Manuela
I lost a friend last weekend.
.
The world seems a little heavier now.
Shock, disbelief, regrets, and questions have been coming to my head since.
.
The pain in the chest. Tears choking in my throat that sometimes escape, silently rolling. A bit like he went. Without saying a word.
.
He is a special dude, and if you had met him, you would call him a friend as well.
.
He was the embodiment of nature. He inspired me and influenced me as much as nature does.
.
His cheeky smile was the summer breeze when you rest under a tree. Him playing the guitar was the smell of the campfire in the wind, warm, approachable, and relaxing.
.
But he was also the stern wind of the high mountains. There was a strength in him, coming from his many experiences in life, difficult to explain. Sometimes it felt like being in the presence of a gigantic peak, wise, majestic and reminding you of how small we are in front of the sheer beauty of Nature.
.
He was everyone's cheerleader.
Any idea you had, he would convince you it was a great idea. He would push you out of your head, of your comfort zone, in a fun, lighthearted way.
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐๐๐, ๐๐ข๐ก ๐กโ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค.
.
He had many positive qualities. And probably many negative ones as well.
.
Like the complete inability to follow time, or wash the teacups (โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ), or let the elbow rest after I was trying to fix it. His smile would have taken him out of jail, and I am sure he knew it.
.
.
He was like that. And I am grateful for the time spent together.
And the memories I will have forever.
Let alone the knots he taught me to tie. I didn't know what a double 8 was, and he thought it was good to show me all the knots to pull out someone from a crevasse because "you never know". ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ผ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ โ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐.
.
The world has lost a sparkle, but I know he has inspired many and his stories will be told many more times.
.
And I am grateful for the intensity of the feelings I am feeling these days. The grief and the gratitude. The sadness and the waves of laughter. The duality of this experience.
.
๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐. ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ค, ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ, ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ, ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐.
๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ "๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฒ", "๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ, ๐ญ๐จ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ".
.
Then something happens and suddenly your schedule doesn't have sense anymore.
.
You are reminded of the beauty and the sheer power of connections and friendships and people around you. Not tomorrow, not in a month, but at this present moment.
.
๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐, ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ, ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ค๐๐ญ.
.
I won't focus on the regrets I might have, but I will make sure to cherish the people I have around me.
Because really, you never know. And the risk of being too late is there.
