A farewell I never expected

"Ree, wake up..."

I woke up to my mom gently shaking me. School again. Gosh, time flies when it's the weekend—like a time-lapse in a video. I forced myself out of bed, took a shower, ate breakfast, and made my way to school. As I caught a glimpse of myself, I thought, Wow, I look cute with this headband. But before I knew it, the day had come and gone, and it was time to go home.

On the way home, I reminded myself I needed to study. But then I remembered I had to retake my science summative test. I had failed miserably—42 out of 111. That was just...wild. I went to ask our science teacher if we could retake it that day, but she told us it would be next Monday. A heavy sigh escaped me.

As I was about to leave, I saw my friend Lerah. We chatted for a bit until it was really time for me to head home. Just then, my phone rang—it was my mom.

"Do you have your brother's number?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do. Why?" I replied.

"Your Lola is gone."

I froze. "Wha—huh? No...you're lying," I stammered, feeling tears welling up.

"I'm not lying, Ree."

Everything went still. The world around me blurred, and all I could focus on was the sinking feeling in my chest.

"Okay, I'll send you his number," I whispered.

Lerah, who had been standing with her friends, noticed me and called out. "What are you still doing here? Go home," she said in her usual blunt way. That's just how she is—that's her love language, I guess.

I turned to her, my vision clouded by tears. "Ler..." My voice broke, and I started crying.

She walked over to me, confused. "Why are you crying? What happened?"

"My Lola's gone, Ler."

Her expression softened. "Ree... I'm so sorry. Condolences. Which side?" She fired a bunch of questions, and I answered through sobs. Lerah stayed with me, trying to cheer me up, and after a while, I managed to calm down. I thanked her, said my goodbyes, and headed home.

On my way, I opened Messenger and saw countless messages from our family group chat. I scrolled through them, my heart sinking with each word. The most recent message was from my older brother: "I'm going to the hospital right now."

Without thinking, I messaged him privately, "Kuya, can I come with you?"

He called immediately. "Where are you?"

"I'm at school," I replied.

"Your brother will come get you," he said.

Everything happened so quickly.

We arrived at the hospital and walked into the room where Lola was. My heart pounded as I saw her lying there, covered with a blanket. Together with my brothers, I lifted it. My mind flooded with questions. How can a person just...sleep forever?

I watched as her skin slowly turned a pale yellow, minute by minute. I wanted to cry—I felt the tears somewhere deep inside—but they wouldn't come. I just stood there, frozen, staring at the woman who had given us so much love. It felt like time had stopped, and I was caught between wanting to scream and feeling completely empty.