Anna van Keulen: Heartbreak Alert As Father Posts Video Of Daughter Playing Downton Abbey Theme, Fulfilling Her Wish In Wake Of Tragedy
Life can be beautiful, magical, full of joy and love. Yet when those things are suddenly torn away, life can also be unbearably tragic.
Such was the case for the life of a young Dutch girl who was recently, tragically, taken away far too soon, leaving behind a grieving father and family.
Anna van Keulen, 13, of Tilburg, Netherlands, was hit by a car while riding her bike to school on Thursday, October 16th, sustaining critical injuries that ultimately took her life.
Her father, Niek van Keulen, however, has been able to hang on to some of the beauty, magic, joy and love that Anna van Keulen brought into the world, posting a video of Anna playing some heartbreaking piano back in August before her passing.
The video, below, was shot a few days before Anna van Keulen’s August birthday, as evidenced by a red balloon that can be seen behind Anna while she plays.
The song, “Did I Make the Most of Loving You,” the theme music for Downton Abbey, is carried out beautifully by Anna, her initial rough start adding all the more charm and loveliness to the scene and, given the context, makes what follows all the more heartbreaking to hear.
This past Tuesday morning, Anna’s father, Niek van Keulen, posted the video to YouTube. Linking on Twitter, he also let us know part of his motivation for doing so: helping Anna fulfill a dream that her life taken away too soon didn’t allow for her to fulfill herself.
“My daughter Anna wanted to be famous. Now, she has suddenly died. Help her become famous by watching!”
Mijn dochter Anna wilde beroemd worden. Nu is ze opeens overleden…
Help haar beroemd te worden door te kijken!https://t.co/1oq2fnu4aP— Niek van Keulen (@Niekvankeulen) October 28, 2014
Anna’s excellent rendition of the beautiful piece, finishing with her parents applauding and cheering in the background, have indeed led to her wish of being famous. The video clip quickly traveled around the world and garnered nearly 1,200,000 Youtube views as of this writing. Many posts like the one below have also helped Anna’s dad to fulfill Anna’s dream.
“Hello peeps. So remember two weeks ago I told you guys about Anna. Well after she died, we heard from her dad that Anna wanted to be famous, so he posted a vid of her playing the piano. It has become really famous here in the Netherlands so if anyone wants to watch it (here you go)!”
Anna’s dad, Mr. Van Keulen, was obviously pleased with Anna’s piano playing. The video grabbed the ears, and hearts, of so many, tweeting, “It’s overwhelming… thanks all. Anna’s goal is reached: she’s famous.”
At the same time, Niek van Keulen made clear that he has no more comments or reflections on the situation.
“Dear journalists: please stop calling. I do not want on radio or TV, it’s not about me, it’s about Anna. Thank you.”
And very well said. After all, at this point, it appears Anna van Keulen’s piano playing can stand on its own.
[Video and image via YouTube and Twitter]
