Last Saturday, I lost my childhood best friend, Elio, whose life was taken in a senseless act of violence.

I miss you so much, buddy. Tears wouldn’t stop falling as I looked at our childhood pictures yesterday. Every photo felt like a heartbeat from another time. I can’t even put into words how devastated I was when I heard the news. I’ve never experienced a brotherhood like ours, one that truly transcended friendship.

I remember our epic water fights in my backyard, how you’d always beat me and your adorable little sister Maria at Wii Sports and Mario Kart, and how we used to nominate each other for the Ice Bucket Challenge. We used to prank our parents like professional troublemakers, and play hide and seek at your grandma’s place like it was a national sport. I still laugh thinking about the time we nearly blew up my kitchen with a chemical experiment or when you made me eat raw onions playing truth or dare (i’m still not over it).

I’ll never forget our legendary Halloween nights trick-or-treating around your neighborhood, or your hopeless crush on my super hot cousin Marylyn, chasing her around her house like a scene from a comedy movie. We’d go to church service together every Friday night, trying not to laugh at the most serious moments, and then spend hours afterward doing ridiculous dance competitions with our parents as the judges. We’d laugh until we couldn’t breathe imitating our weird 6th grade math teacher and random people we knew from school. And who could forget how obsessed we were with our Skylanders? You swore Stealth Elf was unbeatable, while I defended Sonic Boom with my life, our most serious childhood rivalry.

These are the stories I’ll tell my children and grandchildren.

I’m so proud of the man, brother, son, and friend that you were to all of us. No one will ever make me laugh and smile the way you did. You had the most special energy in the room, and you always made us happy. Anyone who was blessed to know you, even briefly, knows just how special you are.

I know you will always be watching over me, your parents and those who loved you... l just hope you someday will know how much you impacted all of us.

I love you, my brother.

Rolf Stauffer