The quiet room had blinds at the window and judiciously placed tissues. We sat on a peach sofa as the consultant told us Alex had bacterial meningitis; the next few days would be critical. Strangely, of all the terrible news delivered in the quiet room, it was this that had the biggest impact on me. I didn’t know then that the world moves on, that it’s possible to laugh again, love again, live again. I didn’t know that Alex’s death would teach me to seize the day, to smile more, to celebrate each fleeting moment.

Source: The Guardian July 20, 2019 15:00 UTC