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　　It was a hot summer day．My dad and I were getting ready to go out for a ride on the boat with my friend Katie and the dog when the phone call came, the call that made that bright, beautiful day a cold, dark, gloomy one．

　　I had just put on my suit, shorts, and tank top, and packed my bag with sunscreen and everything else I would need for the day．I ran into my parents' room to find Dad．When I saw him on the phone, he was crying．I'd never seen my dad cry before．My heart sank．What possibly could have happened?

　　"Max, I'm so sorry," I heard him say．That's when it hit me．I knew that Suzie had died．Max has been my dad's best friend for years．Suzie, his daughter, had a rare disease that mainly affected her body．Her brain was OK．She knew what was going on; she knew that she had problems and was different from other kids．Once she told her dad that she wished she could die and be born in a different body．Yet although she couldn't live a normal life, she was still happy．

　　When Suzie and I were little, we spent quite a bit of time together．As we grew up, we grew apart．She lived in New York, and I lived in the Midwest．When Suzie was ten she had to live in a hospital in Virginia．About eight months before she died, Max gave us her number at the hospital and we talked at least twice a week until the end．Suzie was always so excited to talk to us and wanted to know every detail about my life．She wanted to know everything I did and every thing I ate．In a way, she lived through me．

　　After we found out about her death, we made our plans to go to New York for the funeral．When she was alive, I sent her a Beanie Baby and she sent one back to me．I had bought her another one but never had the chance to send it to her, so I took it to put in her casket(棺材)．

　　Her funeral was very different from any funeral I'd ever been to．After they lowered her casket, each one of us put a shovelful of dirt over her．I remember crying so hard, I felt weak．My cheeks burned from the tears．My whole body was shaking as I picked up the shovel, but I'm glad I did it．

　　When Suzie and I first started calling one another, I thought it would be more of a burden on me, but I was completely wrong．I learned so much from her．She gave me more than I could ever give to her．I will never forget her or the talks we had．I now know that I must never take anything for granted especially my health and the gift of life．