She was just a girl...

This morning, a friend of mine was on her way to the US embassy with her family when a truck running a red light hit their car. Che Pe (an ICAn friend and Ateneo batchmate) was killed in the accident. The other family members in the vehicle were injured.

I can't believe Che is gone. When I received the first text message delivering the tragic news, my brain couldn't process the information. It's such a shock because one, she was so young, two, it was so sudden and violent, and three, it was Che. Bright, bubbly, cheerful Che, who was so tiny yet radiated with such sunshine that within minutes of meeting her you could not help but adore her. I feel like a small but vibrant light has gone out in the universe, and it hurts to think of how many more lives she could have touched with her warm presence, had her life not been cut short by the recklessness of an irresponsible truck driver.

My heart goes out to my cousin Kevin, who was Che's ex-boyfriend (and who I know still loved her). I can't imagine how he must be feeling right now. I won't begin to try.

Someone just sent me a news link about the accident. The headline coldly, cruelly reads, "Woman killed in QC smash-up." And again my brain refuses to process this. Woman? Surely they can't mean Che. Dammit, she was just a girl.

If this has given you the impression that Che and I were close, well, we weren't. But that's just how special she was. You didn't have to be an intimate friend to love her, and now, miss her.

Goodbye Che Pe.