I oft wonder how the sun rised on that morning, did the birds sing the same way,

did the car start as usual?

Or were there tiny signs from above of the tragedy that lay ahead?

It is not my journey, nor that of a friend,

But I feel his loss as deep as can be.

I feel his pain, his suffering, his terror,

But it was not the sum of his life,

His wonderful life had already begun.

I feel the pain of the mother, how could she ever not remember this loss,

The father’s eyes have been weary since the first time I saw them.

How the siblings, the cousins, they all have to endure a life, with a tiny secret, a painful, personal secret, their happiness is not fair, for Daniel has none.

To put one foot in front of another, to keep earning an income to pay the bills,

To still sing happy birthday with a smile, and to merely smile hello to someone, this is fraught with trepidation.

To think it was another man’s will to live out his primal desires, that was the cause of Daniel’s departure, it is simply too much to bear.

To think a simple sliding doors moment, has turned the lives of so many upside down, an unfathamoable concept arises.

And to hear Daniels last moments of life where to scream for his mother to be near, it is simply cruel to endear.

If I could have one wish on this earth, now that Daniel has gone, it would be to know that he is now among others, who love him and protect him. Forever.