TAWOMG - May You Rest in Peace, Dear Friend

Dear Friends,

1996 was a great period of my life. At that time I lived in Cologne and during summer many students from different countries came to town to do their "Praktika" organised by AIESEC. That was an unrepeatable group of people. Together we did lots of things, and had a lot of fun. Those people were nice people, and it was a privilege to get to know them.

* * * * *

One of them was Kirsi, from Finland. She was an extremely nice person, easy going, positive thinking, optimist, very clever and mature. It was an endless joy to be with her. For us, the permanent residents (people that I call "the Cologne friends", although most don't live there any more), she made a big difference. At her farewell party I said that it was amazing how life could put such a great group together. Then she replied: "Maurício, nice people meet nice people".

* * * * *

I never met Kirsi again. I hope she is doing well and making her dreams come true, be it in Finland or anywhere else in the planet. And I'm sure she has lots of nice people around her, because she is definitely a special person. I also know that, should we meet again, it would be a great happiness. True friendship has this wonderful side: it is generous and it is for lifetime. It doesn't matter how long two friends have no contact, when they meet again it is just like the time before. All the goodwill and love is still there, intact.

* * * * *

I remembered Kirsi and the summer of 1996 in Cologne yesterday, when suddenly I was brought back to another happy summer, this time in 1989 in Uppsala, Sweden. That was the first time that I went there. I attended a summer course in Swedish. At that time life also put lots of nice people together. Some of those are among my best friends. They belong to the best part of my life and we are still in touch. Every now and then we meet, even though we live in different countries. Others were very good companions, but we never met again. In most cases, we lost contact.

* * * * *

One of these persons was Carmi, a classmate from Edmonton, Alberta. We were about the same age, shared the same passion for Scandinavia, and already at that time both of us wanted to become writers. He wanted to write books for children and move to Japan. I wanted to write books for adults and move to Europe. Together we travelled to Finland and Denmark. He became a truly good friend.

* * * * *

When the summer was over we both went back to our countries. However, for some years we kept in touch. We sent each other books and wrote letters. It may sound surprising but yes, during last century people used to write letters... About the same time when I moved to Portugal he moved to South Korea. I remember getting some letters from him in Portugal, but when I moved to Spain the following year there were no more news.

* * * * *

In recent years many times I googled his name, trying to find out his whereabouts. I expected to discover the titles of the children books that he had written. I wanted to call him, send him e-mails or visit him wherever he might be. Gun from Sweden also met him in 1989 and some times we wondered what he could be up to.

* * * * *

Last year, when I stayed in Stockholm to write my novel, I often thought of him. We had been together in Stockholm some times. We particularly liked a café at Kungsträdgården. When I finished the novel, I decided to write a letter to his old address in Canada, hoping that somehow it would come to his hands. I wanted to tell him that I had written a novel and spent a summer in Sweden. I knew he would be glad for me and happy to hear from me. I bought a very nice card with Stockholm's skyline. I decided to send it from Brazil, but unfortunately never did.

* * * * *

Yesterday night I remembered one Swedish song and then thought of Carmi. I decided to google his name again. For the first time there was some result. Sadly enough, it was his mother's obituary. She passed away in December last year. I was shocked when I read that: "she was predeceased by her son Carmi". I couldn't believe my eyes. I was deeply sad and couldn't understand how such a tragedy could have happened. Since I tried to get in touch with his family in Canada, but so far without success.

* * * * *

Carmi was a very good friend, a person that made a big difference in my life. Above all, he was a very good human being. I always thought that one day, sooner or later, we would be in touch again. When I remembered him I asked myself where in the world he could be and what he would be up to. I always wished him all the best. I never considered the possibility that he might not be around any longer.

* * * * *

Dear Carmi, I don't know what happened. Maybe you left us a long time ago. Maybe it is only for me that this loss is so recent and difficult to understand. Be sure of one thing though: anyone who had the luck to know you will deeply miss you. For me it is difficult to come to terms with the idea that I will never see you again, at least not as Carmi C. Wherever you might be in your journey through the universe, I wish you bon voyage, dear friend. You are in my thoughts and in my own, non-religious form of pray. How sad that this turned out to be such a short incarnation! Wherever you are, may you rest in peace. Be sure that for decades you will continue to live in the memories of those that loved you. Och vi ses i Nangijala!

Maurício