AUSTIN, Texas — Maria Peña’s way of dealing with the grief of losing her daughter is to talk about her.

“I still talk about Aubrie as if she’s still here because I have a hard time saying she was,” Peña said. “Aubrie is an amazing person who was just full of life.”

Peña’s grief comes in waves. Something as simple as seeing the 14-year-old’s favorite cookie at the grocery store will illicit an emotional response.

“But it gives me a sigh of relief. I cried, but I’m ok,” Peña explained.

It was 2022 when Aubrie found a lump on her lower back. Her father suggested going to see a medical professional. After several tests, doctors diagnosed Aubrie with CIC-DUX4 sarcoma cancer.

“I couldn’t believe this was happening to her,” Peña said.

Aubrie started cancer treatment. Peña describes Aubrie as resilient and having a great sense of humor through it all. Aubrie qualified for a wish through the Make-a-Wish foundation and took a family trip to Hawaii.

“It was the trip of our lifetime,” Peña said. “I don’t think we can top that.”

After returning from the trip, the family received devastating news. Doctors found nodules, or small masses of tissue, in Aubrie’s lungs and they were growing.

Doctors told the family they were out of treatment options.

“I just remember looking at Aubrie and she just had tears rolling down her eyes,” Peña said.

Aubrie was given months to live. Peña refused to accept it and began seeking specialists around the country for help. Meanwhile, she was determined to let her daughter do anything she wanted.

“And that’s how the Paris thing came up,” Peña said.

Aubrie fell ill and wasn’t able to make the trip. She died in May 2024. The next day, Peña says she looked in her daughter’s phone.

“She had notes and the first thing on her list said, ‘I want to see the northern lights’,” Peña recalled.

What followed is one of the most improbable stories one would have to see to believe. Shortly after Aubrie’s passing, Texans were able to see the natural light phenomenon over the state. A friend called Peña to tell her to go outside and look up.

“Aubrie’s favorite colors were purple and pink, and all you saw was purple and pink in the sky,” Peña said. “That was the first thing she wanted to see.”

Peña set out to complete Aubrie’s bucket list. She made that trip to Paris, carrying a photo of Aubrie and taking pictures in all the places Aubrie wanted to visit.

“I feel a little closer when I do those things,” Peña said.

Trips to Brazil and the Disney Resort in Tokyo are also on Aubrie’s bucket list.

Peña is keeping her daughter’s memory alive here in Texas through the Aubrie Peña Legacy Foundation. The foundation has already awarded four scholarships to students this year with the help of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The Sarcoma Foundation of America is bringing its Race to Cure Sarcoma to Austin in 2025, thanks to Peña. Much to her surprise, the foundation put Austin first on the list of cities hosting the event next year.

“I cried happy tears,” Peña shared in a post on Instagram.