I was one second too late.  She's gone.  And I don't have a single image to commemorate her life.  In the 2 years that our paths crossed, I learned that her husband had just passed away and she misses him with great pain every day.  I learned that she struggles health-wise and yet always manages to show up with a graceful demeanor.  And I also learned that she's an extremely gentle soul - she always tells me that she likes my smiles because she sees sparkles in my eyes.  She says it with a smile on her face, as always.

The last time that I saw her, I told her what had always been on my mind - I wanted to photograph her.  To me, documenting a life with portraiture and listening to their life-long stories is a beautiful thing.

She was so excited and said would call me to arrange a time for the photo shoot as she'd have company soon.

Then, she left us.

Would her family have memories of her to hold on to when she's gone?

I thought I'm on a mission as a photographer.  I feel that I've failed in this case ...   

What would YOU do to retain memories of the loved ones in your life?