Heather

[Verse 1] Before five years old, I was quiet as a prayer, A good little girl with careful hands. Never wanted trouble, never crossed a line, Just trying to be what they could understand. Then came Heather, like a door swung open, Like laughter teaching me to breathe. For the first time I could be my whole self, And not worry who I had to be. [Chorus] She was the best parts of my innocence, The safe place where my young heart ran. Before the world got heavy, Before I knew how fast life ends. She was truth before truth could leave me, A love my fears could never shake. And every friend I’ve ever measured, I measured by Heather’s name. [Verse 2] We made a whole world out of nothing, Just a bedroom and an afternoon. Laughing till we couldn’t breathe, The kind of joy that leaves too soon. Old games glowing on the TV, Pizza boxes on the floor, Her daddy in his flannel doorway, Bringing warmth through that front door. Her mother loved me like her own, My mother loved her just the same. Two little girls, two braided families, Held inside a holy frame. [Verse 3] Then years grew teeth and roads divided, She found church and I lost grace. I stood awkward in the pews beside her, Too shy to sing, too scared to raise my face. But now I thank God for every doorway, Every hymn I didn’t know. Because even then, she carried something My heart would need years down the road. [Bridge] I was nineteen, maybe twenty, With two little girls of my own. When the news came down like winter, And froze my childhood to the bone. Six months carrying a baby, One bad moment, one wrong turn. And all the light she had inside her Was pulled from this side of the world. They laid her baby in her arms, Wrapped soft inside a blanket there. And I still can’t hold that image long Without losing breath in prayer. [Breakdown] Death doesn’t erase the living. A casket doesn’t end a name. Before the ground, before the goodbye, There was laughter, there was grace. There were scars and pizza nights, There were songs we screamed off-key. There was one true friend who never made me wonder If her love was safe for me. [Final Chorus] She was the best parts of my innocence, The foundation under all I became. Before the storms, before the wreckage, Before I learned the language of pain. She was loyalty without a question, She was childhood, bright and brave. And every friend I’ve ever measured, I measured by Heather’s name. [Outro] Some say the mind hides what hurts too much, Some say memory fades with age. Maybe both are true, maybe neither, But some souls never fade away. Heather, you will never be forgotten, Not by my heart, not by your name. You were most of the best parts of my childhood, And I still love you the same.