clarity with help of social media

 

my friend lily died

and i did not know

until the facebook page of hers

had bday greetings for her in heaven

postings dated way back in june 2021

what!?

the next few days brought

lots of memories and tears. 

her dancing salsa in the shoe store

our ice cream stroll to Georgetown

cooking pancit at her apartment's bathroom/kitchen

trips to maryland

wherever her relatives are

trips to friends places

richmond, maryland.

it was hard to not know when, how

obituary not published.

but i wanted to know.

thanks to messenger,

some clue as to how at least.

but not fully clear. esp when.

here goes some entries

in june 2020 she wrote

thanks for the lovely b'day post sweet Lulu! ok ka lang diyan? (1 more month chemo here... recurrence of same non-hodgkin's lymphoma)

glad you're well now dearest Lulu! mahirap lang ang chemo effects looking at the bright side... treatable ang lymphoma type per my oncologist.

(recurring from 5years remission)

swollen neck lymph nodes, and underneath right armpit... then tissue sample test then oncologist's diagnosis

in september 21 2020 she wrote

r u really really ok Lulu? truth: i am not praying for us

B Cell Indolent Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, it's called indolent as in... slow-growing he says

Enter

Lily

i miss u so much! yes, i'm in good hands... praise God

then sept 22, 2020

(i just got back from PET/CT Scan, reading with Oncologist sometime next week)

that was the end of exchange.

was it bad news?

 i wish i followed up.

i never expected

someone so full of life

actually the life of every party

would die so soon.

two days ago as i was

taking my daily walk

 

another friend's smiling happy face

who recently passed away

flashed in my mind.

i was happy and at peace.

she is up there.

and so is lily.

she is ok. and

i am ok.

 

she is resting in peace.