How does the world look like without our beloved diado in it? How can you ever overcome the guilty feeling that you have not made enough, showed enough that you care, or called or visited enough, when you are told for sure how he has asked for you to the last day?

My grandpa left this world on Friday. On his last day, he made his customary 1,5-hour walk, both in the morning and in the afternoon; he went to dinner, asking for a glass of this year's not-even-fully-fermented red wine; at 10 p.m. he called granny for a glass of compot, and asked for a chokolate sweet. Then, at around 2 a.m. went to the bathroom, completed his toilet, and when it took too long for him to come back, grandma called my uncle. He found him in the bathroom, and diado told him "I have no strength to go back to bed". He complained about feeling some heaviness in the stomach, cold perspiration covered him, while uncle almost carried him to bed. He tried to measure his blood pressure, and could not hear the pulse. Then he called for the ambulance. Uncle says he heard him whisper "Son, I'm leaving now". Uncle ran downstairs to wait for the albulance. Grandpa's head fell to one side, and he was gone... In less than 10 minutes. His last companion was granny, the woman he had spent 62 years together, and courted for 5 years before that.

He looked so calm, as if fallen asleep. He left this world without pain, without a single grain of pain... Without suffering or regrets. Thinking about us, his grandchildren. Only his right eye was slightly open, and it fully closed after the last of his grandchildren lay flowers at his deathbed...

On the day of the funeral, after 24 hours of rain, the sun broke the clouded veil exactly at 11 in the morning. The hour of diado's usual morning walk. The sun accompanied him during his last walk on this earth.

The day before he died, he was listening to the weather forecast. The news anchor was explaing that the winter is coming, and permanent negative tempreratures are settling in. Diado shared with granny "How will I ever live without my daily walks. I can't bear the thought of being tied to bed all winter". So he went, on the first rainy day of autumn, as if afraid of having to stay home, hidden from the cold. The only thought that terrified him was of falling sick in bed, and being a buden to his family. He told us, that he would live until he walked. So he walked, until 10 minutes before he left us forever.
The really amazing thing was, that for two days, tens of his friends, relatives and neighbors were coming to say goodbay to diado, and all of them came smiling, and telling funny stories about him. He had the most amazing sense of humor, and was the most positive person we all knew. Even gathered around his dead body, we would remember stories, and burst into laughter, and for sheer seconds, it would look as if he was also smiling, and sharing these moments with us.
For him, the greatest joy in the world was when the whole family gathered together at holidays. So I am pretty sure, he was so happy to have us all there, loughing, tasting his new wine, remembering all the unforgettable moments together. Aven after that, he succeeded in bringing us together, and making us laugh... with him.

I hope that while his soul is still with us, he will come to me at night, and listen to me when I whisper to him that I lvoe him, that I miss him, that he has given me so much, and that all my life I have been immensely proud of him. I have his letter in my name. So he will stay with me forever.

Rest in peace, dear, diado. We all love you so much!!!