The Sound Of Silence

There's no way around it - dealing with the death of a close friend is one of the most difficult things we'll go through in our lives. And when it happens to someone so young, it brings up all kinds of questions. Questions about why it happened, what death really means. What happens after we die, and on and on. There are no clear answers and many of us hang on to our faith or belief in God to help us make sense of it all. It's helpful to remember that even though someone has passed on, their imprint has been made on earth. Every person that our friend came into contact with will feel a loss on some level and hopefully, this loss will turn into something positive. Maybe it will make someone cherish the little things in life, or it will encourage someone to follow their dreams today instead of waiting for the future. And even though it can be hard to make sense of the death of someone about all of the good our friend set into motion brings comfort.

I lost my best friend when I was in tenth grade, and it was the worst thing I've ever gone through. I remember waiting for him to come to class one Monday morning, and she just never showed up. I had just arrived at school and was waiting for Sam to get off the bus so I could tell what happened to me over the weekend, but I soon found out that Sam's weekend had been much worse. My other close friend, Shalyn arrived at school red-faced and teary. She said two words I was completely unprepared for.

'' Sam died. ''

A moment of silence.

Her words kept echoing it took my breath away, and suddenly my eyes flooded with tears. Shayln just hugged me. We cried together and talked about all the fun times we had with Sam. The weekend before, Sam and his family had gone to Canada for a vacation. Sam and his elder brother decided to take a walk along the edge of a cliff. They were messing around and picking on each other. When all of a sudden water rushed up on them suddenly from the canyon below. The water seemed to grab hold of the mud and dirt and yank it out from under their feet, sending them both into the water. They tried grasping for something to hang onto, but all they found was each other's hand. Sam's brother tried with all of his might to hang on to his frightened brother's hand but there was nothing he could do his hand was too slippery. He tried over and over again to retrieve the grip, but he couldn't hang on to him the current and the pressure of the water was pulling him further and further from his reach was too much. He ran for help, but by that time he returned, Sam had been swept down to the mud.

The funeral followed a few days later. Sam's white body was lying limp in the casket with his wavy hair lying gently. He seemed so peaceful. He had left the world of problems and hate to enter a world of love and beauty. As I looked upon his face, I imagined what he was doing and wondered if he was seeing the loving eyes of God. I know that everything was all right, but I would never again get to hear Sam's cheerful laugh and the touch of his hand enfolded into mine. I loved him. So did he.

And there were those few things left unsaid.

All I had to remember him by a torn photo and my memories of a lifetime we had experienced together.

The thing I will remember the most about him is the way he made me cry and proposed to me in the fifth grade. We made goals. And we will continue making from heaven to earth.