Goodbye My Friend

Last November 28, I lost a dear friend to uterine cancer.  News of her death reached me through Facebook.  Her death came as a shock to me as I wasn't aware that she was very sick and I came face to face with my own mortality.  I learned from her husband, Oliver, that she came to know of her cancer only six months ago and that it was already at stage 4.  Thank you Oliver for posting about it on Facebook, allowing me a chance to say goodbye to her.

I met Guia Librojo Senia at De La Salle University when we found ourselves blockmates of section LIA 23.  From our first meeting at the ENGLONE classroom at the LS Building up to graduation from BS Applied Economics, we were inseparable.  We were such, that the number of subjects that we weren't classmates did not exceed the fingers of my hand.  Since we took the same course, we had the same set of subjects and electives.  The times we were not classmates were due to the enrolment schedule that La Salle experimented on every semester then later on every trimester.

BS Applied Economics, De La Salle University

When we had the whole afternoon to hang around as the next class was at 6 o'clock in the evening, we spent some of our vacant periods at Guia's hometown at Cabuyao, Laguna.  Her mother served us sumptuous dishes that I and our other classmates were so happy to indulge in.  These getaways allowed all of us to get to know her family.  I met them again at Guia's wake and I was so touched when they still remember me from those countless fiestas that I attended and from Guia's stories.

My only regret is that we were not able to spend time together recently.  The last time we saw each other was when she was one of the secondary sponsors at my wedding almost twenty-five years ago.  Last year, we chatted on Facebook and she invited me to visit her at her bakeshop in Cabuyao.  We never got to it as we were both busy with our own lives.  It also pains me that I wasn't able to offer her prayers during her illness, not able to visit her and share her pain.  I take comfort though that she is with the God that she served faithfully all her life, away from all the pain and basking in His glory.  So long my friend.  Put a good word about me to God.