Alex Salmond's death comes as a shock to the political world, including to journalists like me who had spent time interviewing him about his future just weeks before.

The former first minister has always commanded any room he was in and this was no exception as we met for coffee around the corner from the Scottish Parliament.

It was there he reflected on what many would describe as the defining moment of his political career - the Scottish independence referendum.

Mr Salmond was in fine form and high spirits and he spoke of his hope of returning to Holyrood in 2026 - 27 years after he first entered as an MSP.

We spoke at length on his disappointment not to have witnessed independence in the decade since he resigned as first minister.

But he was more confident than ever that he would see it in his lifetime.

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When I asked him this, he told me: "Absolutely. And I certainly hope so."

He went on to say: "People usually ask 'will Scotland be independent in the next 10 years?' My answer is yes."

Reflecting on that interview, I certainly did not expect to be writing about his death just a few short weeks later.

He was full of energy, enthusiastic to talk about the future - his own, Scotland's, and that of the Alba Party.

Mr Salmond was apologetic when we met. He had arrived late following a problem at the airport. He filled me in on his chaotic morning flying in from London, before leaving personal property at the airport.

With just a hint of stress, he juggled our interview while on hold to speak to the airport staff and the police.

But his charisma and energy levels never faltered in that time and while we spent a large part of the interview discussing the past, he was always keen to bring it back to the future.

He believed he still had a part to play in independence, not just with his own aspirations to return to Holyrood, but to make his Alba Party a force of its own in Scottish politics.

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While his interview was critical of the errors his former party - the SNP - had made in the last decade, he was clear the path forward was unifying the independence movement.

At that interview, I questioned whether that would ever be possible. But his death now leaves one to wonder if this could lead to the independence parties coming together.

If independence is ever eventually achieved, we will surely all be in agreement that it was built on the foundations of Alex Salmond's life work.

His biggest allies and critics will also surely agree that we have lost one of the biggest characters in the political world. 

He was polarising - and he knew it, talking at length during the interview on his pride at taking on characters like David Cameron and how divisive the movement had become.

It wasn't the first time I'd interviewed Alex Salmond, and I didn't believe it would the last.

This was not a man just weeks from death. This was a man who seemed motivated to rebuild his political career.