Sometimes people come into your life for some reason. And they change your life completely simply with their presence. Maybe you don’t recognize these differences immediately. But later if you are looking back you understand how much impact this person has had. And you know you will never be the same.

Some years ago I met such an remarkable person. Her name was Sarah.

I was allowed to accompany her life for a while. Sadly only a short while. I met her for the first time years ago. I was going to write an article about Sarah and a special concert. She was a wonderful piano player. We met for an interview and I wanted to speak with her about the concert.

I was a bit concerned about the meeting, cause I didn’t know how to handle the situation.

Sarah had fallen ill incurably with cancer. The concert I was going to write about was a benefit-concert dedicated to herself. It was one of her great wishes to record some songs she was playing on the piano.

At that time we met she had already brought many operations and painful treatments behind herself. She had lost a part of her face. Nevertheless, the doctors had to give up hope for healing. But this girl didn’t give up her life. She has done everything what all teenage-girls do with pleasure. And she acted like a “normal” teenage-girl. She made it very easy for me. We talked and we laughed about some funny things. It was a wonderful uplifting interview. I would write a nice text and her concert was a big success.

Her state of health didn’t change to positive, her inescapable end was lying still in front of her.

But she moved forward… brave and strong.

Later we met again. She met me with the same cheerfulness and openness as before. But that day I didn’t feel very good. I had a cold, stressed out from work, annoyed at something unimportant.  Everything in the world seemed to be bad. Even though I didn’t dare to complain about my little ailments. But Sarah looked at me and recognized that I was not doing very well. And then this terminally ill girl asked me how it goes for me and then she started to comfort me. “Don’t worry. It’ll be ok!” she said. Her consolation was so unbelievable touching, I was almost in tears. After this I swore myself always to remember this moment when I am feeling down and gloomy.

Later we could make her wish come true. Sarah recorded her own CD. She played amazingly.

Sarah lost the fight against cancer about one year later. She was only 18 years old.

Now as I write these lines, I hear Sarah’s music and I am feeling she is still here around me, smiling and saying

 “Don’t worry. It’ll be ok!”

written by Verena Toth