Kim, With Love to You

I just found out about a schoolmate of mine who died. Her life ended with emotionally resonant exclamation marks -- which suits her better than any eulogy -- and, because of the strange way death moves, every living memory I have of her is back with me in vivid colour.

A year out of high school, she found me on AIM and randomly asked, "Are there ever nights you can't turn your brain off? And you're tired but you can never never sleep, because the thinking won't stop?"

I didn't answer, probably because I wasn't sure how. It was the last time I heard from her. But years later, when nights like the one she described became frequent spectres in my life, I remembered Kim and wondered what she'd been looking for.

The question now is futile, but it still wants asking: What could I have given her?