Juni was more than just a student, she was a friend. I could not even believe I am now writing about her in the past tense but she is indeed gone. Her life was rendered kaput just like that. I will never hear her laugh again. It is very sad to even think I will never see again.
The last time we were together (sometime in 2003 or late 2002) she would not let go of me. We chanced upon each other at Glorietta, she was a mall rat just like me. She was shopping, I was waiting for my husband. We talked endlessly. She was her usual self, bubbly,energetic, so full of life. When my husband came, she tagged along. She wanted to meet him. She knew about my lovelife and was so glad I was finally happy. She could not help but shriek when she saw my husband. “Papa, mam arlene, ang galing mo!!!” she said. We ate for the longest time in McDonalds. She told me about her successes and her misfortunes (but not with a sad note; Juni has a way of laughing at her failures like it was just that, nothing to be mournful about). She did very well, actually, by that time, she had built a house for her parents, she had a car, she had a job (at a call center). She had traveled. We talked about her life mostly, there were things that I could not share with everyone. She had regrets but she had accepted her fate. She was her family’s breadwinner and there were things that she did for their sake. We exchanged phone numbers but our busy lives (I was in and out of the country at that time) made it impossible for us to keep in touch.
After 4 years, I got an e-mail from one of her co-MASPs, saying that Juni died in an accident in Dubai. Initially, I was shocked and I insisted it wasn’t her. We tried to find her or news about her on the Internet, and Ellen (a former MASP based in New York) found an article about her passing, there was a phone number of Juni’s sister in the thread. I phoned that number and confirmed from her family that she is indeed gone.
Juni, wherever she is now, is probably having a ball. She would have accepted her fate, like she always did. Perhaps she would have regrets, there was still so much that she wanted to do, she had big dreams but she would have moved on and just shrug it off. She would still be vain (lol), she could never go without lipstick and powder! Her hair would still be gloriously flowing. She would never age. She would love the fact that in her friends’ and family’s memories she would remain that beautiful Juni with the great laugh, the great bod, but most of all the great soul. We shall miss you Juni. Your short life had been spent well, it was certainly full of colour.
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A former instructor
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