In memoriam Achilles

Tot mijn grote verdriet moet ik je mededelen dat Achilles gestorven is aan nierfalen

Ik ben ontroostbaar Ik ben gebroken 💔💔

Dank voor het vertrouwen Ik hield heel veel van hem

 >>>>The Minstrel considered choices.

He wondered why the room he found himself in did not have a window to put a piano in front of.

He wondered why the Ghosts from his old room had followed him here.

He knew for a fact he had not given them his new address.

He wondered why Hounds still suffered.

He got up to grab a guitar and as he did, he saw the Hound sitting in front of him.

His first words were as confused as he was;

“I thought you were never coming back.

God, I sure Hope you aren’t another Ghost.”

The Hound stood, stretched, and then did the ‘whole body including ears’ shake.

She then replied;

“It’s good to see you too.”

He asked;

“Are you okay?

I mean, you aren’t another Ghost are you?”

She scratched her ear and answered;

“I’m fine, a little concerned about our friend Daphne but otherwise, most definitely not a Ghost.”

The Minstrel was relived, but, he too was a little concerned about Daphne.

He asked the Hound what had brought her back to visit him.

She was slow to answer;

“I came by to make sure you hadn’t forgotten to make good choices, hadn’t forgotten to use that human voice of yours to bark, to bark loud for SightHounds.

I also wanted to ask you what you had learned and discovered on your own.”

It was his turn to be slow with his answer, he tried scratching his ear to see if it helped, it didn’t;

“I bark louder but, a little less often than I used to.

I can’t really put my finger on a single thing I have learned on my own other than how much I hate missing things; like you.

I’ve become very good at that.

I play that song better than anyone I have ever known.”

The Hound walked up to the Minstrel and put her head against his knee.

Her brown eyes; full of life, met his grey eyes; full of shadows;

“What about your choices?

Are you making choices that help the Hounds?”

He thought about choices for a minute.

He thought about the Ghosts who followed him around.

He thought about the Hounds who every single day still suffer.

He thought about his friend Daphne who suddenly lost her Achilles.

He answered;

“I will never know for sure if my choices are good or if they help in any way.

I hope they do, but, I can’t really answer that question.

I do know one thing about my choices, I know the reasons I make them.

I know why, I, now, more than ever before, know, the why.”

The Why

“Touch my head and hold me tight,

sing, everything is gonna be alright,

look in my eyes and you’re gonna find,

every little thing will be alright.

So,

sing my song, c’mon man ‘an play my prayer,

please tell my story, tell it everywhere,

so,

touch my head, hold me in your heart,

look in my eyes for the place to start,

so,

sing my song, c’mon ‘an play my prayer,

please tell my story, tell it everywhere.

Touch my head and hold me tight,

sing, everything, is gonna be alright,

look in my eyes and you’re gonna find,

every little thing will be alright.”

The Why, by Daphne Slot