• October tenth, 2011. The day a young man faced an unjust and untimely death. Age 15, above five feet tall, had no history of medical issues, and considerably healthy. He had a great chance of living at least another fifty years, but this opportunity was ruined when he suddenly collapsed on the floor. With no warning, no sign, no way of knowing he would suffer from a devastating heart attack; his life was ultimately cut short. Fortunately, I was in his presence before his death, and I feel documenting his final actions will be my unofficial task. I am doing this because he was a dear friend.
    Before we begin, as the author, I will perform the basic courtesy of introducing myself. I am Jalmen Kiklem. As for the victim, he never felt comfortable revealing his identity. So I shall refer to him as Away. Let’s begin.
    Away is not exactly a social person. But I would be lying if I said he hates people. I assure you he doesn’t, and he has no problem interacting with people in conversation. The kind of social I’m referring to is what people call “hanging out.” Away never felt comfortable leaving his home. With that in mind, Away spent his Saturday staring at his computer screen. All day, slurping on heavily induced sugared coffee, watching pictures of his friends having a good time on a social networking website.
    “So much vanity…” He said in a melancholic expression.
    “But they do look like they’re having fun…”
    October ninth, 2011. Away woke up and hopped out of bed. His mother reminded him to get ready for church. As he sighs in vexation, he walks towards his restroom and prepares to leave. Roughly two hours later, he returned home from church. Something I never understood about Away is that although is he not a social person, I personally believe he longs for a more social life, but he shows little to no interest when he leaves his home. Church is probably the only place he goes to outside other than school, and he goes because his parents do not give him a choice. Maybe he really doesn’t want a social life. But enough of that, he spent the rest of his Sunday doing exactly what he did yesterday: Staring at his computer screen.
    “…”
    October tenth, 2011. Away is woken up by his mother early in the morning for school. He hops out of bed and commences his morning routine. As he slips on a white polo and white long sleeve under shirt and black jeans, he puts on his back-pack and is ready to go.
    “Hey mom. If you had 48 hours left to live, what would you do?” He said curiously in Spanish.
    “To be around the people I love” She said clearly in Spanish, and continues to drive.
    Away has arrived to school. Forty seconds left. He walked to the designated area for 8th graders. Twenty seconds left. I approached him, tapped him on the shoulder, and I welcomed him.
    Three… Two… One…