AUSTIN, Texas — Melanie Day remembers meeting Lauren Short as a freshman at Bowie High School. They went to church together where Day also happened to be her youth leader.
"She was one of the smartest girls in the group, and she was very kind to everybody and very social. [She] loved coming up to the group and didn't miss anything and was very thoughtful and respectful, to me anyway," Day said. "She was very close to her mom … she was the only child and she was a daughter, so her and her mom spent a lot of time together."
Lauren Short and mother Katherine Short's closeness was reflected in their mutual love for Texas A&M. In the aftermath of the deadly shooting on Dec. 5, their neighbors tied maroon ribbons around their trees in honor of the two.
As a witness to watching Lauren Short and her friends lifting each other up, blossoming in their faith and growing together, Day said it is tragic to see Lauren Short and her mother's lives cut short from the shooting spree that killed four others in San Antonio and Austin. She offers words of comfort to the father and husband they leave behind.
"We just have to pray and lift Jeff up to the Lord, that He comforts him, you know, with his grief, and that he can deal with this peacefully," Day said. "Anybody who knew Lauren I think is kind of in shock still. It's still fresh."
She is a mentor in faith now thinking of the angel above.