Dear Vanessa Bryant, the world has lost a basketball hero and legend, but you have lost your life partner and the man who had your heart since the age of 17. You were a tag team - Kobe and Vanessa, raising your beautiful daughters together.
It hurts so much to know that little Capri won't have her dad around for her 1st birthday, and how do you make her understand that daddy won't be coming home anymore? And there are all the other milestones that a girl has in her life where her father's presence is so important. Birthdays, proms, graduations, weddings. You were both meant to witness that. To see your creations blossom and fully come into their own.
GiGi, your rainbow child, the one who was following in her father's footsteps, she would have continued the Bryant basketball legacy - proudly - as a woman. She would have showed the world that legacies are not bound to any gender. We honour the strength, confidence and courage of Gianna. We celebrate her life.
Oh Vanessa, this would all seem so surreal and when it will end, no one knows. Does it ever end? Every waking moment is a reminder of the ones who are not with us anymore. We feel the absence of their touch, their smiles, their warmth. The conversations, the arguments, the love. Every breathe we take, is like a stab to our hearts. We are living, they are not.
The king is no more, but his queen still reigns, and now you will have to show your princesses how to live. As Kobe said, "Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise." And you will rise Vanessa, when the time comes, but till then, you will have to travel this road called grief which has no set beginning or end. There are no rules, or limits, but there are tears, pain, agony, anger, and a lot of hurt. But they too shall pass, and you will smile and laugh again, because Kobe and Gianna would want you to.
We mourn with you, Vanessa Bryant, and pray that God will continue to keep you in His loving embrace as He comforts you and your family through this dark period. We also remember John and Keri Altobelli and their daughter, Alyssa. Payton Chester and her mom, Sarah Chester. Coach, Christina Mauser and pilot, Ara Zobayan.
May their souls rest in peace.
Read also: A Practical Guide To Dealing With Loss And Grief
