Nine years later it still doesn't feel real.

It feels like a bad dream. A nightmare that we haven't been able to wake up from.

Please, someone tell us it was a bad dream and we're just trapped. When we wake up, that smile will flash and he will be there.

Alas, it is not.

As we ring in 2016 I cannot help but think back to New Year's 2007.

It was the night we lost Darrent Williams at the age of 24.

Broncos tomorrow will present Darrent Williams Good Guy Award voted on by media. Darrent died 9 yrs ago on Jan. 1. pic.twitter.com/16NjsCNL0a — Patrick Smyth (@psmyth12) December 31, 2015

I awoke that Monday morning like a kid. No cares or troubles in the world. This was going to be a great year. Nah, a special year. I had my first full time job. The Denver Broncos had a young quarterback to go along with Mike Shanahan's offense. All that was needed to get back to the Super Bowl was a defense. It was fair to assume Champ Bailey and Williams had the cornerback position, pardon the pun, covered.

What did 2007 have in store?

Then I heard the news. Even now, it's impossible to comprehend.

Williams had been shot and killed outside a Denver nightclub early that morning.

The second-year defensive back from Oklahoma State was dead.

My heart still sinks like it's in quicksand.

"All of us are devastated by this tragedy," Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said in a statement released by the team at the time. "To lose a young player, and more important, a great young man such as Darrent Williams, is incomprehensible. To lose him in such a senseless manner as this is beyond words. My deepest feelings, all my thoughts and prayers, go out to Darrent's mother and family. The entire Broncos' organization shares my grief. Darrent was a wonderful young man, and his passing is a great loss for his family, the Broncos and the city."

Please, someone tell us it was a bad dream and we're just trapped.

Just eight hours earlier, Williams saw his season season end in an unfathomable 26-23 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Denver was downtrodden; in utter disbelief its season was over.

The team had no idea another loss was just around the corner. The players didn't know the cruel hand life would deal to one of their teammates, one of their brothers, only hours later.

"If this team is the heart of this city (Denver)," Broncos safety Nick Ferguson said in a statement, "then it is bleeding right now."

Yes, we have the memories. We have the images that stand out in our mind. We remember that smile. That infectious smile you couldn't help smile back when you saw it. The smile that made you feel better and lifted your spirits.

D-Will is gone.

He was 24.

Think about that. He just became a man with the rest of his life in front of him. Only to be taken in an instant. A cruel flash in which a young man lost his life.

One aspect is for certain: He didn't act 24.

At times, you marveled at how someone could always smile when there was no earthly reason to do so.

Williams must not have taken life too seriously if he was able to brush his blunders aside and joke about them like he always did. If you didn't know better, you might have thought he was an immature, spoiled kid who didn't get it.

Over time, you came to realize this was a young man well spoken, eloquent, funny, encouraging and honest beyond his years. If only more people had those special abilities; especially in the world of professional sports.

"Losing a fine young man such as Darrent Williams leaves me speechless with sadness," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said in a statement in 2007. "We all know that Darrent was an excellent player, but as a person, he was a first class young man who brightened every room with his smile, attitude and personality. I cannot express how heartsick I feel at this loss. All of our players and coaches are completely shocked by this terrible tragedy. And my deepest condolences go out to the entire Williams family."

If this team is the heart of this city (Denver), then it's bleeding right now. Former Broncos safety Nick Ferguson

The cruelest fate this world brings to a parent is having their child die before they do.

I cannot fathom the grief and agony Williams' mother and his entire family feel to this day.

Nine years later it still doesn't feel real.

Nine years later the heart of Broncos Country still aches.