When Death Takes Its Toll

Last Saturday I woke up with a heavy heart and the first thing that entered my mind was the word coffin. It was a bizarre feeling and since I have the flu, I thought I was just being my pessimistic self. I ate an early breakfast and took my meds which made me sleepy so I went to my room, rested for a while and later was in a deep sleep. At half past 11 in the morning, my mom woke me up and in a frantic voice told me that my cousin had died. I was stunned. I rushed outside my room, brushed my teeth while asking my mother questions as to why my cousin died.

My cousin Bobby was only 40, he died in his sleep. Her youngest daughter Trizha (7 years old) was the one who asked my other cousin why her daddy won't wake up. Thinking that Kuya Bobby's just tired from the wake he attended the other night, my cousin told our niece that her dad's just tired and needs plenty of rest. But when Trizha said, "No, daddy won't wake up even if I open his eyes", that's when my cousin felt a pang of nervousness and went to Kuya Bobby's house. My cousin saw him lying there, his face was already turning bluish and his body's cold and dead. He was declared DOA when they rushed him to the hospital. Kuya Bobby's wife is working in a nearby town and we couldn't contact her to tell her the bad news. It was already 1pm when she received the news and rushed to the hospital. Kuya Bobby left his three children Rojan (14), Azleen (10), Trizha (7), and her wife, Ate Bing.

I am in pain thinking that my nephew and nieces are too young to grow up without their father. I am in pain because Kuya Bobby was the one who supplied me 70% of the stuffed toys I had when I was a kid until I was even in senior high. I am in pain and I could not look at my cousin's coffin until now.