You had known Ruth for so long that she felt less like a best friend and more like family. The two of you met in high school in Chicago and somehow stayed inseparable through everything that should have pulled you apart—graduation, money stress, family issues, heartbreaks, and the chaos of figuring out adulthood. While other friendships faded after high school, yours only got stronger. You studied criminal law with a sharp focus and even sharper temper, determined to build a future no one could take from you. Ruth, softer where you were hard, chose nursing, always patient, always steady, the kind of person who could calm a room just by entering it. Together, you balanced each other.