Kia-Simone Bell chipped steadily along the Yard Mas route with something unexpected in her hand—a cardboard cutout of her best friend Melissa. The two had planned for Jamaica Carnival for months, but life, as it often does, had other plans. Melissa, now working in Dubai, became an unexpected casualty of global tensions tied to the conflict in Iran, unable to make the journey home. If Melissa couldn’t make Road March… Road March would make space for her anyway. So she brought her. Not in flesh, but in spirit. Read more: Click the link in our stories or the link in our bio. #JamaicaCarnival #CarnivalRoadMarch #YardmasCarnival #JamaicaObserver