---i'm not the "crying lady" type. i seldom cry on funerals but i cry uncontrollably watching love stories - or even suspense-thrillers, if there is a need to. i remember watching "somewhere in time" for the nth time, i could memorize each & every line & remember every scene, and as if on cue, i'd start crying on the part when the lead actress (jane seymour) went back in time, leaving superman (what's his name? reeves) and a towel flying, crashing on my face because hubby can't already stand my acting, errrr crying. same scenario when i watch "a love affair" starring annette bening & warren beatty. ay sus, this is one love story i really like!
---and today, i decided to log on earlier than my usual afternoon date with FB. i go over today's posts and it caught my attention to see this "in memory of dady tatot"...i thought about something, a father, a namesake of tatot or whatever - so i checked his page. indeed, it was tatot cadavos, dead at age 21. i became hysterical. i cried. i reached for my phone to start calling our small group of libera fans - chix abellanosa, romina enopia, eric pazziuagan, doris solidum and riel sacop. chix wasn't answering my fone and i assumed she was in class. romina's fone had a recording saying it was unattended. eric answered my call, somehow i was relieved but he had to cut me as he was on duty (him being a nurse). romina finally went online and so did doris.
---tatot was a libera fan. i cannot recall now where and how we met but we became friends instantly. we shared pictures, exchanged messages on our FB walls, chatted a few times. our friendship even went as far as exchanging celfone numbers. he was the "quiet" one. he won't participate in our discussions concerning libera but would drop a line or two on our st. phillips chatboard just to say hello. sometimes he'd comment privately on my FB chatbox but this was on one or two occasions only. i could not even recall now how we started discussing about his illness but i think he was inquiring from eric something about an artificial leg - now, i remember. and that i didn't want to pressure him about telling me if it was not okay with him - i thought he lost his leg in an accident or something. so he went on telling me how it started and how he won his battle against the disease. and i remember telling him he was a "cancer survivor" and he liked that term - survivor...
---christmas was approaching and my liking to tatot grew considerably. and i wanted to give him a gift for christmas - never mind if it was in far southern leyte. and i did. he was so thankful, even took a picture of himself wearing the shirt (this pic in my FB profile). i wanted to send him an angel but sent the package in haste to avoid the x'mas rush.
---my last interaction with tatot was before the elections. i think we shared the same candidate. oh, even before that, i texted him and asked him why he didn't text me while he was here in manila so we could meet up. i browsed over his pictures at enchanted kingdom. even told him libera was here and that he missed their M & G and concert. well, his reply was just mine to keep.
---i'll miss you, tatot. you're one brave person and despite the pain and the sacrifices you've gone through, you still manage to give us your smile. thank you for being a friend, more like a son to me. go with God now, rest in peace young man.
