Sr

The hardest part of hello is saying goodbye. Especially when you are bidding farewell to every single one you love.

Last year she was okay. A few months ago, we were informed that her ailment had recurred. She needed to undergo the same series of nightmarish treatments. Yesterday, she requested to be transferred to a hospice. The journey is finishing.

We planned to visit her on Saturday upon knowing how grave the situation is. But I guess time is what she's running out of. Among all the things she's running out of, time has the heaviest weight. And every tick of the clock is a miracle.

So the visit was plotted today. We travelled almost two hours to reach there. They said the hospice is the dead end; people go in, they don't go out. We took the lift, I felt desolation. We knocked on her door, I was surprised by what greeted us. She was there on her bed, emaciated, pallid, looking very fragile. She aged. We said hi, feigning the excitement in our voice. Though she could hear us, she did not respond much. She didn't talk. In the middle of our prayer, she let go some tears. The situation was unbearable.

I am certain that if there is any way she could buy time, she would give up everything, every single tangible and intangible, material and immaterial, possessions, gifts, or intelligence she has, for a little more extension. And God has greater plans. He has greater, unfathomable plans, where bidding for a moment may not be considerable. Or maybe it is. This is all a big blueprint, and our doings are the thumb mark of our identity.

There was not much to speak about. In the middle of the prayer, I cried. I cried when my other friend, while saying the third mystery of the Rosary, stood up and held her hand. I cried when I remembered the golden shoes she gave me. I did not have the opportunity to wear them in front of her. I'm wishing for that chance to come. When we bid goodbye, I told her we'll see her again. In God's most complex plans, showering miracles are His greatest slip-of-the-tongue. I'm praying to see her again, in her best physique. She used to wear the nicest clothes, I was told. I wish to see her in them. I know her for around two years, I'm hoping to get to know her more. God grants the sincerest wishes, in His own way. In His own time. In His own judgement. And when everything fails, the words of God will prevail. It will never fade. Even if our body does.