Into the Deep Blue

Rico says his friend Kelley sends along this, a 'long goodbye' from a German member of the Over Flanders Fields flying game forum:

A friend of mine liked very much to be under water. He wasn't satisfied with swimming or diving- he wanted to walk over the sea beds. He wanted it so much, that the devil heard him and offered him one hour without any need of breathing- for one hour of his life. The devil also warned him clearly, that there was one big danger though, which he wouldn't be protected against: the pressure. It would grow, the further down my friend would go. And the devil even told him, that the urge to explore the deep sea would also grow in him. My friend concluded the contract. From now on, he could stay under water longer and longer, and so he did. It became more and more difficult for me to meet him. If I wanted to spend some time with him, I had to do my best to dive and hold my breath as long as possible. That way, I would descend to him, and make my swimming and diving movements left or right of him, with the growing urge to surface and breathe, while he would walk around without any problems or care. Soon, he wanted to walk further into the sea. He wanted to explore the dark blue deep, where darkness and pressure normally keep us away. He spoke to me, but under water, I could only understand little of what he said. The moments I saw him grew shorter and shorter through the years, the extended diving made my head ache more and more, and I felt that it would do me harm. During the last months I could only just find him every now and then, here and there, deep below me- a human speck on the dark sea bed. I could not reach him anymore. One day I lost him completely- he had walked into the darkness, that swallowed him. Maybe he was now on his way to the Marianas Trench. He remained disappeared without any further trace, 'til I got news, that they have found a crushed human body, with many seagulls circling overhead. They sent me photos. I could not say whether it was him or not. I just couldn't recognise him any more.

I feel so hollow today, after receiving that telephone call. My friend Pierre, with whom I used to play, record, & collect music some time ago, and whose record cover I had designed, has died last night at 3 o'clock from strong internal bleeding, after 35 years of sex & drugs & rock'n'roll. I had lost him long before. Take care, everyone.