The Wind Phone

I knew my friend Christian was dying. He’d had COPD for a few years. To begin with, he just seemed a bit less fit than he was. Then he’d ask me to slow down when we walked uphill, so he could catch his breath.

Back then, I was still in denial that he was seriously ill - he seemed pretty well. But his diagnosis was “terminal”.

Soon he wasn’t well enough to travel to visit so I’d meet him at his favourite cafes instead. Then he needed his portable oxygen just to get to the cafe. Then he wasn’t able to leave the house at all.

The last time I saw him…