The Silence You Left Behind

Then suddenly, your whole world comes to a standstill.

When someone you love passes away, there’s nothing you can really do — except come together with friends and family and try to make sense of the loss. Try to give it a place.

Normal days get interrupted by sudden crying spells, unexpected flashbacks, and moments where memories come rushing back like waves crashing over everything else.

From the time we smashed a baseball through Mr. François’s window back in primary school, to the countless vacations, parties, and wild nights we shared as brothers.

“It’s all not that important anymore, is it?”I told Eric when I saw him again after all these years. Even though I’m now a head taller than him, in that moment I felt as small as a kid again —just like the first day I walked into his class. The same class he was.

In recent years, Jasper and I hadn’t spoken that much. Life took us in different directions. But I’m deeply grateful we had the chance to reconcile. I always believed that, in time, we’d naturally grow closer again.That we’d find our rhythm. But that time… is gone now.

I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I won’t hear your voice again when I pass through Belgium.There are so many places filled with memories of you —a random street fight near the night shop, a campfire under an old railway bridge.

Your wild, creative, chaotic brain brought me into situations I never would’ve ended up in on my own —and honestly, most of the time I didn’t even want to be there.

But looking back, they turned into some amazing stories.

Raw, real stories from a raw, real man.

I’ll be honest — you could seriously get under my skin from time to time. But you also had a heart like no other. One couldn’t exist without the other.

You were a connector. You brought people together.

You touched hearts everywhere you went.

You were there when I needed you the most —as an anchor, a guide, and a true friend during the darkest periods of my psychosis.

I will honour you by continuing to live the life you always wished for me.

Losing someone like you reminds me — once again — what truly matters. It’s not the differences we create in our minds. Not the judgments .Not the masks. But the ways we connect with each other from the heart.

I wish I hadn’t taken our friendship so for granted. Because now, the only thing that speaks…is the silence.The emptiness you left behind in all the hearts you touched.

You will always have a place in mine, dear Jasper.

I wish you a safe journey. Until we meet again.