The Silent Screen
Imagine following someone for years.
You always wanted to get closer, to learn from them,
To drink from their pool of knowledge and wisdom.
But the opportunity never came.
Then, you lost contact—or rather, the digital tide drifted you apart.
It felt like nothing; your connection had always been on and off.
Then, one morning, you attend a high-profile event.
You hear their name mentioned.
A tribute begins. A minute of silence.
Your heart sinks. You pray, silently, that it’s someone else.
Alas. It was her.
She passed away exactly two years ago.
Two years. While you were searching for her,
Hoping to speak, hoping to learn.
You thought she was just busy, transferred to a new project, or Japa,
Hidden in one of life's quiet moments.
A quick search online confirms the grief: she has gone to meet the Lord.
The tributes call her "Forever Missed."
Just as you predicted, she lived a silent life, far from the public media glare.
Yet, her impact produced countless professionals whose destinies she changed forever.
May her soul rest in peace.
To You Who Read This:
Cherish the people you know right now.
This life is fleeting.
One minute you are here; the next, it is dark in the world of no return.
Nobody has a license to live forever.
Mortality is a debt we all hold, and one day, we must repay it.
Online, we see and read people.
We become so familiar with them that we think we know them forever.
We stop checking in. We stop making a real effort.
Because we read their status, liked their photo, shared their post.
We love everything, or we hate everything.
But inside every one of us is a ticking clock.
The breath will one day stop.
The music will end. The dance will cease.
The status will go blank.
And the screen will fall silent forever.
Just like you read about them and moved on, so will people read about you when your digital and physical presence go silent. Forever.
As it applied to her, so it applies to us.
This is a mirror held up to your face.
Today is an opportunity to change that.
Today is a fresh day to be a better person.
Do not take this heavy world so seriously.
Plan for your exit. Imagine what people will say when you are gone.
How they spend your money
Even the one you safely locked up in banks, will be spent by someone you probably never know.
Nurture someone positively so your legacy lives through them.
Be the best version of yourself now,
Before the day comes when you can no longer log in.
No longer comment. No longer like.
No longer disagree, defend yourself, or try to impress anyone.
Leave politics for the politicians.
Leave religion for the clergy.
The only possession you truly have is the person you are,
And the influence you left on friends and enemies alike—
Even the ones who silently adored you, whom you never got to know.
Your friend, Najim
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