Need more time to sink in

I still find it hard to believe that my high school friend Kim passed away. It was all very sudden. Her passing felt unreal. When I heard the news about her being in a coma, my instinct told me that she would survive the ordeal. I believed that she would. But she never did.

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I received a notification on my high school's Facebook page asking for prayers. Kim was in a coma Saturday due to ruptured aneurysm and low blood pressure. The hospital she stayed in didn't have the proper equipment for better treatment. She couldn't be delivered to a better hospital because her condition was unstable. Family and friends started posting messages on her Facebook wall, telling her to wake up. All these people were posting messages on her wall post, praying for her, asking for prayers, and telling her to wake up. But she never did.

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My friend posted in our high school section's Facebook page that she passed away on Dec. 12, 2012, at 7 a.m. Reading it the first time felt unreal, like it was all a dream. But I knew he would never lie or joke about it. I just couldn't accept the truth. We all couldn't. It was all too soon.

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When she was in a coma up until her burial, I checked Facebook everyday to read updates. I relied on photos to see who visited her at her viewing. I look her up on Facebook and read wall posts from her family and friends. Nadine, one of my high school friends, posted this touching poem that was in one of the mass cards. Reading her wall posts and this poem would make anyone cry. 

I'm Free

Don't grieve for me for now I'm free.

I'm following the path God laid for me.

I took his hand when I heard him call.

I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,

To laugh, to love, to work, or play.

Tasks left undone must stay that way,

I've found that peace at the close of day.

If my parting has left a void,

Then fill it with remembered joy.

A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,

Ah yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow:

I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.

My life's been full I've savored much,

Good times, good friends, a loved one's touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all to brief,

 Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.

Lift up your heart and share with me,

God wanted me now, he set me free.

author unknown

For my high school friend

This blog post is for my high school friend, Kim, who passed away Dec. 12, 2012, Wednesday at 7 a.m. (Philippine time). I posted this so she'll have another identity on the Internet aside from her Facebook account (and whatever other accounts she had). 

I rarely kept in touch with her since I left the Philippines five years ago. Or maybe more. However, she was a good friend back in high school. High school for me was one of the best times of my life. Even though we weren't close, she was still an important person to me.

Rest in peace, Kim. And I'll surely visit you when I visit the Philippines. Thanks for the great memories. 

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Prayer - Kapatid

click on video for source

Kapatid was a Filipino rock band whose main vocalist, Karl Roy, passed away March this year. 

Note: "kapatid" literally means "sibling" in English, but it is often used as "brother" and/or "sister".