Shorten the story in quotes to 125 words maximum and add humor. "After escaping The Family, it took several years of deprogramming before I was ready for uni. There, I met NAME_1, who was my rock. I was terrified of getting answers wrong, as I believed I'd be beaten with a cane. NAME_1 helped me learn interpersonal dynamics and cope with my trauma. When she announced her summer plans to go back to Rockville, I was despondent. I begged her not to go, convinced I needed her by my side. Plus, Rockville wasn't exactly the nicest place in Queensland - not even close to the poshness of the university campus.
I accompanied her to the bus station, weeping as she boarded. A few weeks later, I wrote her a heartfelt letter.  I said “At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend I don't care that you're not here with me.”
 But she never replied. I assumed I was too damaged for her to stay, but then she didn't return to school in February. I later found out that she had died after being attacked by plovers at Toowoomba Waterbird Park. To this day, whenever I hear REM's somber song, I think of NAME_1 and whenever I see plovers, I reach for my BB gun."