| RIP GABBY DOLLEROn the night of the 23rd, Kim said to me through Y!M, "Sino si Gab?" "Ewan ko," I said, wondering how she expects me to know a specific person tied to a fairly common name. "Gab Doller. Patay na daw."
And then it all started to come back. Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Ginny and I have been planning for so long to meet up after class, since she studies in Miriam. Then this morning...finally! So we exchanged text messages, blah blah blah, I left my umbrella in my locker, and walked to the waiting shed near the Church of the Gesu, where two high school students were waiting. Bummer of all bummers, it began raining. It sucked to the highest heavens! I just dried up after my swimming class (I got a nine in our first test! Yay!) then I got wet AGAIN. Wtf, man? I am being punished. It was really raining hard that you have to stand in the middle of the shed because either way, you'll get wet if you move forward or backward. Then suddenly high school students started popping up from nowhere. Haha. So I was like, woah. Wtf is this? It was so weird being the only girl and listening to their boy talk. ("I love rainy daaays!" "Why pare, kasi you see wet chicks?" "Tangina pare, ang baboy mo!") I must admit though, some of their jokes cracked me up. Then suddenly, this guy asked, "Nababasa ka ba?" I thought it was just a question, so I said in an annoyed voice, "Oo e!" Then he moved in front of me! So I was like, "Ohmigod! Hindi, it's okay!" He was really a gentleman, he was there in front of me the whole time. I was asking him if he's okay, and he said yes. I didn't know what to do. I was so, so shy, but I didn't want to get wet either. And yes, I didn't want him to get wet because of me as well. He asked me where I lived and how I will get home. I said, "No, I'm just waiting for my friend from Miriam." He said, "Hala, buhay pa ba yung friend mo?" Hahaha. His HS companion (he is a college freshman, too) asked him why he is doing that. Tas when he was about to leave, BASTA. He is really sweet. More boys should be like that. His name is Gabby or Gabbie. I'm not sure. Hurray for Gabby! I never forgot that day.
We met once, but his kindness lingered all throughout my college years. I think it was earlier this year that I managed to discover, by accident, his Multiply account. I contemplated deeply. I wanted so bad to say Hey, remember me? I was the girl you helped in the waiting shed. I don't know if you remember me, but I wanted to say thank you. I was trying to find the courage to blurt it out, to tell him how much I appreciated what he did to a complete stranger...but I didn't. I chickened out. I backed out with thoughts of more opportunities of saying thanks in the future, like it's a given--like each single day would come automatically, and I could easily choose to do something at the time I may consider most convenient for me. When I saw him in school, I made up all sorts of excuses not to do what I had to. I let a numerous chances pass me by, and now it's just too late. I may not be close to him, but the number of sobbing people in the College Chapel a while ago is enough proof how good a person he is. He was loved. He made people happy. He spread cheer wherever he went. Now the world will never know how it is like to know you, Gabby. Sheesh, Gab. We had a few minutes worth of encounter and look at the impact you had on me. Enough to merit a blog post during my freshman year.  I may not understand the reasons behind your final decision, but I thank God for giving me the opportunity to cross paths with you. You have a good heart, and I pray that you are happier where you are right now. Three deaths in a sem. These shed dark clouds in the uni, indeed. The cycle must stop.
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