Jacqueline Baker is a Canadian writer. Originally from the Sand Hills region in southwestern Saskatchewan, she studied creative writing at the University of Victoria and the University of Alberta... (wikipedia)
When I'm feeling down I could look over to Maria. She was smiling. That would lift me up.
She smiled all the time even during the bad times. She always had a smile. She lifted me up and the other kids up.
When she saw me, she ran out the only thing I could understand was Maria. She latched on to me. I latched on to her. We cried together.
It's a terrible loss to our class as well as the whole school. Everyone loved Maria.