He was my home boy. A young man whom was hard not to take notice of, he was what many call “light of the room”. No one could be in his presence and not feel the warmth which accompanied his words, not forgetting the smile that complemented his personality. I am talking of a rare breed. The man who never intentionally displayed his dissatisfaction of anything for anyone to see, unless such action was directed to others, he was everyone’s public relations officer.
I remember just few days ago. He was the talk of the town. They branded him “the next best thing to ever grace the industry”. Little did both of us, him and I, know that this breakthrough would be his demise. I am sure that he would have let it go instantly, should he have known that it will be the end of him. Such a rare breed. The world is robbed of its treasure. Not long ago, we discussed how we would bring up our families. His was supposed to be in a farm not far from the village. Every time the harvest comes, he will take some of his produce to the needy of the village. This was a man who never thought of letting the “blood ebb out of the village”, his imagined life had to engulf the village in its centre.
The industry did not appear to have realized or noticed his absence. I guess it is true when they say, “life goes on” no matter what. This is the same industry that cheered for him; to certain extend even contributed in him taking up the challenge. He was happy with his village life. He was hunted high and low by the representatives of the industry. I remember, he once told me that he was only taking up the challenge just because the representatives were convinced that he can be their martyr. His whole life was about to make other people better. He would take up whatever challenge put forth, as long as such challenge would bring smile on someone’s face. But the industry cannot even honour his absence.
I lost my brother, my friend, and probably an uncle to my kid and those who will be born later on. His family, I cannot even begin to comprehend the sadness which has engulfed them. To them, he was a bread winner, the heart and soul of their family. The only remnants of him that lingers in the industry are, “we wish we had known that he was soft. We had invested so much in him and now we lost our fortune”.
But to me, he will always be my imaginary friend. The fiction with which I aim to make a living, THE DEMISE OF THE NEXT BIG THING. TO BE CONTINUED!
