KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C., - When new memories can't be made, we hold onto the old.
Since the death of 39-year-old Ravann Horton and her 9-year-old son Sebastian Lopez, the Kill Devil Hills community has been holding on tight.
"They were very giving, they were very loving, they always looked out for the community and each other," said Kelley Horton.
In May, it will have been a year since the mother and son duo were killed in a house fire in Kill Devil Hills.
Mother to Ravann and grandmother to Sebastian, Horton remembers the two who were so full of life. "Their lives were intertwined, they were together all the time. You never really saw one without the other," she said.
Kelley said Ravann was passionate about music, her family and giving back. She ran RAVRA Productions, which was dedicated to bringing new bands and musicians to the North Carolina beach town.
Watching Ravann host community events and volunteer her time, Kelley said Sebastian learned compassion and selflessness.
She said, "He was only nine but he learned in his life that you need to give to people."
Sebastian, lovingly known by most as Sebi, had a love and passion for animals. During the summer months, he would have a lemonade stand that he called Lopez Lemonade, and donate all of the proceeds to the local SPCA.
Reeling from their deaths, the tight-knit Outer Banks community has come together over the past year honoring Ravann through her love of music and Sebi through his love of animals.
Last year the Corolla Wild Horse Fund named a newborn colt Sebi despite the other foals having "A" names.
"He's already a leader up there. I've seen videos of him leading the whole pack at like seven months old, just running on the beach," Kelley said.
Inspired, Kelley wanted to write a children's book honoring her two kids. She took the idea to local author and friend, Brandi McMahan, who had known both Ravann and Sebastian.
"When she came to me and asked me to do this there was no question. [I said] yes I will, I will. I didn't know how, I didn't know if I could, but the answer was yes," McMahan said.
From there Sebi the Colt: A New Life was born.
The children's book follows a mother and son who spend their days on the beaches of Corolla, reincarnated as a wild Spanish mustang colt and a black raven.
"This book is in someways educational, it is for everyone, it is that something that people will have a positive spin, if there is one, on death," said Kelley.
McMahan added, "[Ravann and Sebi] are very well known in the community and that is why this book is already a success."
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the OBX Relief Foundation, SPCA, and Corolla Wild Horse Fund.
"It makes my heart happy that even, you know, after death, they are still able to give like they did, always," Kelley said. "Wherever they are, they are together again, forever."
Click here for a link to purchase the book as well as the book's Facebook page. Should there be an influx of books bought, Kelley and McMahan are looking for any companies that can offer inexpensive, high-quality printing.
