Life Spheres and Seraphim: Remembering Our Brother

Two weeks ago I awoke to a call on my phone. I checked the time...7:30 am. Who could be calling?
The voice on the line shook as she said,

"He's gone."

I immediately knew who they were talking about. Our friend and brother, Ryan, had been sick for the last few months with esophageal cancer.
But it was still hard to believe this was really the end.
I got online and texted our other close friend, SoloBrony.
He was one of the people who had known Ryan longer than me.

"No, I didn't know. Thanks," was all he replied.
We talked for a little while after that, and arrangements were made.
I called our Lakota brother, Alexander, all the way across the country. He had been in contact with our friends already.
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A week later, they had the funeral and it was pretty nice.
Solo and I both had something to say.
Please take a moment and listen to his piece: Courage.
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After the funeral, we all found some time to meet up at a local restuarant and get some drinks. We laughed and told stories.
People who hadn't seen each other in a long time and some who had never met became very close.
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It's been two weeks now, and sometimes I worry that he will be forgotten.
Not to us, although some parts of him are already slipping away.
We have letters, skype messages, and facebook posts.
I even have a little green notebook where I wrote about his adventures.
But all of that pales in comparision to the man he really was.
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So, let me tell you My story of Courage.
He was wacky, silly, and unafraid to love things completely.
He didn't care what people thought of him, and would go to any lengths to explore an idea.
He called me his sister, and his princess.
I called him my angel, and my brother.
Sometimes he got mad, but he grew past his fears and gained reconciliation with those he had hurt.
He was always trying new things.
He thought about things differently, and sometimes people didn't understand...
>As Solo said at the funeral,

"He's always 5 years ahead of us."

...but he held tight to his ideas.
He was incredibly strong.
He loved us.
But most of all...
He loved.
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Something I wanted to say at the funeral, but didn't:

"In the five years I knew him, he lived more of a life than most people live in a hundred."

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I called Alexander yesterday.
Worrying about Relevance.
Worrying about if the World would forget him...forget us.
He said that we are all in each other's "life spheres" and sometimes those "life spheres" overlap.
And that Ryan will always be in our life spheres, even if he isn't present with us.
Whether he matters to the rest of the world doesn't matter.
What matters is that he mattered to us.
He still matters to us.
He will always matter to us.
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We miss you, brother.
Rest in Peace, wherever you are.
May 4, 1986-February 5, 2014

P.S.-And yes, in case you're wondering...he was a Brony.