Kiki · 5:38am Jun 8th, 2013

I was notified this evening that Kiki has passed on. She is survived by her family.

When I put my story into the Care Package that we sent to the Havivys, we had the opportunity to include a small note. Not really knowing what else to say, part of my letter (similar to my original blogpost) pointed out the absurd serendipity of how our lives crossed. He is a caring father who gave everything and more for his family. I’m a grown man who spends his spare time writing[citation needed] and reviewing horsewords. There’s no rational reason for why our paths would cross, yet they did. I wrote a short story for a family I’d never met, to try to bring them some cheer.

It was difficult for me to really put much stock in this, though. In the best case, I could see it as a touching gesture; nice, but fleeting. They’d feel happy, we’d feel happy, and then a new sun would rise. Kind was touching (I felt at the time) but kind wasn’t significant.

Over this long struggle the Havivys went through, there were a few scary moments. Some were scarier than others. During one especially scary day in January, I received a text from PonIver with Ami’s number and a request to call him.

I nearly didn’t. I’m just some stupid fanficcer. It felt so grossly inappropriate to intrude upon a personal family moment. I had no business bothering them with a meek “hey, remember me?” My hobby never felt more stupid and childish.

But then I stopped. I stood up, got a glass of water, looked in the mirror, and berated myself. I had, for a brief moment, forgotten why I wrote that story to begin with. And indeed, I had to remind myself of that lesson again today.

I wrote that story because we are family.

When I called him, even in such a bleak moment, Ami expressed his amazement and gratitude at how compassionate and outgoing this community is. That we would spend so much time, energy, and love to help one little girl in need, to speak nothing of our other charitable efforts. And I don’t really know how to put that into words.

I mean, in some ways, it feels like this ought to be a simple, basic, standard human kindness. But at the same time, it’s truly fantastic. It’s not simply that bronies are a group of people who fell in love with an eggheaded lavender unicorn. Through whatever friendship, or magic thereof, we’re a community of people who truly care. We’re not perfect, nor paragons, nor even united all the time. But we care. And so when someone is in need, and the call goes out, it’s like, “Yeah, of course I’m in. What can I do to help?”

And it matters. Ami assured me himself. For him, and Mimi, and little Kiki, our kindness meant more than we could begin to understand.

Please. Take a moment to reach out to the Havivys. Now more than ever, they’d truly appreciate a few kind words. You can use the Hugs tab here, their Twitter, or email them at alternativecure (at) yahoo.com

Kiki has passed on, but she’s survived by her family. Millions of us.

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