Farewell, Phil Hughes..

Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that I will be penning this article. But fate is cruel and unforgiving. Phillip Joel Hughes, who was hopeful of getting a recall into the Australian test team, was struck by a bouncer on the 25th of November. Instead of battling for a place in the team, he was battling for his life. Who would've seen this coming? 

He underwent a surgery to relieve the pressure on his skull, and remained critical, and was kept alive using life support. The entire cricket community was shocked by this freak accident. Everyone kept praying for good news. But alas, that was not to be. On the 27th of November, just THREE days before his 26th birthday, Hughes tragically passed away. His loss at such a young age saddened every cricket lover across the globe. People started tweeting condolences on the loss of such a young, promising talent. I personally never followed many of his matches. But I was unable to come to terms with his untimely death. The lad was just 25 years old; he had his entire life ahead of him. Had he not been felled by that dreadful bouncer, he would've been celebrating his 26th birthday, awaiting his opportunity to cement his place in the Australian squad. What was most disturbing was the fact that he never would've anticipated that his dreams are forever going to remain unfulfilled. Who can predict death? We all know that life is transient; anything can happen anytime. But we live with a false sense of security that life will be kind to us. We see people dying everyday, but never for a moment accept the fact that the same could happen to us. We think we still have time to accomplish all that we have ever wanted to. But as they say, we are not living everyday; we are simply cheating death each day.No One   knows when the last goodbye is. We never know when we are meeting a person for the last time. If we did, we would never let go of that person. Many a times, feelings are left unexpressed, only to discover that they are to remain that way forever, cause the person is no more. 

Whenever someone dies, all that I can think of is that their ambitions are unfulfilled. Their dreams are shattered. Rifts in relationships have probably not been mended. Goodbyes have been left unsaid.

They say time heals wounds, but I disagree. Time never heals anything. If it did, you would never be overcome with emotions when you come across anything that reminds you of a deceased loved one. Time just teaches you to live with the pain; it teaches you to get used to it. And every time you see or hear something connected with the person who is no more, the gash gets a little deeper, the wound is reopened once again, till you learn to live with it all over again.

Phil Hughes was a bright, young, talented guy who deserved to live for many more years. His death has impacted me so very deeply. Its been 6 days since his demise, but I have not been able to stop thinking about him even for a second. 

Wherever you're buddy, I love you. I miss your charming billion dollar smile. If at all you're looking down at us mortals, I know you'd be beaming with pride and happiness. 

To a life cut tragically short by the cruel intervention of fate, Rest In Peace Champion.