Despite his tremendous amount of power and leadership, something in his life is missing. Gilgamesh weeps for seven days and nights, thinking that his friend would come back: "On this very day I myself shall mourn you! Hear me, O young men, hear me! Hear me, O elders of teeming Uruk, hear me! I shall weep for Enkidu, my friend, like a hired mourner-woman I shall bitterly wail" (VIII. 41-45). It is during this period of the story that one can truly see the sympathetic and compassionate side of Gilgamesh. The grief in his heart has far exceeded the magnificent pride that he has previously displayed to the people of Uruk. With the death of his best friend, Gilgamesh is distraught with grief and denial. Not only is he miserable over the loss of Enkidu but also over his own death, which he knows will come some day: "I shall die, and shall I not then be as Enkidu? Sorrow has entered my heart! I am afraid of death, so I wander the wild, to find Uta-napishti, son of Ubar-Tutu" (IX. 3-6). Seeking to avoid death, Gilgamesh strives to learn the secret of everlasting life.
Being two-thirds god is not enough for Gilgamesh. No, he wants immortality: "I look at you, Uta-napishti: your form is no different, you are just like me How was it you stood with the gods in assembly? How did you find the life eternal?" (XI. 2-8). But Gilgamesh is not the only person who searches for immortality. In many stories, there is the search for the Fountain of Youth. Fear of death and the desire to live forever has driven people to do all they can so that they may extend their existence to as long as possible. Gilgamesh is not only a hero in The Epic of Gilgamesh, he is a representation of society as a whole. He does not want his existence to end when he leaves the world. He is not content with what he has and desires much more in life. The epic is something that a lot of us can relate to. There are similarities between Gilgamesh's journey and our own journey through life.