my best friend

Pearl is my best friend from school. ie.( elementary school, high school, junior college)
Ive known her for last 25 years.
She was the most beautiful girl in our group...she had beautiful hair...lovely complexion..and slender body.
Sometimes I was envious of her.She got all the attention.
But she was my friend, my best friend, we roamed around the streets of town, ate junk food which was forbidden in our homes.
We talked about boys and gossiped about friends.
We, both hated our, strict community and the silly rules made by our parents.
We dreamed we would run away from all of this.. but we never had the guts...we did exactly as our parents told us to do....we conformed....we obeyed....
When I lost my mom, she was there to wipe my tears.
When my father got married again she understood how I felt.
Then she got married, an arranged marriage, the boy was rich..belonged to a good family.
But disaster struck after 4 years of marriage, he passed away.
Her daughter was 2 years old...she came back to stay with her parents.
Her parents home was close to mine.
We became friends again... the 4 year gap when she stayed with her in-laws just melted away.
I loved her daughter. She was so fragile...so slender and so small. Her name was Melanie.( a name I had chosen since, that was the name of the most popular girl in our class in elementary school.)
The years passed and our contact was no longer on a daily basis.
I got so busy, I shifted my home.
Her life went downhill. She had to support her parents and her daughter.She was working 4 jobs, to make ends meet.Sometimes she came to my work place to ask for a loan.
Sometimes she called.
She never forgot my birthday and I never forgot hers.
We spoke whenever we remembered, each other.
She called more, I was lazy/busy.She spoke of her dreams, sometimes, of the futility of life.. and I agreed. I always felt she was lucky, she could do as she pleased. She was free.
and she thought I was lucky.....
But yesterday at 1 am I got a call from her....Melanie is no more...
I cant describe the trauma I went through till it was 5 am and I could go to her home.
I rushed there only to find Melanie lying lifeless on the bed.Dressed in white in her Holy Communion dress, she looked like a little doll.
My friend Pearl was like a mad woman....she was touching her daughter, her hair , her dress, her toys, her books. It was heart wrenching.
I cannot say what happened to the little girl and how she died, Ive promised her I wont say.
I want my friend to know that I love her very much and I will be there with her whatever comes.
I cant do anything, except be there when she calls or call her sometimes and tell her I love her.
What else can one do?