The Hole in my Network

I lost a friend last week. One I'd never met, never even seen his face because he didn't like photos. But a real friend nonetheless. In these times, virtual relationships can be more significant than most face to face encounters. Walt was such a one. An accomplished writer, he never really believed it even though his list of published stories went on for miles. He wrote heroically for my projects Aquasynthesis and Avenir Eclectia, and loved to discover the world.

I still can't believe that he's not there, somehow, ready to chat at a moment's notice, to pass on some piece of crazy news he unearthed somewhere in his online travels. A valued member of my team and a fixture in my daily life, with missives winging back and forth across the oceans - both electronic and paper. A sense of humour much like my dad's, and I console myself that the two of them have surely met by now and are having a grand old time sharing jokes.

He's left a big gap in my network, that intangible thing whose nature I am ever wondering at. This web of people across the world, connected by cables and satellites and the community of the heart. A heart that now has a hole in it.

It's a strange kind of grief, distanced as it is, and I don't really know how to go about dealing with it. I guess I'll just have to wait it out, like any other trauma. Has any of you experienced the loss of an online friend? How did you get through it?

Bonus: here's a video that really made me realise a little of what kind of welcome would have awaited Walt when he got to the other side.