Today, I was invited by my daughter to accompany her to the columbarium where the ashes of her close friend are kept. It's the first time, in two years she's opened up to me about this. Then she said the complex was really nice and that I can walk around to take some photos while she "talks" to her friend. I felt so relieved that my kid is opening up to me about this topic after all this time.

Asian style hearse

I'm not sure why it took as long as it did for my kid to talk (without getting agitated) with me but it's probably my temperament. I find it such a tragedy when teenagers find themselves so distraught that they think the only solution is to take their own life. I can't help but to question everything, even though I know it's not my place. It's heart breaking and perplexing. I paid my respects to her friend and let my daughter have the time she needed. As I walked around, I found myself pondering "life" more than looking for a shot. Here are a few that I got:

This columbarium is within a complex that includes a monastery, a memorial hall, a crematorium, a funeral parlor and some temples of the Buddhist faith. The architecture is quite ornate and mimics ancient Asian architecture. I found the ambiance to be quite peaceful and calming as opposed to some of the places of this nature I've been to which were outright unnerving. Here are some detail shots:

Although I'm quite happy with some of the shots that I got this day, I'm more content with the quality time I got to spend with my child. I found myself "enlightened" in a way, after my self reflection session. I can't really explain it but there's this something that happened within myself.

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Thanks for viewing and best wishes,

Ray

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