The Hand of Death

     Nothing in life is promised except death. The best day of your life could also be your last. As if you were a mere moth fighting for its life on a windowsill, there is nothing that can be done to prevent this inevitable truth. No amount of sorry or regret or prayer will keep that special day from arriving. 

    I believe a death of a parent is one of the worst things for a child growing up. I've heard multiple tragedies of this from social media, but one particular one was told by an old close friend. I rarely keep in touch with him now, but I've never forgotten his feelings experiencing the death of his father. Like any other weekday in 2018, he wakes up to get ready for elementary school. And just like any other day, waking up is one of the biggest struggles of his routine (I wonder how he feels about waking up now?). That morning was likely even harder considering that we stayed up late together the night before for Halloween candy counting. Dragging his legs around the house just barely quick enough to have time for breakfast and a walk to the bus stop, he begins to slip his shoes on and walk out the door. He looks back for a split second, long enough to see his father waving him off, but short enough for him to forget to say goodbye. 

    And just like any other day, we were inseparable at school. We talked to each other any chance we got, and goofed off as much as we wanted to. After all, we had our whole lives ahead of us and nothing to worry about! Back then, we were fortunate enough to have our biggest concern be whether or not we'd have the chance to play Roblox at the same time or not. Except, not like any other day, a police officer showed up at his door that evening. The kind of thing you only see in movies. The kind of thing that you wouldn't ever believe would happen in real life. How could something so horrible happen to the innocence of a child? 

    The next time my friend spoke to his father was when he looked down into his casket. 

    "How could inevitability be so cruel?", he must've thought. It's not like he meant to forget a simple wave back. As little as I knew his father, I knew that he was a fighter--someone who behaved with confidence and grit. Looking back now, all of that didn't stand a chance at all against death. That unpreventable force of nature came and left, despite any sort of good luck or prayers that the family had. 

    There isn't a more eye-opening opportunity than this to experience the harsh contrast between vibrant life and quiet death. But at the end of the day, these two perform hand in hand, having the opportunity to swap at any given moment. So, treat it all with respect and gratitude.

    "If you have the opportunity to play this game of life you need to appreciate every moment. A lot of people don't appreciate the moment until it's passed." -Kanye West