Jessica was a young, vibrant woman that enjoyed simple things: a good talk with a friend, a nice afternoon at the quarter, a beautiful garden, and a good meal. As a friend Jessica never asked me for anything, on the contrary she always wanted to do whatever I wanted to do, she was always looking to please me. During a couple of weeks that I had a strong craving for Indian food, she would tell me to stop by her house after school, she would prepare a whole Indian meal for me. She was my source of beautiful plants, never asking for anything in return.
Jessica had a degree in Botany from the University of Florida, and was going to come back to school to finish her Master at UNO. She was going to be one of our future experts in Pollination, subject in which she had published most of her scientific papers in. She loved bees and plants, and was an eager reader. Virginia Wolff was her favorite writer; her books were a treasure for her, before I left NOLA to come to Colombia for the summer I gave her back some of her books I had…. now I wish I had kept them.
Some weekends we would spend long nights dancing at her house her favorites: Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, or would head to the quarter for salsa dancing. I loved to see her happy, laughing to tears.
I will miss my friend everyday of my life, her emails, her jokes, I will miss her saying “ohhh my God, Ivonne stop!!!” while I shared with her all my drama.
The only thing Jessica asked us was to love her, the only thing she needed to live. We loved her and will love her forever. Whoever did this to my friend has to be sure we will not forget Jessica and he/she will not run away with this murder.