ROANOKE, Va. – LaCiann Divers and Kierston Cole do everything together — birthdays, holidays, vacations —but one thing they never thought they’d do together, is bury their children.
“We didn’t want it to be like this,” Kierston said.
LaCiann lost her son NeSean in 2021 to gun violence — and even though Kierston was always by her side, she didn’t quite know what to say.
“Don’t nobody know what to say to you when it happens,” LaCiann said.
Kierston went to NeSean’s funeral, with no idea she’d be at her own son Isaac’s funeral just a few years later.
“In my mind was call LaCiann, call LaCiann, call LaCiann,” Kierston said.
LaCiann has been with Kierston every single day since Isaac was shot and killed in June.
“I’ve seen myself in everything she was going through. All the words she was saying, how she was being. I see myself and everything that I went through,” LaCiann said.
They tell us it’s a different world once you’ve lost a child.
“A lot of times people don’t realize when they say, ‘Are you okay?’ or, ‘It’s going to be okay,’ it doesn’t feel okay. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to be okay, but if she tells me it’s going to be okay, that’s one thing,” Kierston said.
For LaCiann, she’s still grieving years later, but has found purpose in standing beside her best friend.
“I feel like in a way, this must be what I’m here for,” LaCiann said.
NeSean and Isaac grew up together, and their moms still see them together, even after they’re gone.
“Two cardinals, two cardinals. We always get two. Isaac’s not by himself. Him and NeSean, they’re outside,” Kierston said.
“They come and they check on us,” LaCiann said.
And just like Isaac and NeSean are never alone, Kierston and LaCiann are never alone.
“I love you friend, and we’re gonna get this justice for our babies,” LaCiann said.