Tweet
A Little Less Sunshine
http://asbarez.com/110021/a-little-less-sunshine/
Monday, May 13th, 2013
Maria Titizian
BY MARIA TITIZIAN
...Allen is gone and Sose is in a coma. How can Sose exist, live,
breathe without Allen? How can Allen be gone, what does that mean,
gone?
Horror in the pit of my stomach, I stand, I walk, I sit again, I cover
my face to hide the unspeakable anguish. My husband grabs the computer
and reads the heartwrenching news. Then the phone calls, the texts and
the final blow, a final cal: `Maria, Sose is gone too.' There's a
deafening silence in my head. Numb, stupor and disbelief.
Gone? Where did they go? But I was just reading their posts on their
way to their long-weekend in Georgia. Allen had posted that he was at
the Armenian-Georgian border with Sose. We were all getting together
Wednesday at Salpi's for dinner. There had been a flurry of e-mails
between friends, jabs, jokes, food to be eaten and stories to be told.
What do you mean they're gone? Sose had promised to bring soup and
sing a Tata song, no doubt for Paula's benefit.
Sitting in the corner of the couch, talking and texting with friends
late into that sorrowful night, I kept replaying their wedding in my
mind. We had been honored to be a part of it, to witness their oath of
love and commitment to one another and to their homeland. Their
parents, siblings, and friends had traveled thousands of miles from
the U.S. to help realize this dream. They wed at an ancient Armenian
church nestled in the mountains and then celebrated and danced late
into the night on the shores of Lake Sevan. Vache, Sose's brother was
their best man - and not only. He was their best everything. He was
their rock, their confidante, their anchor, their protector, he was an
integral part of their connection to each other in a way that no one
else could be...The Armenia contingent of «older» friends present at
their wedding, Alex, Hambik, Salpi and I watched in wonderment as
Vache made sure every detail, every precious moment was executed to
their wishes and desires. He was there, present every single second of
that joyous occassion. We were awestruck. The three of them were a
gift to each other.
Now, Vache, his parents and Allen's family have to find the way, the
faith and the strength and to live without them. So do we all.
Their world, our world has changed inextricably, there's a little less
sunshine in it now.
What is striking for those of us left behind struggling to soften the
corners of this bitter blow is the impact that Allen and Sose had
which spanned generations and continents. The American University of
Armenia, Asbarez Newspaper, Civilitas/Civilnet, ANCA, AYF Youth Corps,
ARS, AYF Armenia, Armenia Fund and a number of other organizations
posted announcements expressing their condolences and grief over this
tragedy. This young couple had been able to leave a legacy in their
short lives that the rest of us can only hope to achieve over a
lifetime. It speaks volumes about their character, integrity and
dedication. They lived and breathed and negotiated the Armenian dream
in a way that can't be formulated into coherent words, not yet at
least, the pain is still too raw. And it wasn't only the repat
community in Armenia that was shaken; local news agencies picked up
the news, reports were filed, articles are being written about a young
Armenian couple, born and raised in foreign lands, who had made the
impossible decision to return to the homeland and start a new life.
People who didn't know Allen and Sose personally are grieving
alongside those of us who had the privilege of having them be a part
of our lives.
A dear friend expressed it the best: `They were the type of magnet
people that everyone wants to know and the chaos that ensued after
rumors of the accident was star power level. And Sose, well, she was
just a girl that liked to bake and wanted to be friends and go
shopping for fabric and haggle over fruit prices and try and find a
job and teach me how to bake cakes without wheat flour.'
Yes, Allen was just a boy who was determined to leave his imprint on
our world, even if he didn't know he was doing it, and Sose was just a
girl whose smile, grace and intelligence was radiant beyond measure.
Two beautiful, young souls who were inseparable in life are now
together somewhere else, far from all of us, united in another
dimension, united for eternity as they had sworn to be. I don't know
about destiny or heaven for that matter. I don't know about logic and
justice and fairness. I just know that my life and countless other
lives were touched by the grace of Allen and Sosse. May their souls
repose in peace, may their families, their mothers and fathers
especially find the strength to cope with this immeasurable loss and
perhaps find consolation in knowing that they raised two spectacular
human beings, and for Vache, I know that God will honor his presence
in their lives by yet to be discovered adventures. He has two angels
now guiding him with their light and the rest of us can honor their
short presence in our world by following Allen's mantra: `While the
prudent stand and ponder the fool has already crossed the river.'
