Gone...

People have been asking me what my favorite part of Europe was. And I’d name some cities and maybe tell a few funny stories. But the most memorable part of the trip actually occurred today – yes, after the fact.

While in Ibiza, my friends and I met some guys from Australia, and us all being brown, we naturally clicked. We shared a dance, a meal, a drink, and above all… a good time. And as all parting friends do, we promised to keep in touch and perhaps even pay a visit across the Atlantic.

But before we even had a chance to reminisce about all the memories created, we received the most tragic and unexpected news of all: Ramnik, one of the Australians, drowned last week while swimming in a river in Munich. Even as I write this, the words feel raw because I’m still in denial of it. I just met him three weeks ago! Here was a great, fun loving guy that walked into our lives by fate. And here goes a guy who was taken away by that same wretched fate.

I guess in the end, you always tend to think about the beginning. And I can’t help but think about how he first approached me, and the last time I saw him… People always say God works in mysterious ways. I guess it’s true, because nothing quite explains how a seemingly normal life suddenly turns unfair. Or how life itself turns into death.

But he didn’t die in vain, because if every day is lived as if it were your last, then I know he was alive and kicking just as much then as always. He drowned in a sea of memories, leaving us all thirsty for more.

*RIP Nik*“Good day mate!”