Translucent

please don't leave.

You were one of those few, special people who didn't just achieve, but conquered goals, just because you reached when others wouldn't. That was the boy I fell in love with.

I fell in love with how you didn't let anything or anyone talk you out of doing what you believed in. You pushed unrelentlessly, sometimes even too far. You were everything I wasn't.

You had so much strength, so much passion. Your love for life drove you, and that's what made you the lighthouse in the sea of crowd. You only cried when others were hurting, and you laughed with ease. While others let failure beat them down, you stood up. Dusting yourself off, you lifted all those around you, speaking encouragements when you were the one who needed it most.

The people who always sat by themselves, the ones who had no partners for projects, the ones who were picked last, you put your reputation on the line just to let them feel accepted. You were fragile, courageous, full of life itself. You were what everyone needed.

You were everything I needed.

When you said something, people listened. Your eyes glittered, full of excitement whenever you spoke.

But now those same eyes were dull. gray.

The news that you had cancer hit everyone hard.

The very meaning of life was dying.

When I finally built up enough courage to go visit you, I found you in a hospital gown arguing with the nurse, saying that you could walk by yourself. Your hair was in clumps. I choked back tears as I held the wall for support. I felt my knees buckle underneath me until I felt a hand on my shoulder, steadying me. I looked to see your face looking at me smiling that pained smile. The one I came to hold was holding me.

You help me down to sit on the cold, linoleum floor, then sat down in front of me. This time I couldn't hold it back. I burst out in tears. Here you were cradling a stranger, while you yourself were tired and hurt.

Even if you were being condemned by all the voices around you, you still put up a fight. You fought for your future. You fought to live again. You fought to survive. And still, you kept fading.

You were one of the strongest people I knew, the least deserving of all of this. I wished I could help somehow. I wished that I could take your place. You mattered.

I would never see you smile again. I would never get to see you cry.

The funeral was large, all the people you touched. I saw people cry and knew that you wouldn't have wanted this. You would've wanted people to celebrate your life. There, I knew that I would forever try to carry on your legacy.

Do you see me now? I'll do my best to do what you did. And I know that you'll always be there with me.