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://asbarez.com/110021/a-little-less-sunshine/
Monday, May 13th, 2013
Maria Titizian
BY MARIA TITIZIAN
...Allen is gone and Sose is in a coma. How can Sose exist, live,
breathe without Allen? How can Allen be gone, what does that mean,
gone?
Horror in the pit of my stomach, I stand, I walk, I sit again, I cover
my face to hide the unspeakable anguish. My husband grabs the computer
and reads the heartwrenching news. Then the phone calls, the texts and
the final blow, a final cal: `Maria, Sose is gone too.' There's a
deafening silence in my head. Numb, stupor and disbelief.
Gone? Where did they go? But I was just reading their posts on their
way to their long-weekend in Georgia. Allen had posted that he was at
the Armenian-Georgian border with Sose. We were all getting together
Wednesday at Salpi's for dinner. There had been a flurry of e-mails
between friends, jabs, jokes, food to be eaten and stories to be told.
What do you mean they're gone? Sose had promised to bring soup and
sing a Tata song, no doubt for Paula's benefit.
Sitting in the corner of the couch, talking and texting with friends
late into that sorrowful night, I kept replaying their wedding in my
mind. We had been honored to be a part of it, to witness their oath of
love and commitment to one another and to their homeland. Their
parents, siblings, and friends had traveled thousands of miles from
the U.S. to help realize this dream. They wed at an ancient Armenian
church nestled in the mountains and then celebrated and danced late
into the night on the shores of Lake Sevan. Vache, Sose's brother was
their best man - and not only. He was their best everything. He was
their rock, their confidante, their anchor, their protector, he was an
integral part of their connection to each other in a way that no one
else could be...The Armenia contingent of «older» friends present at
their wedding, Alex, Hambik, Salpi and I watched in wonderment as
Vache made sure every detail, every precious moment was executed to
their wishes and desires. He was there, present every single second of
that joyous occassion. We were awestruck. The three of them were a
gift to each other.
Now, Vache, his parents and Allen's family have to find the way, the
faith and the strength and to live without them. So do we all.
Their world, our world has changed inextricably, there's a little less
sunshine in it now.
What is striking for those of us left behind struggling to soften the
corners of this bitter blow is the impact that Allen and Sose had
which spanned generations and continents. The American University of
Armenia, Asbarez Newspaper, Civilitas/Civilnet, ANCA, AYF Youth Corps,
ARS, AYF Armenia, Armenia Fund and a number of other organizations
posted announcements expressing their condolences and grief over this
tragedy. This young couple had been able to leave a legacy in their
short lives that the rest of us can only hope to achieve over a
lifetime. It speaks volumes about their character, integrity and
dedication. They lived and breathed and negotiated the Armenian dream
in a way that can't be formulated into coherent words, not yet at
least, the pain is still too raw. And it wasn't only the repat
community in Armenia that was shaken; local news agencies picked up
the news, reports were filed, articles are being written about a young
Armenian couple, born and raised in foreign lands, who had made the
impossible decision to return to the homeland and start a new life.
People who didn't know Allen and Sose personally are grieving
alongside those of us who had the privilege of having them be a part
of our lives.
A dear friend expressed it the best: `They were the type of magnet
people that everyone wants to know and the chaos that ensued after
rumors of the accident was star power level. And Sose, well, she was
just a girl that liked to bake and wanted to be friends and go
shopping for fabric and haggle over fruit prices and try and find a
job and teach me how to bake cakes without wheat flour.'
Yes, Allen was just a boy who was determined to leave his imprint on
our world, even if he didn't know he was doing it, and Sose was just a
girl whose smile, grace and intelligence was radiant beyond measure.
Two beautiful, young souls who were inseparable in life are now
together somewhere else, far from all of us, united in another
dimension, united for eternity as they had sworn to be. I don't know
about destiny or heaven for that matter. I don't know about logic and
justice and fairness. I just know that my life and countless other
lives were touched by the grace of Allen and Sosse. May their souls
repose in peace, may their families, their mothers and fathers
especially find the strength to cope with this immeasurable loss and
perhaps find consolation in knowing that they raised two spectacular
human beings, and for Vache, I know that God will honor his presence
in their lives by yet to be discovered adventures. He has two angels
now guiding him with their light and the rest of us can honor their
short presence in our world by following Allen's mantra: `While the
prudent stand and ponder the fool has already crossed the river.'
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress