Why are there funerals?
-to remind us that there is life before the death and life after the death.
-to give an opportunity for the living to express love, respect and grief.
-to formally accept the death of and say goodbye to a loved one who had just passed away.

Our good friend, John Ritchie Cordero De Villa, left for another journey. We don't know why all of a sudden. He just did without saying farewell.

I received a text message about his death before i was preparing to go to bed. I didn't believe it at first. I thought it was some nasty joke my classmates were spreading. I asked Lance about it and he said not to assume anything so I ignored the message and prayed that Chi, as we fondly call him, was fine and alive. Then the texts kept coming. Confirmations that Chi already died drowned my inbox. I was dumbfounded. I was convincing myself that it was all just a bad dream and that tomorrow, when I wake up, everything would still be the way they used to be. But the truth was inescapable. Ritchie is gone.

On September 9, the whole 2-Dam section went to Arlington Memorial Chapels. When we entered the room, it was filled with silence, regret and grief. Chi was someone to be missed terribly. Viewing the body was an emotional experience. As we walked towards the coffin, it brought us closer and closer to the painful reality. We were all scared to face the truth. When we finally got hold of the courage we needed, we walked over to get a view of the person whom everyone in the room knows and loves. Streams of tears kept flowing. It was a hurt that won't be healed for another one or two months. The memory of Jong's death is still fresh in our minds and yet another has left us so soon. The guys in the class were the most affected. They were Chi's buddies. They spend lots of time with him, laugh with him, play computer games with him. they do everything and anything WITH HIM. They couldn't hide the pain they felt. They cried. They cried until they had no more tears to shed. It was so heartbreaking to see them looking very helpless as they stare at their friend's cold body through the glass. Wala na silang magagawa para mabalik pa ang buhay niya. The only thing we all could do was pray for his soul.

Chi and I never became close friends. But we sometimes speak to each other. Like one time he approached me and said, "Karen, di ba nagloload ka? Paload nga." The night before, nung nagYM ako, I placed "6 days to go..." on my status message. he BUZZed me.

batabatuta003: anung six days to go?
karengonzales15: secret!
batabatuta003: haha
karengonzales15: hehe
karengonzales15: *smiley with huge grin*
batabatuta003: hehehe

Tapos nung nagpaload nga siya, tinanong niya ako ulit.
Chi: Bakit 6 days to go? 6 days to go bago mo siya sagutin?
Me: Huh?? Hindi noh! Birthday ko.. Regalo ko ah..

Then he didn't reply. I didn't know that on the same day as my birthday, we'd lose him. Nung nawala siya, I didn't expect that I would cry like I did nung burol. It was just that the mere thought of LOSING SOMEONE who has touched the hearts of so many hurts me a lot. And Chi is my classmate for one and a half years. For some reasons, he still became a part of my life.

Until now, three days after his death, we still could not believe what happened. Tuliro pa kaming lahat sa classroom. Three days na rin kaming patuloy na nagdadalamhati.

Lance: (kanina lang sa klase) Si Chie lang ang nagpaiyak sakin ng ganito. Biruin mo, isa.. dalawa...(counts his fingers) pitong beses na akong umiyak! Hindi na ko iiyak ngayon. Nailabas ko na lahat kahapon.

Abi: (sa blog niya) Life goes on. Para sa amin ng 2-Dam, absent ka (Chi) lang ng ilang days.. Miss ka na namin..

Paolo: (kanina lang din) I guess that this would be an opportunity for all of us to be closer. Sana mag-reach out tayo sa isa't isa.

Ehlyu: (kanina) Sabi nga ni Doraemon, hindi namamatay ang isang tao kung bubuhayin natin siya sa mga puso natin.

Iba-iba ang reaction after nung nangyari, iba-iba rin ang coping mechanism over his death. Yung iba, tahimik lang. Yung iba naman, dinadaan na lang sa pagrereminisce ng mga happy memories of him. Para dun sa hindi talaga matanggap, patuloy pa rin ang pagtulo ng luha. Pero sa tingin ko, Chi doesn't want us to be sad for a long time. Nung nabubuhay pa siya, he never fails to make us smile and laugh. Kahit hindi ikaw mismo yung sinasabihan niya ng joke, matatawa ka pa rin kasi maririnig mo dahil sa lakas ng boses niya. If he's looking down at us from above, he'd be sad to see us crying. Kaya siguro wala siyang binigay na signs na aalis na siya is because gusto pa rin niyang isipin natin na para lang siya nagbakasyon, na babalik pa naman siya. He wants us all to remember him as a happy-go-lucky person na walang ibang hinangad kundi ang mapaligaya tayo. Sabi nga ni Abi, "Let us be happy for him. Atleast ngayon, hindi na siya nahirapan pa."

Chi's death is a wake-up call for all of us. Wag nang antayin pa na may mawala bago ka mag-reach out sa mga mahal mo sa buhay. Kung importante sila sa'yo, ipakita mo. Iparamdam mo kung gaano mo sila kamahal. Walang kasiguraduahn kung gaano kaikli o kahaba ang buhay ng isang tao. WE should all make the most out of it.

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH, CHI! No one will ever forget how much you've made a difference in our lives!