Footprints: Samaria Bryan - Beloved sister painfully missed

Walking through Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, on November 20, Michael Bryan wore a pin with the picture of a young woman emblazoned on it.

Asked if she had recently died, he said his sister, Samaria Bryan, popularly known as Shantae, died in 2013, but that day was her birthday, and his too. He was carrying flowers for her, and his face and tone of voice betrayed the sadness he was going through.

In a subsequent conversation with Footprints, Michael said he could not get over the death of his sister who, he said, was his "other half".

He talked about her every day since she has died, as, he said, "Shantae was and still is the closest person to me".

"The last birthday we spent together, she told me I was the best gift she ever got. Her death changed my entire life and turned me into a completely different person. I'm not as happy as I used to be," he said.

He is one of her two brothers. she also has four sisters and a daughter, Leona Bowla, who was born a few months before she died.

Bryan, also known as Sam and Sammy, was born November 1992 to Maureen Spence and Michael Bryan Sr (deceased). She was raised in Rocky Point, Clarendon, and attended Clarendon College and HEART Beauty College in St Andrew. Michael said she wanted to be an entrepreneur.

"There are so many adjectives to describe her, but I can't seem to find the right one to express how amazing she is/was. She was the family's favourite. She had a priceless smile. Even though she was a no-nonsense person, there was never a dull moment around her. We have an unbreakable bond. Though she's not here in person, she'll never leave my heart," Michael said.

- Paul H. Williams