By: David Ali

Your name means star. Maybe that is why the sound of your voice brightens my dark skies no matter how thick the darkness.

The first time we met, I knew that it wasn’t an ordinary coincidence but a divinely orchestrated encounter that left me deeply and permanently moved beyond retraction.

How can fate be so kind and yet so cruel? How could the universe allow me to taste the beauty of your presence only to steal the possibility of belonging?

I ran mad with the love of you as desire filled my heart with unquenchable thirst. To the world, you were just one ordinary teenager but to me, you were the shooting star that gave me the hope to wish again.

I was lying on my stomach when the news hit me like a tornado yet, I sank deeper into the tiled floor, wishing to be swallowed by the same earth that would house what was left of you.

How could you die, how could you, who was so immortal, so alive, so resilient, give in to the cold hands of death?

And even in death, they wouldn’t let you rest.

I heard so many things about you even when your body was six feet below the ground. The people closest to you apparently didn’t know you enough. If they did, they would not predict a fiery abode for you.

They say you took your own life, a mere teenager. But they do not know, that the stars that shine the brightest are the stars that live the shortest. That your life is not yours to take or give. That would be would be. But astronomy understands the wisdom in it. And I understand your fierceness.

We have never spoken in words, but love is not limited by vocal barriers.

Hadassah, the shooting star: may your name never be a bitter aloe in my mouth, a sour grape on my tongue.

Hadassah lone star in a dark sky: may I never forget the beauty that enlightens my agony.

Hadassah immortal even in death: may I never forget the black hole where you once lived.

Hadassah, you left me holding vacuum in my hands. You left me only your name. But I will never forget that name, Hadassah. Hadassah. Hadassah.

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David Ali is new on the writing scene and is currently experimenting with romance, which is one of his favourite genres. He is a fan of Telenovela and believes that life is meant to be savoured every moment. David is Gbagyi from Abuja where he lives and works.