Missing Link

Today would have been his twenty-first birthday. He died fourteen days ago. Enthusiastic, yet diabetic, he could make almost anyone laugh. He liked Chinese food and Camel cigarettes. His name is Matt. I didn't know him that well, but I wish I would have. He's now in that place after this place, hopefully a better one. He made me realize that life has no guarantees, there is not always tomorrow, and you never know when you'll see someone for the last time. 

Amy knew him so much better than I. Amy has been my friend for about seven years, on and off, but a stable and reliable, honest friend. Amy and Matt have been close friends for longer than eight years. I've never lost a close friend, so I have no idea what she is going through. But as her friend I'm here for her. Sometimes words can't heal, but time, tv shows, music and casual statements that show we care, can.

We're going out tonight, to have a drink in his remembrance. He would have wanted us to have fun and celebrate, rather than mourn his passing. So, here's to you Matt, we love you and miss you. Corona's and Wild Turkey were his favorite.

Not all the details about his death are clear. We know drugs were involved. They found him five hundred feet from a house he'd been staying at with his lover, Russell. There had been a fight and there were a few other people involved. Matt walked out barefoot at night in the snow and died. Bruises were on his body, which wasn't found until the next morning. It snowed that night more than it had the whole month before. He was in the wrong place with the wrong people at a bad time.

But that doesn't mean that Matt is a bad person. He wasn't. He loved life, and he will be missed and remembered by everyone who's life he touched. The choices he made weren't the best, but cause and effect took their toll and left us all with unanswered questions and a missing link in a close circle of friends.