非常に個人的な思い出なのですが、本日逝去した親友のジョアキムを忍んで、リンゴワインを飲みながら、思い出を書き留めておきたいと思います。
どうしても英語で出てきてしまうので、英語のままにしておきます。
I saw him first time in early 80’s, when I visited my friend in Marly, Switzerland. I was 23 years old, a student from somewhere in the Orient, and he is a brother of my friend around 10 years old. We could not communicate directly, as I could not speak French, and he speaks French only. We had no chance to see each other since then.
In 2009, when I was planning to go skiing in switzerland using new year holidays, and before my business trip to Germany starts, I used GoogleMaps. I suddenly found a City Name, Fribourg. “Yeah, I know the city, and somewhere near, I stayed several nights long ago.” No idea any more what is the city name etc. Just, it was along the deep valley….
I found a river, and sattellite image tells me it must be deep valley.
drag the map along the river, and, then, I found “Marly”. Yes, this is it!
The family owned a small restrant, with big name like Castle. OK, Google knows everything. Lets try….
Yes, He knows the restaurant, and tells me it got bigger and is now a hotel.
2 month later, I landed in Geneve Air Port. Joakim picked me up. “25ans.” (25 years!) he remembered me. Both changed lot, he married a beautiful lady from Albania. Good we could make chattering in English. I learned French a bit, but it is still very poor. The wife said, “So, you are the one“, as they have much connection with Japan now.
next day, we three went together to the mountain side called “Le Moléson” (Link is in Japanese)
The weather was nice, and we talked there whole day long, until we get cold, and we became good friend after 25 years.
After 29 years, he passed today after almost 2 year struggle with cancer. I saw him this summer in 2011, laying himself in a bed in a large hospital. He was still 30s. His wife, has lost her father by an accident a year ago.
If this is a kind of things that can be refused, I think everybody refuses it and wish to have such a destiny without mercy would never happen…
It is easy to say this is one’s destiny, but real life is not easy to accept the fact.
I have no lessons from there. Just the fact is standing like a big wall.
Joakim, we all miss you. Good bye.