It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Nothing has happened.
-- Harry Scott-Holland
When tragedy strikes in fandom, the deep connection between fans comes to the fore. While non-fans may not understand this connection, it is there, it exists, intangible but very real. We feel it in our bones. We are not just a group of silly women, we are not just cousins. We are friends who have bonded together into a family. We are sisters, not by accident of birth but by choice.
Today we are grieving for one of our well-loved sisters, but also remembering her with joy. We chose to love Sylvaine, even though we knew we might never meet her in person. We chose to love her and she chose to love us. She showered us with gifts – gifts of her presence, her time, her talent. She shared with us the beauty of her garden, the love she held for Patachou, the playfulness and generosity of her spirit, her artistic eye and talent, her inner beauty.
When I think of her, I think of the certainty and serenity she possessed. She loved life – everything and everybody in life. Life was an absolute joy to her and this joy came out in everything she did and said. Unfailingly kind, clearly principled, marvelously talented in so many ways. This is her legacy to us - live life with same kind of joy and share of ourselves with everyone, because we will all be happier and more at peace because of it.
She must have been an amazing teacher. I know she was an extraordinary friend and I am proud to say she was my sister in every way that counts.
Rest in Peace, dear sister.