in the silence

Posted: October 14th, 2010 | Author: Olivia | Filed under: oDays, oWander | 1 Comment »

after hearing the news of sujal’s accident, the positive hope still reigned superior in my thoughts. my heart felt warm as i wrote encouraging words on his facebook wall, along with many, many of his friends and family. i told people, “write on his wall or send him something! that way, when he wakes up, he’ll feel very happy.”

a few days go by with some email forwards and exchanges. in reality, things don’t look good, but that hope is still shining within me. on tuesday evening, g’s phone begins to ring as we are watching glee. as he picks up his phone, i see that shahed is calling, who has been the one relaying updates to g.

within the first 10 seconds, i knew. g took my hand and squeezed it as he bravely continued his conversation with shahed. the tears slowly started leaking out of my eyes as that last ray of hope swiftly left my heart. he was gone, and there was no way to bring him back. we sat in silence for a few minutes, then i crawled in g’s arms and we wept.

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now that it has been two days since the news broke, i have witnessed an amazing amount of support and encouragement that no doubt indicates the type of person sujal was. people have gathered together to continue the human rights and public health work that sujal had started, and keep pushing it forward. it is inspiring and motivating, but as one of sujal’s friends stated in an email, “though it may bring us all together, it is still too high a price to pay.”

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mementos like postcards and yearbook notes are now treasured possessions. photos are priceless. the memories are invaluable. hearing his voice on video becomes the most beautiful sound on earth.

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my thoughts are with his family and all that loved him.

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http://sujalparikh.blogspot.com

http://linnea.ratogi.net/2010/10/13/icu-lament

http://sujal-parikh.1000memories.com/

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