Prisca 

It was around January 2021 when I first met Prisca.  

Graham had kindly invited my wife and I for lunch at San Fernando on San Pedro beachside. In the now infamous year before, Graham had remotely (via video) purchased a townhouse in Las Colinas de las Joyas on the outskirts of Estepona with my assistance. Prisca was his neighbour, a quiet, elegant and charming lady from Belgium. After lunch my wife commented how Prisca's facial features reminded her of my mother and I admitted to seeing a likeness. 

In the real estate business you meet a lot of people. You find out a lot about your clients - both buyers and sellers, in a very short period of time. It's how you can best serve their needs and understand what they are really looking to achieve. After a business transaction is done, with many we remain in touch as much as our mutually busy lives allow. With others, for no specific reason you lose contact. I believe in the law of attraction and with 99% of our clients I would be pleased to hang out with them anytime. 

It would be another 18 months before I met Prisca again. Graham sent me a message saying that due to health reasons she had decided to sell her house and return to Belgium and would I be interested in assisting her? Prisca invited me to come to the house where she openly shared her medical condition and explained that she wanted to spend her remaining days with her son. My heart was filled with sorrow and love at the same time, as my mum had passed away many years before from the same horrible disease.  

It was clear from our conversations that Prisca was a very spiritual woman. She had a calmness and centeredness about her and an acceptance of her situation. Her house had a great energy and on the walls were several of her own paintings which Prisca was giving away to her friends as a parting gift. She very generously gave me one original, which is hanging in my office and I took photos of some of the others. My favourites are the one of the mermaid underwater, the one of the golden angel and the one of the two angels with their arms protecting the earth. 

Prisca had long stopped taking her medication and had chosen to allow nature to take its course. After she returned to Belgium towards the end of 2022 we remained in contact sharing a few messages updating each other on life. Prisca had managed to take a holiday with her son to Ireland which she particularly enjoyed. 

On Friday last week, I received an initially shocking, but equally beautiful goodbye voice message from Prisca. Her condition had deteriorated to such an extent that she felt that could no longer live with the pain. She had made the decision to leave her body on her own terms via euthanasia on Monday evening at 6pm (tonight). When listening to the message my eyes were full of tears as I remembered the brave and beautiful woman that I had the pleasure of meeting and calling a friend, even if it was for such a short time. Her strength of character and centeredness is truly inspirational. 

Of course the chances are that you never met her, but perhaps at 6pm you might pause for just one moment with closed eyes and hold space for Prisca as she moves on.

Prisca, thank you for your trust and our brief friendship. I too wish we had met much earlier and that we meet again one day - on the other side.

With love, Anthony 

Published with Prisca’s permission given on 14 May 2023