Sometimes you come to the uncomfortable realization that things - and people - are not who they seem to be.

You can know someone for years, think you know them really well, and suddenly they turn out to be someone completely different.

A week ago I learned that an old friend of mine - whom I had a lot in common with - murdered another friend in cold blood. And not only that, but he killed an innocent bystander as well, and severely injured a third. The news came as a complete shock and I couldn't believe my eyes. This was someone I knew well, someone I was going to meet up with for drinks and good times as soon as the travel restrictions eased up. To learn that that person could commit such an atrocity was mindboggling.

The questions spun around my head of course. Why, why, why. What on earth could make the sweet guy I knew do something so utterly heinous. But no matter how much I ransacked my brain or talked to others I just couldn't find an explanation, because there was none. Not to excuse the deed, but just to try and understand why. What went through his head? But nothing made sense. The first day I heard the news I was just shocked, my mind scattered all over the place. The second day when it started to sink in what had actually happened, I felt sick to my stomach and cried.

My thoughts and condolences goes to the friends and families of those who suffered losses. I hope that they can find peace; and a sense of justice as he is now in custody awaiting trial. To lose someone like that - to a madman - must be terrible. They must also have been trying to understand why someone they loved was taken away from them without a single reason. No one should ever have to go through that.

Tonight, I light a candle.

---

This was a YCH from  dr_artiel that I've been saving for a while, not sure what to use it for as I always want to have a deeper meaning with my uploads. And well... it sure came to fit now, as sad as that is :/