How long does it take to end a life?

In a matter of seconds, Michael Runyan ended the lives of two people — Harold Uriah Sellers’ and his own.

One thrust, one stab — that was all it took to ruin the futures, the dreams and the hopes of two men at the very beginnings of their lives. Sellers’ life ended quickly with his parting words, “I’ll be all right.” Runyan’s, on the other hand, is ending slowly.

Convicted of first-degree murder and facing life in prison, Runyan will spend years reflecting on what we can only guess at — what was he really guilty of? What was his mistake?

Did he return to Adelante fraternity by accident, looking for a friend, or did he return to spite a man who had insulted him?

Whatever the reason, he stabbed Sellers and in that moment, he changed his life forever. But the consequences go even further than that. The brief seconds of decision affected the lives of thousands. While the verdict is official, closing one chapter in the horrible ordeal, the story is far from over. For the families of Sellers and Runyan, life will never be the same. Will justice ever be complete?

Simple moments they took for granted before, like walking in the house and seeing their sons, brothers and friends sitting on the couch, will now create an emptiness in their lives.

And it will be years before there will be a Veishea that is not overshadowed by the memory of what happened last spring, if there still is a Veishea years from now.

The lives of Sellers and Runyan have crossed with ours in a subtle way that has left all of us changed.

There are parts of ourselves we can see in them — people with bright futures, hopes and dreams facing decisions every minute.

For both of those young men, the future is over.

Both Runyan and Sellers were close in age to most students at Iowa State. And even though we may be all caught up in our busy lives, let’s not forget what happened in the early morning of April 20, 1997.

We know the family and friends of both Runyan and Sellers will never forget.