The trip was decided abruptly. It’s good that I have gained few leave credits again since I came back to work last month and that Lalaine had kept in touch again after a long time. I insisted to myself that this is for the bereaved family and I wouldn’t want Dennis to be the least worried about attending to my needs during my stay and so I conspired with Lalaine to keep my plans secret. Lalaine and her family were dutiful hosts as before and I just can’t thank them enough for accommodating me.
It was a sad reunion but it’s rewarding to see how my friend reacted when he saw me the first night I attended the funeral. He just can’t seem to believe I was really there.
“She was a teacher, a fighter and a mother”, described Dennis as eulogy. His mom was a high school teacher by profession – perhaps one factor why Dennis and his two siblings pursued Education for their college degrees. He spoke how his mom trained them to promptly accomplish tasks given to them. The more touching tale was how with unswerving faith, his mother ‘fought all the way’ despite that her chances solely relied on miracle thus a ‘fighter’.
I believe that more than anybody else in their family, Den had prepared himself for their mother’s departure. But when we we’re having coffee together a night after the interment, he confessed how “It still feels different. It’s so easy to say ‘at least it’s over, she’s finally at peace… move on…’ but then it still feels different especially when it’s your mother [you lost]” I feel sorry for him. Yet I admire how he tries to amuse himself and live each day after. Truly he’s one of his mom’s greatest fulfillments.
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Here are studio shots we have had taken the day before I returned home; a remembrance how we stuck together when one just needs somebody during life’s tough time.
