Nawal
Words cannot describe how heartbroken I am that my beautiful cousin Kayla Eland has left us but there are many words that describe how truly amazing she was.
In the summer of 2007, I first met Kayla at the cottages and we clicked straight away.
I was so happy to have gotten to know Kayla that summer and felt very lucky that we are relatives. We went to Cedar Point, watched a meteor shower, watched the bald eagles in the wild in the Sandusky River and made such great memories. I was so sad when it was time to fly back to Kuwait and I was going to miss Kayla so much.
Kayla and I stayed connected online and kept in contact over the years. We both traveled a lot too, seen where we have been and admired the world in similar ways.
In the summer of 2019, I reunited with Kayla and had an amazing time with her. We got our nails done, went to Barrio, I watched her compete in swimming competition in Avon, explored Cleveland, had a great night out with her friend Emily, went kayaking at the cottages and made such great memories. She showed me how beautiful Cleveland is through her eyes and I know how much she loves the city and Ohio.
Kayla told me that summer that she is ready to start getting her life back after losing her mother. She is looking for a job at firm, renovate the house and go back to swimming.
It was hard when I hugged her goodbye before flying back to Australia and couldn’t wait until we would see each other again. I was so happy to see Kayla get a job not long after, adopted Apollo, shared photos of the home renovations and seeing how great she had been doing.
The pandemic made it even harder and we didn’t know when we will reunite. We stayed connected, talked on the phone for hours and planned our next reunion.
My heart shattered into many pieces when I found out that you left Kayla. It hurts knowing that I will never see you again in this world, have hours long conversations, hug you tightly and spend time together. You were so sweet, kind, funny, energetic, lively, intelligent, bright, adventurous and motivated. You were unique and I admired you as an amazing person you were, being your true self, your confidence, speaking your mind and your views. You had such a big heart, were so caring and very loving. I will always be grateful for the memories we made. I hope you are with your mom and having an amazing time with her. I miss you and love you so much. Farewell you beautiful person.
