Today, a little white coffin, adorned with rainbow stripes and pink butterflies, carried little Olivia Pratt-Korbel to her final resting place.
Before the cortège arrived, primary school children, gently encouraged by their teachers, hung the name of their murdered friend in big pink letters on the railings outside their school, St Margaret Mary's Catholic Junior.
Then a broken family fought to hold it together on the most difficult of days, the grief etched on their faces at odds with the cheerful splashes of pink on scarves, ties, and dresses in the crowds of mourners.
READ MORE: Olivia Pratt-Korbel's mum vows to 'never say goodbye' to daughter in eulogy
This is the reality of gun crime.
Men with guns, men who live in a world where disputes over money, pride, or territory are settled by deadly violence are the reason nine-year-old Olivia was laid to rest after today's funeral service at St Margaret Mary's Church on Pilch Lane, Knotty Ash.
Hundreds of local people lined the streets as a white horse-drawn carriage carried Olivia's body on its final journey. People young and old, some with small children and some alone, were silent as the two white horses trotted past Olivia's school and into the grounds of the church.
In what must have taken reserves of strength many of us simply would not have been able to muster, Olivia's mum, Cheryl Korbel, delivered a eulogy to a packed-out 450 capacity church hall.
Cheryl's memories of her "sassy diva" who was full of life and mischief were difficult to hear for those of us who never knew Olivia, never mind for the people who loved her.
Her voice cracking in places, Cheryl said: "Olivia knew exactly how to wrap people around her little finger to get what she wanted, especially her brother Ryan and sister Chloe. She would often just give them a cheeky smile and they would give in instantly. She loved playing tricks on people and could be mischievous but there was a softer, caring side to Liv.
"She loved animals, especially her dog Gizmo, parrot Olly. Poor Gizmo would be wrapped in a blanket and put in her pram. She would then push him round the house as if he was her baby.
"But, when her twin cousins were born, Ivy and Amelia, she had her very own real babies to mother. She loved to think she was the adult and boss everyone about, including Holly and Hattie her two best friends."
This is the caring, confident, funny and strong-willed little girl taken from her family by men who still do not have the courage to face the music. Who knows whether they have looked at a picture of Olivia, or watched the heartbreaking video of her mum pleading for answers.
Archbishop of Liverpool Malcolm McMahon read a homily during the service, where he spoke of how the pain is shared amongst the community. He told the crowded church hall: "One thing I've noticed in the past is that when a young person dies the light in our darkness comes from children. It is to Olivia's friends that we turn for a glimmer of hope.
"Isn't it heartening to hear from Mrs Wilkinson, Olivia's headteacher, that the children are not afraid to mention her name? They feel sad too, but they want to talk about her, and it is in mentioning her name that she will continue to live in their hearts and memories.
"We must follow that example. As we continually remember her by name we put back together the broken pieces of our lives - broken by this sudden intrusion into a family living in peace."
Liverpool and Merseyside must treat the people who allowed this atrocity to happen as exactly that - an intrusion. The normal rhythms and flows of family and community life have no place for killers without conscience.
The spontaneous applause from people on the street as Olivia's coffin was carried to its final resting place - that is the real Liverpool.
Nothing will end the pain, the shock and the endless nightmare as Olivia's family face life without her. No-one can wave a magic wand and change that reality.
But justice will ease their path. There are people in this city or elsewhere who have the power to make that happen.
They must do the right thing, for Olivia.
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