There are moments in your life when your heart just breaks. My heart broke this morning. I knew that the 19 missed calls from Goa meant only one thing, Eustace had gone.

I can’t deal with the pain in my heart so I am doing the next best thing I know, to write. I deeply loved and cared for Eustace and not for a moment did I ever imagine that death was even a possibility. The freak accident that occurred on the fourth of December left him immobilized chest down, yet he decided to fight back for the sake of his family. He lived for his beautiful wife Jackie and his three daughters, their spouses and his grandson.

Coconuts, they say never hurt any one. Imagine then a bunch of coconuts falling on your spine. But then again, Eustace never hurt anyone. So that makes this tragic death even more painful to accept. Yet like Job, the words ring in my head, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

My memories of my uncle will always be the best no matter what anyone may say. From the many holidays I spent at his home in Goa, to the kindness he showed in repairing the ancestral home in Paetona, Goa, for my parents golden jubilee which will be celebrated in a few days from now; he was kindness personified for he always gave. The words of Erma Bombeck ring true in the life of Eustace, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’

At dawn, darkness invaded our family like a thief in the night. The dawn should have brought us light, yet our hearts were plunged in darkness. It feels like midnight at mid day. Yet our faith is our consolation, for Eustace lives with the Lord.

Grief is the price we pay for love.

Fr Warner D’Souza