Ephemeral

"But what does that mean - 'ephemeral'?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once had asked it. 
"It means,'which is in danger of speedy disappearance.'" 
"Is my flower in danger of speedy disappearance?" "Certainly it is."
[Excerpt from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery]

---
DEATH. We all know what death means but unless you experience that life is too short, you began to worry. Recently, our city has faced a tragedy which killed about a thousand people and hundreds are still missing. It sent chills down my spine. People you have seen the other day gone...forever.  My friend is one of the victims of this tragedy and they were lucky that all of the family members were safe but then for the next few days his dad died. The night before the flash floods happened, we had our Christmas party with parents. We enjoyed ourselves and I remember his dad participated in a game and they won. That was the last time I saw him and I can't believe the next time I see him, he's inside the coffin. His dad died because of viral infection and I think it's the virus you get from rats' waste which is known as leptospirosis.  I feel sad for my friend, he's an only child and we are graduating this coming March, his dad must have wanted to see his son go on stage. Now, there's only him and his mom left. As I think about it, life is really short. (His dad was only 50 years old). With this, I can compare life with Pandora's box. It's full of not-so-great-things but in the end there's still hope. I know that this will make him a stronger person. Pain is not so bad at all because once you've been through it, you will know how to handle the rest.

Life is short, they say. This is a complete understatement. We read or see this often but do we really take it to the heart? As we look through the past, what have we accomplished so far? Sometimes, we need to look back in order to thank God for how much blessings he has given. Death is our life's final destination and before we reach there, we should have at least shared our love and time for others.