KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Two years have passed and Raphael Ariano still believes his grandfather is still working on board  MH370.

“Grandpa is at work but he doesn’t want to come back,” said the five-year-old, when asked about his grandfather, inflight supervisor Patrick Gomes.

Raphael's mother, Nicolette Gomes, said her son had come up with the theory on his own because he is not aware of what has happened.

She said: “Sometimes, he asks me why can’t the plane just come back. ‘Where is the plane?’ he would ask.”

Nicolette also said she was not going to explain to Raphael what happened to the Malaysian Airline aircraft.

“He is too young to understand so I’ll let him think what he wants for now and maybe I will explain it to him when he’s older,” she said.

“Hopefully by then, we will have some answers.”

Nicolette and Raphael were among the family members of those on board MH370 who attended the “Search On 2.0” memorial event at Publika on Sunday.

When asked what his favourite memory of his grandfather was, Raphael, who had the words “Patrick Gomes” written on his right cheek and a picture of a plane on his left cheek, said: “Guns!”

Nicolette said grandfather and grandson used to play with toy guns, had playful wrestling matches, and went on long evening walks together.

“They used to go to the store every evening to buy drinks and toys.”

The mood at the event was lively, with an undercurrent of hopefulness, coming across as a celebration of life and love rather than of mourning and loss.

It featured acts like dance and musical performances, poetry-reading and speeches from the next-of-kin.

Frenchman Ghyslain Wattrelos, who lost his wife Laurence, son Adrien and daughter Ambre, also spoke to the crowd during the event via Skype.

“Time does not help in dealing with the absence of my daughter, my son and my wife,” he said.

“I am convinced there are some people out there who know the answers but simply do not want to tell us the truth.”

Apart from working with the French government, Wattrelos said he is seeking help from private investigators.

“I will also do my own investigation with a group of people who are willing to help and I don't care how long it takes,” he said.

Shortly before 240 balloons, representing the plane and its passengers, were released at the end of the event, Jacquita Gonzales, Gomes' wife, went on stage to thank the performers.

“They told me they wanted to perform because they feel our loss and because we are family. Aren’t we a family fighting for the same cause?” she said to the next-of-kin gathered.

The group chimed “Yes!” in a show of solidarity.

Gonzales said the songs performed that day carried messages of hope and love, with phrases such as “make the change”, “senyumanmu” (your smile), “I want to love you”, “you raise me up” and “ilhamku” (my inspiration) which held great meaning for them.

Gonzales spoke for all when she said that they were done with the sobbing and the wailing.

“We have faces full of smiles but behind the smile there is sadness which is not very easy to overcome and we do cry in silence.

“We have suffered a loss and we are still going through the motions and it will not end until there is closure which has not come yet, but we are moving on and we are strong, are we not?”

The families responded with a spirited “Yes!”