Spike walks out into the streets, sober for once, with something rough on his mind and a full fresh pack of cigarettes in his hand.

It was a Friday morning just like this almost exactly a year ago. Most of us remember the news with severe and daunting pain. Someone in this world of ours disappeared. Even though that was generations ago, even our ancestors still bear his name somewhere on persons in remembrance.

I’ll leave his name out of it because it would cause me too much pain to say. There are a lot of things I could talk about regarding him that have run through my head for what it seems like an eternity already.

The purpose of this speech is simply for us to remind ourselves of how soon life can be cut from us. At any moment, we can die. However, almost more importantly, at any moment, someone close to us can also pass on, happenchance.

I know regarding the person that influenced this speech always was kind, at least to me, and I was always kind in return. He had a lot of friends on here, and those that miss him now shouldn’t have any regrets. The wound, though, is still there. The wanting to talk to him is still there, the jokes, the stories…

I will be going through this weekend with a heavy heart, as many of you also will be. I expect us, the ones that remember, to gather together at some point, and speak in his memory somewhere. It should not be in mourning; it should be in remembrance of the great person he was… a celebration of what was… not what was lost.

As for those who know nothing of what I’m talking about, what you should take from this is that, we need to hold those close to us, closer. We need to remember our community, and we need to be more kind to one another on an everyday basis because someday that person you might’ve picked on, even just for a short period, might be gone. I’m sure that would make it hurt just a bit more. Even if there was no ill will between the two of you, it’s better to be without regret. It’s better to make those around us happy while they’re with us.

Spike walks off wondering how that person (and others) would make fun of him for this speech, but knows that there is some truth in it somewhere. He also knows that that person is resting in peace now, even though he was taken too early.

While I did not know the individual who inspired this speech personally, I do know who you're referring to Spike and I think it's wonderful that you made this gesture so that he is remembered again. It was a loss to the community as a whole, and we're all part of that community and so this applies to everyone.

Every word you've said is entirely true and I hope that everyone takes something from it; I know that I will.

Mr Spike, 

Thank you.  He was very special to those of us knew him, and he is dearly missed.  This is a hard time of the year, for that very reason.  But know that he's smiling down on us right now.  Or making fun of us.  Either way, he's smiling. :) 

Livia leans against the streetlamp, listening to Spike's speech and others that have interjected thus far. She twirls a flower around in her hands as she remembers many of the journal entries from her ancestors journals that include many stories of the man that was being spoken of. While her heart was heavy with the approaching days, but the memories also brought happiness for the fact that she had even had the immense pleasure and honor of knowing him and calling him friend.

Oh, he is definitely smiling. Especially knowing all the attention that is being focused on him. Oh how he loved attention. I'm standing here trying to think of what I miss the most and really I cannot even say there is one thing that I miss most. I miss it all. I even miss arguing with him. Thank you Spike for taking the time to remind us not only of a great man that many people care for, but just how precious our time really is. I know sometimes we tend to get wrapped up in things and think "oh they know how I feel about them, I don't have to tell them," or "oh I'll text/call/email/chat with them tomorrow," but sometimes tomorrow doesn't come. So don't take those that you care for for granted. Live for every moment. 

Livia's voice caught on the last line. Her eyes dropped down to the flower in her hand. She closed her eyes and brought the flower slowly to her face, inhaling it's beautiful, deep, rich scent. A small smile came to her lips as her eyes opened. She looked up at the bright blue sky and blew a kiss before she walked away.

Don't take me for an asshole when I say this but I cannot believe it's been already a year. Losing a friend is hard at the worst times and losing someone like him really turns your stomach. I remember his line on the game years ago that would always make a name for himself. He was one of the guys who I never bitched about when he got his own crew because I knew he could run it well. 

I want to echo what Spike has said though about keeping those you love dear close to you because you never know what might happen tomorrow.

Mikehunt removes a flask from his jacket and takes a swig.

To you my friend.

She overhears the words of Spike and sighs heavily. She'd being trying her hardest to avoid the reality of things, but could no longer just push it away. 

A year ago my heart was broken. Someone very dear to me was taken far too soon. His words managed to brighten my day or darken my nights. He was there for me whenever I needed, even when we were at each other's throats in this world. No matter what, he was there for me in every other world. Many nights we spent talking, plotting, shooting shit.. Listening to music, watching moving pictures.. Finding random books on the library shelf to get a quick laugh out of.. I'm not going to say that this person was perfect, but he knew that. He knew he was human like the rest of us. 

