A good soul.

This morning I was preparing a few students for drawing contest. One of the students told me that their teacher was in a car accident last night, being hit by a car and sent to the hospital. He obviously did not know the details, and I didn't think this to be a serious one. After all, no one expects bad things (or good things) to really happen.

I thought it will be a good idea to have the kids make some cards for the teacher, so I went to the staff room to get color papers. The head of the department was also in the staff room which is unusual because it is Saturday today. That was when I got the news from her that the teacher passed away from her injuries this morning. I put down the color papers. For a moment, I didn't know what's the best thing to do.

I went back to the classroom and continued the session like nothing happened.

Lots of thoughts went through my head since. It's complicated. The most immediate one was the worry about her students. They spend very much time with her as she was also coaching the sports team. She trains the kids and takes great care of them, often much more than the kids' own parents. She's whom they look up to. Naturally, to me, I am more worried about the kids having to deal with the sadness that cannot be expressed fully and that itself is heart breaking.

I was also thinking about the suddenness of this event. It was the night of teacher's day in Taiwan. She's out to have dinner. She dropped the rest off and parked the car, made her way to the restaurant when a car hit her. She had so much going for her teaching career. Her efforts in coaching her students in the sports team is really paying off and taking off as well. She just led the team to Japan winning several medals and just returned from the trip two days ago. The team still has several competitions to attend, of which includes today's swimming competition that the team ended not attending because of this tragedy. Just like that, she's gone. She was probably excited about the meal that she was going to have, with her friends and students. But she was gone, taken if you will, in a flash.

Perhaps that's the good way to go. No warnings, no suffering. No pain, no emotion. For her, at least.

Perhaps that's the way god rewards her, that she's done her part and it's time to return.

Either way, it leaves a huge void in everyone's heart.

The clock continues to tick. The day goes on and the world moves on as it always does. I went to town to get lunch, bought a bucket to store thrash and a mop at the hardware store. I cleaned my dorm room. I took a short nap. I made dinner. The day goes on while I keep looking at the empty room across from my dorm that used to have an occupant. She's no longer coming back, but her room is still filled with her personal items, her presence.

But she's not there anymore.

It's like the world has changed, but not. There's just no word in the world of languages to describe life and death, and this is exactly why it can make us feel so helpless.

As humans we think about our differences all the time. We think about the ideologies that we disagree with and how we have better solutions than each other. But today, I was reminded, through a death, that we are really all the same because of our differences. After all is said and done, why would it matter? I disagreed with her teaching style. I thought I have better ways. Now that she's no longer around, why did it matter in the first place?

All I know is, a good soul has left us and it's up to us to find meaning in it.