My Tita was diagnosed with cancer around 3 years ago. Today she left this world for paradise. These words are in memory of her life, her battle and her rest.

My first draft consisted of your tale, on how you battled cancer, how we fought alongside you and the emotional roller coaster we all rode as a family. But that is not how I want you to be remembered, because you were more than your sickness and your pain.

You were many things. You were a mother, a sister, a daughter, an aunt, a colleague, a church mate, a partner, a neighbor, a commuter, an adventurer, a cook, a driver, a friend, a ka-chismis and so much more. Many of us will tell our tales on how you’ve touched our lives, some with fewer stories to tell. I am grateful for the many memories I could hold onto in remembering you as you’ve graced my life with your existence.

I’ll never forget spending summers at your home in Masbate or you visiting us here at Manila. I’ll never forget learning new arts and crafts with you. I’ll never forget learning how to drive a manual using your car. I’ll never forget getting milk-tea and watching movies. I’ll never forget some nights where we’d both lie down, with the ache in our backs, and how talking about it lessened the pain a bit. I’ll never forget all the good things and the bad. Most of all, I’ll never forget how much you’ve changed our lives during your short stay here on this earth.

You were more than the cancer during the last three of your fifty years of existence. You were life and you were love and for that you will always be remembered. You are forever golden.