“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” Richard Puz
The hole where they were never fully closes. A smell, a random movie line and their memory fills your mind and heart and the pain returns, even decades later. This is good, because they remain alive in you.
And that pain usually is immediately followed by a greater joy, a smile at the memory invoked as we thank our Creator for the precious time we had with that person, be it days or decades.
The pain of their loss stays with us to the end of our days, but so too do the smiles and lessons and memories. They are part of us and so can never truly leave us.