ASEAN Hive Community Challenge #154: Heaven Must Be Orange - Because That's Where He Is
There's a color that stays long after the light fades. For our family, that color is Orange.
Good day Hivers!. Today, I would like to share an article that I find relevant with the week's ASEAN Hive Challenge #aseanhive An Orange Odyssey of Sir 
(Image is edited in Canva)
My father was not a man of many words, but he had his way of expressing himself without saying much. One of the most manifesting ways he did it was through his favorite color: Orange. It was not just a choice—it was a quiet, joyful signature that marked so many parts of his being him.
(Some of the stuff our father left us) 😔
There was the orange polo shirt he wore like a uniform, its color just a bit faded from years of sun and wear. He wore it during family gatherings, Sundays afternoons, and on casual walks. That polo shirt became a symbol of comfort for him, like a second skin to him, which made him stand out in a crowd.
Then there was the orange wall clock that ticked in our small living room. It wasn’t something very pretty or expensive, but it was his—a cheerful remembrance to us who are missing him every single day. Every tick felt like his heartbeat filled the house.
In his aquarium, his orange koi swam like flames in the water—calm, bright, and mesmerizing. He’d spend long afternoons just watching them glide through the water. There was peace in those moments, and a kind of joy only he could fully understand.
When the pandemic hit, it took him—suddenly, quietly, and far too soon. In the silence and the mourning that followed, we were left with his orange belongings—each one reminding us of his bright smiles when he was still with us. He was the best father in the whole wide world to us.
Sadness has a different way of coloring everything. In our case, it left us with Orange—a color of warmth, of life, of undying presence. It’s in the way the morning sun hits our windows, in the koi’s tail, in the way we find ourselves drawn to anything orange, like he’s still here.
Some days, I wonder what heaven looks like. I like to think it’s filled with koi swimming in ponds (I guess heaven has no aquariums), gentle sunrises, old orange clocks that never stop ticking, and closets filled with orange polo shirts waiting to be worn again.
And maybe, just maybe, heaven is Orange—because that’s where he is. 😌
If you are still reading my blog up to this point, thank you very much. See you again in my next articles.