These past few days have all been a blur. Until now, there are no words to express how we all feel. We’ve just lost a friend, a brother, and most importantly, a very amazing human being.
Earlier, right after coming from LSGH, I, Ricci and Mark went out to eat at Charlie’s, and throughout our meal, we recalled all the good memories we had of AJ.
When I think of AJ now, I’ll always recall Subic last year, when all we ever did was harass each other, and him telling me “Alam mo, kaya ko lang ginagawa ito dahil lab kita,” with a very mocking smile to match his statement. Very fun night.
Throughout the conversations that I’ve had with countless of friends over the past two days, we realized that there was nothing bad that you can say about the person. His humility is second to none. He knew that even if he was surrounded by glamor and glitter, he was still, after all, one of us.
Ricci told us a story that AJ told him that, unlike most stars that would be amazed by their mugs on the screen, AJ would often scrutinize himself on screen.
If I knew one person that was definitely a man for others, AJ was probably it. He never did things just for himself. His career was not for him, but rather for his family. During Search-In retreats in school, he would always make it a point to be there, and sometimes he would even reschedule or completely cancel work just for it. If he knew you were troubled, he’d be asking you if you were alright.
And his presence was second to none, too. Whenever he would be present during a retreat, you’d know right away that he was there even if you haven’t seen him yet. He was very makulit. He’d have all these funny quirks and stories, and like I mentioned earlier, during Subic, all we ever did was harass one another.
Until now, it is a struggle to accept that he won’t be around anymore. I think it will be a long time before we even begin to accept it. But the fact is, he changed our lives. He taught us how to be humble, how to love others. There will never be another person like AJ.
And right now, as we’re still trying to comprehend just exactly what happened to him, all I just wanna say is: Thank you to Him, for giving us a gift like AJ. He has touched more lives than he could ever imagine. He is never gone, for he lives in each one of us whose lives were changed by him. To AJ, we love you. You have finally gone home, my brother. I miss you. Rest in peace, bro.
