The Unexpected Visitor
Sunday afternoon.
Back from 3 long but interesting hours at church. Brunch sealed and delivered to my stomach. Sunday siesta pending.
Ugh! Laundry to do! If I don’t do it that moment, it will be there till next week. Lord knows if it stays till next week, I’ll be discouraged and end up giving them to the drycleaner.
So I prepare my mind for laundry time and get my phone out to select a playlist. A notification appears at the top. Email alert with the title “Sad News”. What can this be, I wonder. And I proceed to open it.
Dear All, it reads, it is with great sorrow that I deliver to you today the heartbreaking news of untimely demise of our colleague and friend, George Teddy (not real name). George passed away on Saturday evening/late night.
Immediately I start searching my brain. George. George. George. I immediately send my friend, Susan (not real name), a message confirming who George is. Apparently she hasn’t seen the email yet. At that moment, I’m numb. “Wow” is all I can say. And laundry starts.
Monday morning.
I get to the office and meet people in a cluster, naturally. They are discussing what just happened. I quietly walk to my desk hoping not to be noticed. Lol. I wish. And I’m asked if I heard what happened and I sigh deeply and say “yes”.
About an hour later, we all gather for a brief session. More like to console each other. Grown men and women are crying and sniffing. At this point, I don’t know what to do. The thing is, I’m new. Barely 3 weeks with them. So I’m not sure if I have crying rights yet. If I cry, it may seem “too much”. If I don’t, it may seem “heartless”.
Unsure of how to express my genuine sadness, I keep mum and look around. Happy last memories with George are shared, light laughter here and there. And arrangements on how to pay last respects are made. Suddenly, I feel bad for not getting close to George while he was alive. And I make a decision not to be so oblivious again.
Life is short. Meet people. Be happy. Most importantly, LIVE!

