So death strikes again...

A long time ago, right after I created this blog, I posted a few entries that were the product of a sense of grief and loss. I had lost a friend back then, so I pondered upon death, and life after.

Now, once again, I try to make sense of that mystery.

Almost a month ago, another friend left this world, suddenly, unexpectedly.

He was one of those friends that was close and dear to me for a while, then we lost touch for a few years. And, thanks to the magic of technology (namely, Facebook), we were able to reconnect. I was happy to have found him. We were very close to be related at some point, had I married when I was 22 years old...but that's another story. Point is, we were almost family then, and it still felt as if we were.

I was looking forward to the day I could go back home and have a reunion with him and other members of his family. Then, they lost their parents, almost one after another. I grieved with him and his sister through Facebook. We exchanged thoughts and condolences. His parents were dear people as well. I was very saddened by their departure.

Then, about a month ago, on a Monday morning, during my routine, daily Facebook check in the morning, I read the post of a mutual friend, and almost passed out. My eyes welled up, and I could not believe what I was reading. My friend had been found dead in his apartment. Sudden. Apparently a heart attack or something like that.

That made me once again ponder on all the cliches: today we are here, tomorrow is not guaranteed. Value what you have now. All those things that are repeated so much, but that are so real and true.

His sister, who also is my friend, has had a tough year with the loss of her parents, a dear close friend, and now her brother, to whom she was very close. I don't dare to imagine how she must be feeling; I would be arrogant if I said that I know how she feels. I don't know how it is to lose a brother. And even if I did, grief is unique to each individual.

And once again, I ponder when would I see my friend again. As I said in one of those earlier posts, I cannot believe that this is it. I cannot believe that life ends with our bodies decaying and rottening under the earth. This wonderful "invention" that is a human being, with this energy inside, cannot end here...so, I guess I will see you again, my friend. In the meantime, rest well.

(In loving memory of Hugo Lopez de Jesus).