sparked) and her beloved rabbit had perished. Ashley and I have been close friends for almost 10 years and I have never had the displeasure of seeing such devastation overwhelm her. One of the fire fighters brought out Benny wrapped in a smoke riddled sweater and placed him in Ashley's arms. I feared she'd collapse under the weight of her loss. After a very determined girl refused to take no for an answer, we were allowed in to her apartment to bare witness to the damage the unforgiving fire had done. To anyone who's never experienced first hand the aftermath of a fire, the smell engulfs you before the shock of the remains of any charred, smoke damaged, water logged possessions do. It was clear that she had lost everything. 

A few hours later in between tears I heard Ashley utter the words " how do you start over?". She's a tough cookie but having to manage all that would be expected of her in the coming days brought tears to my eyes. I imagined it was me in her soaked shoes and I knew just what to do. She has little to no money to put towards such luxuries as food and clothing. What little money she does have is being swallowed up by a student loan and other bills. I'm hoping to raise enough money to help her rebuild her life and home while she goes through he motions of this tragedy. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you to those able to donate and help.