My brother passed away three years and I can't express how hurt I was by the loss. But I still find ways to celebrate him as a friend and a sibling. On his birthday, I log into his World of Warcraft account and just stroll through IronForge and Dalaran. It may seem silly, but it's the only tangible link I have to him.

This article threw me into a spiral of melancholy and choking sadness. I had to call my parents and tell them that I love them.

I'm sorry about your loss, Keith.

I lost an aunt last December. Since she passed, my most effective coping method has been Counter Strike. More specifically, I play on the Scoutzknivez map -- she always found the low gravity really amusing and the level reminds me of her hearty laughter. Trust me, your habit doesn't seem silly. Whatever it takes to remember your loved ones!

Forgive me if I sound insensitive, but I'm not entirely taken by the story. The gaming references are a little stilted, and the other moments (I'll make sure not to, er, spoil them?) felt like the more important parts of the story. Of course, my own mind is racing through several questions aiming to fill in the gaps that weren't related, and since it's on 4chan I'm more than a little skeptical of its veracity to begin with. My own family has dealt with losses of various sorts over the years (during but also before my time), and I'm not really sure whether gaming (at least in the example shown above) would be an adequate way to reconnect or cope. Of course, things are different for everyone in these kind of situations.

I will say, though, that 4chan can reduce a man to tears, but for entirely different reasons.

That was touching,thanks for posting this Omar ya emotions-yanking jerk >:(. j/k

Anyway,this reminded me of a good friend of mine who I always looked to as an older sister.She was a very sweet and kind person,creative and artistic,and even though we lived miles apart,I felt close to her.Before she passed,I ended up losing contact with her,or rather a conversation I had with her had gotten cut short because she was busy,and I got alittle upset at her.I saw her on again a few days later but didn't bother talking to her,That was the last time I saw her online.

The next time I heard anything about her was a month and a half later by a friend of ours.Apparently she had gotten a blood clot or something from the airplane traveling she was doing and was not keeping herself up properly,and she passed away because of it,The impact from hearing about that was just as severe as when I lost my grandmother before my birthday.

Every year I try to doing something artistic wise in her memory,but it never seems to be good enough.She did fantastic graphical pieces,and since she was into clothing design,some of sketches for that were amazing.I still want to aspire to be on or even surpass he level of greatness so I can make her proud that I'm trying to do something with myself.

On a similar note, David Wildgoose from Kotaku AU wrote a touching piece yesterday about the loss of his father and the impact his dad had on his life. It's a beautifully written article that I whole-heartedly recommend.

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2010/03/thank-you-dad/

@Jonathan -- I don't think the verifiability is what matters. You may choose to nitpick and question the post's genuineness, that's your right. But I think the value lies in the story's ability to remind us all of our loved ones.

This story, whether true or fabricated, was enough to get Keith to call his parents. There's worth in that.   :P

Thanks for posting this, Omar. I saw it earlier and definitely shed a few tears. It's almost as sad as that Animal Crossing YTMND (http://animalcrossingtragedy.ytmnd.com/) 

On a related note, my ex-girlfriend didn't die, but it was weird for me to revisit a game we use to play together all the time. She and I were Tetris DS rivals and after we broke up, I just sort of stopped playing the game. I came back to it like a year later, and it was quite the trip since my main competition was no longer a part of my life but at the same time the graphics, music, and gameplay were all nostalgic for me.

That is the saddest thing I have read, well, in a long time.