Today is Sophia’s 25th birthday, her fourth birthday in incomprehensible absence.
She was born at home, on an early Tuesday afternoon in 1993. Her father and I remember that moment as if it was yesterday.
Our firstborn, a head full of dark hair, big dark eyes, wide open. Barely fully born, she looked us straight in the eyes, as if she wanted to say: ‘Well, here I am’.
And there she was indeed, loud and clear, a personality from the start.
We named her ‘Sophia’, a beautiful name, Greek for ‘wisdom’.
Who could ever have thought that one horrible day, now more than three years ago, she would disappear in a faraway foreign country, under mysterious circumstances?
As more and more people there are also starting to see.
So many strange things, so many unknowns.
A sweet lady sent me the poem below.
So recognizable, so emotional, time after time:
My child and I
We are connected my child and I,
by an invisible cord not seen by the eye.
This cord does it’s work right from the start.
It binds us together attached to my heart.
The strength of this cord is hard to describe.
It can’t be destroyed, it can’t be denied.
It’s stronger than any cord man could create.
It withstands the test, can hold any weight.
And though you are not here with me.
The cord is still there, but no one can see.
It pulls at my heart, I am bruised, I am sore,
But this cord is my lifeline as never before.
Author unknown
We keep searching for our Sophia.
We all miss her so much.
Marije Slijkerman
Gerard, Max en Jan Koetsier