Always in her heart. Sophia Bush penned a touching note about her late boyfriend, Dan Fredinburg, in honor of what would have been his 34th birthday on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
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The Chicago P.D. actress, 33, and the Google executive split in August 2014 after 10 months of dating. Fredinburg died back in April during an avalanche on Mt. Everest that was caused by the devastating Nepal earthquake.
"I still don't know what the words are. Magic. Friendship. Memories. Consciousness. Dimensions. Infinite. Break. Dance. Live. Believe. Do," Bush captioned an Instagram photo of blazing lights Tuesday. "So many. None are the one. They're puzzle pieces but not the whole picture. What I do know is that you are missed. That you are still here. That you changed us, inspired us, pushed us, and guided us. What I do know is that I saw you this weekend, deep in the desert, many times."
Bush appeared to fondly remember her late love while attending the Burning Man festival in The Black Rock Desert in Nevada over the weekend. She and pals screamed his name, told stories, and left photos and prayer flags behind in his memory. As if the moment weren't emotional enough, the One Tree Hill alum even bumped into a stranger — named Dan. Bush asked to take a photo with the man because of his silly spandex outfit and Viking hat.
I still don't know what the words are. Magic. Friendship. Memories. Consciousness. Dimensions. Infinite. Break. Dance. Live. Believe. Do. So many. None are the one. They're puzzle pieces but not the whole picture. What I do know is that you are missed. That you are still here. That you changed us, inspired us, pushed us, and guided us. What I do know is that I saw you this weekend, deep in the desert, many times. I saw a man in spandex & a Viking hat, near the ashes of the wooden man that burned on the playa the night before. I turned to the Minion gals, pointing, & said "hey Viking I see you!" & pulled up to the man to take a photo of the back of his hat, under the giant bird-shaped cloud that had followed us around all day. His friend noticed me & said, "he'll kiss you if you ask him," and I laughed and thanked him, but passed, explaining that I just wanted to take a photo of his hat. The friend said, "Hey Dan, this girl wants to take a pic of your hat!" "Of course your name is Dan," I said, & he turned toward me on his bike, which of course had a Minion toy strapped to the front of it. The girls and I all laughed aloud, got misty eyed, & turned to go, knowing you'd been saying hello. It happened all weekend. We told stories. We screamed your name to the sky & scribbled it all over the temple & left your photos & prayer flags & glitter everywhere. We screamed "I love you!!" as it burned & a chorus of "I love yous" began echoing among the tens of thousands of people watching, bouncing all over the playa as it had when I once stood watching that structure burn with you & someone else screamed the same thing for someone who had most likely meant to them what you mean to us. So today, on your birthday, our first #LiveDanDay, I'll say it again. I love you my friend. I'm grateful for every memory. I'm grateful that we had a friendship that defied context, & a connection that defies physical boundaries even now. Your squad reps you hard, dear one. We live bigger because of you. We will keep writing your name in the sand & dancing in the dust to honor it. To all of you out there who need a little inspiring, take it from Dan. Live big. ???????? #LiveDanDay15
A photo posted by Sophia Bush (@sophiabush) on Sep 8, 2015 at 7:45pm PDT
"His friend noticed me & said, 'He'll kiss you if you ask him,' and I laughed and thanked him, but passed, explaining that I just wanted to take a photo of his hat," Bush recalled via Instagram. "The friend said, 'Hey Dan, this girl wants to take a pic of your hat! Of course your name is Dan,' I said, & he turned toward me on his bike, which of course had a Minion toy strapped to the front of it. The girls and I all laughed aloud, got misty eyed, & turned to go, knowing you'd been saying hello."
Fredinburg was a fan of Burning Man, and his family even shared a past photo of his time at the event on his personal Instagram account this week. To Bush, Tuesday was even considered "#LiveDanDay15."
"I love you my friend. I'm grateful for every memory. I'm grateful that we had a friendship that defied context, & a connection that defies physical boundaries even now," she wrote. "Your squad reps you hard, dear one. We live bigger because of you. We will keep writing your name in the sand & dancing in the dust to honor it."
