Simply Toots

WE were in disbelief when we found out. It was so unexpected that we thought it was fake news. Our sisterhood's chat group all of a sudden sprang to intensity 10, like a massive earthquake just swept through our lulled homeland. I wanted so desperately for it to be unreal, but the trembling, sad voice at the other end of the line when I called her family said, "Yes, it's true." I could only ask, "Why were you in such a hurry, Toots?"

Just as she wrote, "Why so soon, Kuya?" when Jesse Robredo left prematurely on Aug. 18, 2012, those of us who remain from our group of five alumni of Class 1999 could only ask the same, with deep regret and yearning for what we could still have done. We would have traveled together to Cambridge next year for our class' 25th reunion; that would have been our "break and chill time" together, reconnecting with friends from other parts of the world.