Introduction
These people are all dead, and I am left alone. The last of us died 7 years ago. 7 years... the same amount of time I actually spent with them all, it all felt like so much longer.
It's my duty to them to share these stories. Some are happy; when we ignored the darkness of the world to achieve some semblance of peace and joy together. But it never lasted long, nothing lasted long.
Some of the greatest days of my life were with those people, and now I'm the last one alive at forty five years old. What a tragedy, huh?
Life ends quickly. And we, as humans, use each other for personal gain. We kill and run and steal to further our own life while promptly ending or ruining others.
I don't believe life has any meaning to it. We love, we live, then we die. And although we mean absolutely nothing, that doesn't mean we shouldn't care about others or try to enjoy life.
My friend once said to me, "I've wanted to die since I was four years old. And maybe that means I'm a little messed up, but I like to think it means that I've managed to keep living for this long despite everything. And every year I stay alive, something new and great happens and that is what's worth living for. Those small moments of joy. And if I had died when I wanted to, I would have missed it. Sometimes, most of the time, life is crap and everything seems pointless. But there's always something around the corner that will make it all worth it. And I'd rather suffer life than ever miss one of those moments."
He's dead now. But his life was full of hundreds of small and some not so small moments that made his life worth living. And maybe this book is my biggest moment, my biggest reason as to why I'm still here.
Because, readers, every single one of my friends are now dead. And I'm the only one left. So maybe I'm meant to tell their stories. Maybe it'll change the life of at least one person reading this. And that would be enough.
Before I start, I want you to interact with this story. And if you can't do so, I suggest putting the book down and perhaps giving it to someone else. Because this book is to mourn my friends, my friends that are overshadowed and forgotten about by so many. They sacrificed everything only to be ignored. So I will ask you to mourn with me, to talk about these people with the people in your own life, and to believe every word I say. Because sometimes it won't seem real. But I promise you that every word I write is.
This book isn't about life, or trying to find happiness, or moving on after someone you loved has died. This is simply about my friends. About my childhood with them. And about their sacrifice.
I hope this book can teach you something about yourself or help you in any way. And if not, at least my friends will not be forgotten.
Because to be forgotten, is to be truly dead.