Skip to main content

Farewell To A Friend I Have Never Met... And Will Never Meet

Dear Annie John Dismas,

I have never met you although our paths could have crossed some time some place.

But when I heard about you, I saw a friend I could have met some time in this temporal existence.  

Perhaps I could have taught your son or daughter.  He or she could have said something funny and I could have shared it with you when we met during PTA meetings.  Perhaps we might even have shared a cake during school events.  Or even some tears if your child was naughty.  But then perhaps I could have sat with you and we could have worked out a solution.

Perhaps you could have helped me if I were to spend some time in a hospital.  You could have given me an injection (which I so dislike!) and made me forget the pain.  You could have told me stories while we waited for my turn to undergo treatment.  Maybe we could even have played cards together.  But how do I know what games or stories you like if I have never met you?

Perhaps my son could have met your daughter and maybe we could be mother-in-law to each other's child.

But now all that potential and promise is gone.  Your killer didn't only take your life... he or she also took away so much from other people's lives.

I am so sorry, Annie John Dismas.  May your soul rest in peace.  I will be praying for you and all your unrealized dreams.

And now ... when your killer is found, his life, his family's hopes & dreams, his friends' innocence & faith.. and his unrealized dreams will be 'killed' too.

Comments

hobbit1964 said…
This is sheer poetry.
Especially as it is so heartbleedingly sincere.
10:01 am
RoslynCT said…
I have always grieved at a life wasted, at potential unrealised. For all one knows, perhaps she was meant to lead young people to a better world.. Perhaps she was meant to give birth to a future leader of Sabah.

She was a nurse. She should be saving lives every day. But now she never will.
10:33 am
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition 2009

Another great opportunity for our young people to show what they can do! The Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition has four different age bands, 'Classes'. Each Class offers five topics, plus the Commonwealth Question and the Charlton Athletic Community Trust Question. As we hope to reach a diverse student body across the Commonwealth, there are options for both academic and creative minds.  The Competition deadline is 1st March 2009   CLASS A - Born 1990-1992  1400-1750 words  All questions can be answered by writing an essay or a story which explores the topic in an interesting and relevant way.   Can I help you?  Bullying is an issue which concerns young people throughout the Commonwealth. Why does it matter and what can be done about it?   It is 200 years since Charles Darwin was born and 150 years since the publication of "On the origin of Species". In your view, what evolutionary developments are neede...
24 comments
Read more

Friends That Last The Mile

I have friends who have been with me from schooldays or campus days.... we've been through happy times, stressful moments... even anger and long silences. But when I think of them, I feel a warmth deep inside my heart for they have lasted the mile.  After all these years, they still want to be my friends :)  I told a friend once that when you put your trust in a friend, you are giving that person a knife, which he can choose to put away and never use.  Or stab you in the back.  But I didn't tell that friend that it is possible to survive stabs in the back and still remain friends with the other.  It takes time for the wound to stop bleeding and the heart to forgive, but it is possible. --------------------- There's X, who shared many adventures with me, even though there were points of friction between the two of us.  But I would like to think that deep inside, both of us see beyond those points of conflict.  I appreciate her for being willing to share many enterprises ...
8 comments
Read more

How Challenging Teaching In Sabah Can Be

As a teacher, I have had many memorable experiences but one of the most fascinating has got to be observing my colleagues from other states as they deal with their first days in Sabah. Born and bred in Sabah, I never really had much reason or opportunity to question what sort of image Sabah presented to the outside world (which includes other states in Malaysia) until I went to university in Kuala Lumpur.  And, of course, when I began working as a teacher. My first inkling of how 'scary' Sabah can be to outsiders came during my third year in university.  I had coursemates who quickly got married ... it was the first time I had ever heard of 'nikah gantung'.  Apparently, they could get married but it was a sort of 'marriage on hold' (if such a thing exists..).  What mattered was that they could get a marriage certificate that would help 'save' them from the jungles of Sabah and Sarawak.  Then, during the briefing I attended to receive my first posti...
7 comments
Read more