AIDS IS REAL, IT KILLS (AIR-CLINIC WRITING CONTEST)

It is a really beautiful day today.The wind is slowly blowing while the trees hum along. It is the day Joshua Essien is to be laid to rest.
As I put on my black dress, I'm reminded of the day I met Josh.

...It was 9 years ago, I was a 3rd yr nursing student. I had just hurriedly stepped out of the classroom, when I bumped into someone. This had me falling backwards, but my fall was broken by strong hands.
I looked into a pair of captivating eyes perfectly placed on a drop-dead gorgeous face. A face that obviously belonged to a Greek god. And at that moment, I fell in love with Josh.

He was a final year marketing student who was every girls' fantasy and we started dating shortly after our 1st encounter.

One day, after a heated make out session, I gave myself to Josh. I was so angry at myself for not using protection and when I broached the subject with Josh, he laughed in my face telling me condoms were uncomfortable and that he would never use one.

You see, Josh believed that HIV/AIDS and other STIs were the older generation's way of making the younger generation afraid of sex.

...Our relationship was over as soon as I told him to either go and get tested or use a condom if he ever wanted to sleep with me again.
Fast forward to just 2weeks ago, I was at my station as an emergency nurse when a patient was brought in. The patient was very cachectic and incoherent.

I stopped in my tracks as soon as I realized that the person in front of me was Josh.
Full of life, playful and promising Josh.
I later learned that he had stage 4 AIDS which had affected his brain.

I blamed myself for not being able to convince the one man I had ever loved that HIV/AIDS was real. He knew of his status a while back but believed it to be a lie. He was the manager of an advertising agency.

I lost Josh for the 2nd time last week. I Hurriedly get to the church were the funeral is to be held. I sit there with tears in my eyes thinking of everything Josh meant to me and a sob escapes my lips.

If only I had been able to convince Josh that HIV/AIDS was real, he would have taken measures to protect himself. If only!

The end
No of words: 349
Thanks to @air-clinic for giving me the opportunity to share this story.

Join AIR-CLINIC discord channel at https://discord.gg/rqded5m