Many didn't like him. I can see why. He had an ego, he wasn't afraid to be himself, he said what the thought, and he didn't try to sugarcoat stuff. These are things I admired about him. Sure, he talked shit about others.. We all do, well most of us do/have/will. We're human. He embraced the humanity in everyone he interacted with.

He did many things to help this thing of ours that we hold so close to our hearts. He helped those fresh off the boat, he did his best to help out at City Hall, and he helped the oldtimers through bouts of senility as well. 

All and all, we lost a wonderful person. Like him, love him, hate him, don't know him.. His heart touched this world we love and he will always be a part of it.

She wipes a tear and tries that smile again.. managing a grin at a fond memory.. She turns and walks away in search of a warm cup of coffee and a bacon something or other.

Well, I guess the intoxication has finally hit... 

Marco... (Yes, I know I'm saying his name)... He was never at fault with anyone really. He always aimed to please, and please he did to many. As stated, he loved attention, but this wasn't a negative characteristic for him. He gave  a lot of effort to each and every person he touched, and I know he actually cared in many ways. He was not an archetypal attention whore. People really just gravitated to him on their own. Though he also approached people too, but not really wanting anything in return exactly. 

It's hard to find an individual like that... I can't think of another like him, and I don't see a replacement coming along any time soon either. 

However, I learned a lot from him, probably moreso in his passing that during his life. A retrospect view on the things that he said and did kinda fill in a few puzzle pieces of his character. That character was of a very sweet young man, and I say that honestly. He wasn't much younger than I am... Only a few months. He had a lot of ambitions too, which is what could make us sad. However, sometimes life is cut short, and maybe it's not quantity but rather quality. Within the period that he was alive, I hope that he did experience enough, more than enough. From the stories he told me, it would seem he did experience a lot for his age, and that's not just limited to "guy talk." 

It's hard to let go of his memory, and we shouldn't. I guess a better point I should've made in my first post regarding treatment of others... was that well... Marco wasn't really the type to make an enemy because in a lot of ways, it was always a cynical joke to him, his statements. I'd seen him angry sometimes, but there was an odd calm even behind heated words. I even remember having to reassure him once when he was self conscious. However, he was smooth, and we can only hope that perhaps he is watching over us... or if you don't believe in that... perhaps he left some of himself within us, a piece of his character. The latter is what I feel most, and at this point, I'm not so wounded. I know there was opportunity. I know I was supposed to see him on the outside not so soon after he died. I know what I lost as a friend. But time has a funny way of taking people and there's nothing humanly possible to fix that.

I've found in my life so far, and many of you know I'm still young, at least comparatively to some of the other crowd, that it's those really beautiful things that slip away. However, every little bit you might be able to grasp, I hope brings a person that much closer to finding greatness. It's all about learning to understand it's nature.

Marco was a great kid (I use that term as generally that's what I refer to my peers as) and I know he would've been a great man. However, there's something about him being remembered in almost innocence, though he wasn't innocent, that is almost comforting. Maybe he was spared a lot of the struggle, and went out on a high.

The coherency of this is probably all scattered, and I'm probably being a bit too dramatic, but it's best to vent these emotions, as some of you have already. Even in they're meaningless, they'll help with the grief that we still do feel. After a year, it's progress from the pain, in the healing, and hopefully his memory seems a bit happier to us in the long run, despite how fresh it still might feel at times. 

<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)">One solution that was used earlier on was immature joking about him. The truth is that really did help in the early stages of the grief, but it was not sound solution, and those that witnessed it from the outside would see it as disrespectful. I </font>apologize<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)"> if anyone was offended by any of that. However, this time around, we refrained. The jokes were mainly in bad taste, but behind them really there was a genuine hope, a supernatural hope, and I suppose that can be rooted in the simple story of Frankenstein's monster: To reanimate a corpse.</font>

<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)">This is an idea that a lot of people who have lost someone have found themselves contemplating. We just really wanted him back so badly. I remember a close friend of his and I... and Midol were talking, as we sat waiting for him late at night. We knew he wasn't coming, but built small paper boats for him for his journey to us to place out on the water.</font> I think with the reality behind the reasoning of the folklore, perhaps it might be a bit easier to swallow them moving forward should you ever come across a tale, but I think they're fairly muted these days. We all had to grieve somehow, but I think this is a new stage, acceptance, at least for me.  

So, as the anniversary has passed, I hope we all remember him as he was, an all around great person doesn't do it justice, but I'm at a loss for words to build him up properly. Maybe we can each strive a bit to follow in his footsteps in his own interactions with people, and maybe that'll help us heal.