I guess we are coming to terms, but only just beginning to. Only just starting to realise a world without your kind soul, your honest opinion. Without you.

And you didn't wait, did you? The council and Hwa Chong songs that we wanted to sing for you will now fall only on non-existent ears. The flowers and fruit baskets that we wanted to bring now lie in a corner, withering, shrivelling. The pact between you and I, that we would be one of the best men for each other's weddings, still stands, but now may only occur in spirit and not in flesh. Not that we mind really - we do know you left suffering behind and entered the hallowed walkways of a greater and better place.

But we shall miss you.

Long after these days have passed, we shall reminisce and recall the beautiful person whom you were, speak fondly of your glory days as Mid-Autumn Festival committee chair, and tell our children about what a friend you were, indeed, what a friend. And we shall miss you all over again. Yet I know you would never want us to mourn and grieve for you. The optimistic streak in you surely would tell us that this is only another part of the journey, and that those in life should celebrate what exists around them, and that even in passing, there is continuity.

So my dear brother, we promise that we shall not mourn for long. We shall forge ahead as best as we can, and I know this is what you would have wanted us to be doing. Godspeed, D., as you move along in your journey's continuum. You shall never be far from our minds.