#10

“ Marvin was more than a friend. He was a brother, a teammate, a son, and a classmate. Marvin was the backbone of the team. He would forever be in our hearts. He was generous with his love for others. He was very easygoing and took life as it came. There are a lot of lessons I can learn from my friend in his patience and virtue. I would leave this stage with a piece of Marvin in all our hearts. coach, you can come up now and say what you want to say” I was shaken by Andre’s words for his friend. I never knew he was this emotional.
He left the stage in tears. I held him by the shoulder as he went down the stage.
the coach took to the stage. There was a cold shivery atmosphere that wore on the crowd after Andre’s speech. He stole the show with his words. The only one I could connect with Marvin was Andre. I finally found answers to my questions. so young but he left a mark on a lot of people’s hearts

We met with Emma at the park. Emma and jazz were at the park. They came to meet us immediately as we left the stage. He finally met Emma and jazz at the park. I wish the conditions were different though.
“Are these the friends of the deceased? There are so many people. I guess he was so famous” She pointed at the group of people on the stage.
“Yes, he was,” I replied. “And that's my friend Andre from the party. He is close friends with the deceased”
“Yeah, I saw him on the stage earlier. So yeah, I picked up that he was close to the Mavin character. hope he is doing alright?” she looked toward Andre who was standing still lost in his thoughts.
“We were both there at the last moments of his friend. The last time he saw his friend was at the party”. I told her.
It's so sad how someone is with us now then some minutes or hours later they can be gone and just not be with you again.
“life is so freckled I wish him peace in the next life or wherever he is,” she said.
“Yes, I do too. It's so sad because he was a young man. I'm sure his family had so many aspirations for him now that's all gone in the second, just because of some wrong decisions”
“Yes, I applaud your friend Andre for being able to speak in this painful situation. I wouldn't even have the strength to say a word” Emma said holding my hand and her fingers slipped into my fingers.
Andre, overhearing what Emma said, came closer to Emma and said
“Marvin was my best friend. Marvin and I loved to play rugby together. We came from the same high school. And we were always in the middle of trouble together. He was my best wingman. I was always jealous of the way things were so easy for him. He knew how to get things done. He was the most motivated person I've ever met”.
“Marvin, we hope you find a better place and you are smiling down on us”. Those were the last words given to the crowd by the captain of the team.

I remember the last funeral service I attended was the funeral of my grandmother. I remember every scene and moment of it. It was in the afternoon. I could still remember the church we did the funeral service in. I met a lot of family members that I had not seen in a long while. I saw people crying. That was the first time I saw my dad cry. It was so hard for me to process. My dad and his brothers to be precise were in tears. I do remember I was so young, this was my first year in high school. I couldn't still understand The pain everyone was going through. I even laughed when my uncle was crying. I guess I was trying too hard to suppress my feeling of grief. I did not understand the feeling of losing someone. losing to life someone so dear to you. But I later understood about a month. I started to cry remembering every moment we had with my grandmother. A big party was held in remembrance of grandma. The time she spent on earth. She was very lovable. She protected me anytime I got in trouble with my parents. Although my mother didn't get along with her much. She still celebrated with everyone and understood how it felt to lose someone important to you. Although there was a lot of crying at the cemetery, later on, we continued celebrating her life on earth. It gave a good contrast and brought smiles back into the family, reminding them of every moment, good and bad. touch the heart of the whole family and friends.

When the memorial service was over. Emma and I and jazz went to meet Andre to comfort him for the last time. He went to meet his teammates earlier. “my condolences. I know you don't know me but I'm a friend of James'.
I wish you well in this time of pain. I'm sorry for your loss” Emma stretched a hand out for a shake. “thank you much appreciated James has been talking about you. He's always talking about you when he gets back from classes.
He seems like he's really into you though, so I know, yes! He's a nice dude.” Andre said, smiling while he shook Emma's hands. “Happy to have met him”
she said it with a smile on her face.
Emma slept in my room, on my bed as we were waiting to be there for Andre to return. “I wanted if you needed anything Emma '' I had a lot of people to take care of that night.
We bonded and tried to bring some laughter to Andre. That was the least we could do to show our sympathy. Tell us stories about you and Marvin. “ok, I would like to tell you a few things about Marvin and me.
We were like two peas in a pod. We went to sports practice together. We graduated from high school together. We even planned to go to the same college together. we would have been roommates but as you can see faith did not have it. We almost never went anywhere without each other.