Tifani Madrona
2017 was the last time I saw Mel, right after I had lost every friend I had. I was walking in downtown Tacoma and I heard the warmest and most enthusiastic voice as I heard, “Tifani?!!!”
I turned and there was Mel, grinning the brightest smile, basketball under his arm, surrounded by a group of friends who were respectfully waiting for their friend to greet someone.
“MEL!!!” I yelled as I closed the 6 feet between us and threw my arms around him. He tossed his basketball to a friend and hugged me back. That was the warmest and most genuine hug I had that year.
I was on a job so I only had 5 minutes to stop and talk, but in those 5 minutes, I felt seen and loved unconditionally as if I actually mattered during a time when I felt loved by nobody.
Mel was a beautiful soul. He knew how to love in a way that heals and existed in the moment as if nothing and nobody else existed except whoever he was with. The world is a darker place without his light in it.
