journey of a friend

I’m sitting at Emily’s Inn overlooking rows of boats that will later take us to Apo Reef. It is at this moment that a poignant memory of one of our traveling buddies comes up. More than a year ago, we laughingly sat on one of these boats with our friend Pete, who dozed off and drooled in the middle of the boat trip. I raise this memory now with my friends who are sitting with me waiting for lunch. They did not react in any way; I was the only one laughing. It is at this instant moment when I receive a text message from Pete’s wife, asking us to gather the best photos we have of Pete.

I turn into stone and hold my cellphone as if it is a serpent poised to strike me at any moment. Then it does. “Pete’s gone.”

A few weeks earlier, Pete was admitted for heart problems, coupled with sleep apnea. The doctors cleared his medical state and he was sent home. Pete and his wife Tonette were supposed to join us in this trip. Turns out that our dear friend Pete had another journey to take on his own.

Needless to say, our trips will never be the same without your sunny disposition and endless jokes.

Journey in peace now, my friend.