Even if he died, he will always be my bestfriend

Best friends? They are the very special people in your life. They are the first people you think about when you make plans. They are the first people you go to when you need someone to talk to. When you’re sad, they will try their hardest to cheer you up. They give the best hugs in the world! They are the shoulder to cry on, because you know that they truly care about you. In most cases they would take a bullet for you, coz it would be too painful to watch you get hurt. They are the one who have nothing to say but only good things at your back. They are always there to help you and would never ever leave you.

But, what if one day, you’ll know something about them that would make you fell down on your knees? Would you still manage to stand up, be strong, and continue in behalf of what you already knew? Would you still be happy if someone very close to you would leave you anytime soon and will never come back again?

Long ago, I had this close friend of mine which happened to be my cousin on my mother's side. His name is Jacob Gepiga. He's two years older than me. He was my very best friend since birth. We are opposite in many ways. He loves rock music and I love mellow love songs. He's into sports and I’m into academics. I love sweets while he loves sour and salty foods. But although we had a lot of differences, we still managed to be attached like magnets. We had a lot of unforgettable moments when we were still young. On our childhood years, we have done a lot of things together. We’ve played a lot of games, we’ve shared a lot of secrets, we’ve slept at the same bed, we’ve fought for nonsense things, and went to school together. We even ditched our classes together just to pick some guavas at the backyard of the campus. We were so close that no one could separate us from being together. We were so close that even all the people around us would always ask if we were born twins.

Jacob was a very great friend of mine. I am so thankful because God sent him to me to be my cousin, and at the same time, my best friend. He never fails to make me smile all the time. When I got into troubles, he would always come to help me. One time, i got bullied by my classmates when I was still in grade school. I was about to cry because I don’t have the guts to fight back. When I started to cry, I was surprised when he came out of the blue and stood right in front of me. He let me hide at his back and he managed to face all of them with great confidence. I was so proud of him that time because he faced them all without any fears written from his eyes. He was really a big brother for me and a knight in shining armor as well.

Each day, we were living life like only the both of us were happily playing together. We were enjoying it without thinking of any hindrances that would come on our way. But little did we know, we’ve met the most challenging part of our friendship. We already knew that he was suffering from asthma since then, but we’ve noticed that it was getting deeper. Day after day, he became weaker. Our family thought it was just a simple complication, but when another symptoms appeared from his body, all of us got alarmed. Until one day, I woke up feeling something griping on my hands. There I saw him lying right beside me, gasping for air. With just a blink of an eye, we immediately sent him to the hospital.

After several days of confinement to the hospital, he went home sitting on a wheelchair. I felt like my heart was shot with thousands of bullets. I really couldn’t imagine seeing him suffering in great pain. His lips were so pale, his eyes were full of sadness, and he couldn’t walk anymore because of his condition. That was when I knew his real condition. Mother told me he was suffering from a Rheumatic Heart Disease. I know, before, I was too young to understand the meaning of that certain disease. What I only knew was that, it was a serious illness. He suffered from it for almost one and a half year. In that 1 1/2 year, I never left from his side. I became more careful and supportive to him. Even if he was feeble, he still managed to play with me. Despite of his situation, he still managed to smile and laugh at me. I know, deep inside, he was fighting. Not only him, but all of us too. We did all our best just so he would continue to live. We sent him to the hospital. We followed the doctor’s prescriptions. We’ve bought antibiotics for his medications and treatment. We even planned for an operation as soon as possible, but we doubted that he might not be able to survive if he would undergo such operation because of his condition. So, because of the thought, we disregarded the plan. But as time goes by, he's getting weaker and weaker. It seems like her medicines didn’t work anymore. By that time, he started to feel like giving up. One time, I saw him writing on her notebook. When he was already asleep, I sneaked into his notebook and my tears fell after I read the content. It says, “God, can I rest already? I felt so tired. I can’t handle the situation anymore. Besides, I accepted the fact already, that I am going to die. So please God, can you do me a favor? If I die, will you take good care of them for me? Kindly make them feel that they were loved by me. Thank you God.” Yes, you read it right. He already felt that his day was about to come. He was heading close to it. He already knew that he would be gone soon. Until one day, his day has come and he was already gone.

It was already 7 years ago, when he bid goodbye to us. It was already 7 years ago, when I lost my best friend. He died on the age of 12. How difficult it is for me to imagine that I was sleeping with someone I loved who already passed away that time! And the most painful part was, it was my bestfriend. It hurts, I know. But I have to accept the fact that he was already gone. And now, I have already moved on. I already accepted the fact that my bestfriend was on God’s hands right now. He may be no longer living in this world, but he will always be in my heart. I may not see him anymore, but I know he's just there guiding and looking at me. We may be far apart, but our friendship would never last. Because as what we have promised before, “NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WE WILL STILL BE BESTFRIENDS, FOREVER AND ALWAYS!” :”>