Filed under: death, flowers, friendship, hearts, life, love, misunderstanding, mourning, pink, serious, strangers, tribute
Sometimes they stop to read. The kinder ones retie fallen flowers. Sometimes they pause, but keep walking: drowsy, guilty steps for wandering on by. Maybe they think it’s not their place, or maybe they don’t even care. Perhaps they just can’t take it.
The mourners stand and stare. Shoulders tensed, arms defiantly crossed, they breathe in the ironic beauty of his flowers. The braver ones glance to the criminal road, trying to understand what happened. How it could happen. They hold one another, brushing away the tears. Eventually they leave; eventually they must leave.
But their steps are heavier, as are their hearts.
Dusk has fallen on the bunches. At present, I see fifty seven. The messages are beautiful: tributes to his sunny, triumphant life. To his rowing, his dancing, his ever cheery disposition. To a life lived so gloriously in just twenty two years.
Tsz, you will be missed.
My scout alerted me to the scene outside my window. Cordons, a large lorry. Policemen, black and white hats, fluorescent jackets. Notepads, cameras. Official hustle and bustle.
A red bicycle.
A large white cloth.
A young life, extinguished. Too early.
Tourists posed by the Bodleian, parading toothy smiles for freeze frame portraits. Online comments tittered about negligence: the city drivers, the city cyclists, the city council. Workers reclined on benches, guzzling down precious morning coffee.
While he still lay there.
Maybe a brother. A son, certainly. Perchance, a lover. A friend, a student … no more.
There was a backpack, its straps cut. A wallet, a mobile phone. A few other pocket items. Simple tatters, now, of a life gone by.
The cordons came off within hours. Nonsensically, life poured back with remarkable ease. The news listing dropped from its lead position, the excited chatter of finishing finalists floated up to my room. People forgot, or never knew.
A devastating reminder of the fragility of life. My deepest sympathies to all those who knew him.
