I’ve been through some hard times in my life. But, I  think this might be one of the worst things I’ve lived through. Losing a loved one is never easy. Especially when you’re least expecting it.

It was Halloween. That day I was planning on going out to a special lunch, and later I would have gone to hang out with one of my friends. But there was a change of plans. I was already awake, just laying in bed doing nothing, when my mom came into my room to break the news. My cousin had died the night before.

I didn’t know how to react. I had the whole day planned out, but that had gone to waste. It turns out he had gotten shot and murdered. I was heartbroken. Next thing you know I was getting ready to go to Wichita where my aunt was. I was still kind of processing what had happened. I had seen him just a couple days earlier and now he was dead? This was probably, if not already, one of the worst days of my life. 

When we got to my aunt’s house it was so gloomy and depressing. It was dark and the adults were all in the kitchen discussing what had happened. A couple days later we had a funeral for close family; so just my mom and all of her siblings along with my other cousins. Later was his actual funeral. The funeral was packed with people who loved and cared for him. I wish he could have seen how many people loved him.

His 1 year anniversary is coming up. I don’t really know what to think about it. I’m not sure if we’re doing anything for it but I do know it won’t be a happy day for me and my family. Please remember to remind the people close to you that you love and care for them. You never know when your last goodbye will be.