Pan Bo is gone

Pan Bo is gone. I just found out tonight. He's my friend, Yi minority, and works at the hot pot restaurant in front of my apartment block. Four days ago he called me while I was out, and asked me when I was coming home. He tried to say more stuff which I didn't understand because reception was bad and my Chinese is even worse. Anyway, in the end I had to hang up on him, vaguely annoyed because I really wasn't catching a thing and it seemed like he was just being nosy. The next evening he called again, and I was just like, "Chill out, man, I'm going to see you tonight when I get home anyway." And he told me "No, I'm going home, so I want to wait for you." I see him every day, or almost, because he works out front of the restaurant, so it's almost impossible for me to leave my home without seeing him. "So go home, I told him, I'll just see you tomorrow!" He protested for a minute, but again, I wasn't understanding a thing and finally I just hung up. I assumed he meant going home for the night, to sleep. But no. He meant he was going for good, back to his hometown in the countryside surrounding XiChang, the capital of the Yi Autonomous prefecture. So he's gone. I don't know why, he's turned off his phone and his (now ex-) girlfriend says he's not coming back.
Anyway, if I do see him again, I know what I'm going to say to him. "Cho bo, nga ni mo guo he ma ka ji ka"*. That's all I remember how to say in Yi language, although I'll probably add in Chinese that I'm sorry for ignoring him when he just wanted to see me once more before he left. Sadly, that's what I get for having poor comprehension skills.
The picture above is from the summer, when we would spend hot evenings sitting outside the restaurant talking bad Chinese together. I'd bring my guitar out and we'd take turns playing. He'd sing in Yi and I'd sing in French and we'd both laugh and say 听不懂 a lot. Now it's the winter, I'm cold, and I miss him.

*"Friend, it's good to see you."