It's the last night of viewing Tita Cory's body in the Manila Cathedral. I was one of those Lucky and yet Unlucky enough to be there. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. It all began when me, and 2 of my dorm mates, Dorothy and Janna were taking a campus tour in PSHS last night. WE had fun with the pay-phone and decided to call my house to greet a house-mate "Happy Birthday!" Unfortunately, not only did we NOT get to talk to her, we got to talk to my mother.

She told us that it was our LAST chance to see Cory and that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. So what happened? We got fetched and we were speeding home in less than 15 minutes. My mother decided to bring five girls with her. me <SHS 1st year>, Dorothy <SHS 1st Year>, Ate Annya <UE 1st year College> Ate Sari <1st Year College> and Ate Karla <ost graduate and Volunteer in a hospice>...So we went there and arrived at the end of the line, which was in Letran...at 9:30.

WE were in the line for 6 hours. Believe me, I'm not kidding... In the line, it was like war. Whenever the wannabe's who's try to make "siksik" came along, me and my fellow girls were screaming at the top of our lungs. THe five of use wore similar <okay, extremely alike> yellow raincoats that made us stand out. WE looked like ducklings and the people around us were amused because of our solidarity. Anyway, we found ways to have fun even under the heavy rain. We played "Pinoy Henyo" and told abnormal stories of our school days. me and Dot's from Pisay, Ate Annya from UE and Ate Karla from the Hospice. It was really fun!

But there were downsides of it. The first was that we didn't even get to sit for 6 straight hours and we were so hungry. Our stomachs were already speaking in French. Our feet ached and I couldnt breath. I had just recently found out that I'm asthmatic...so I really had a hard time. WE tried NOt to drink but I really really felt uncomfortable because I really, really had to go! \my bladder was so full! But we still had fun. We'd just laugh it off, and even make jokes about the horrible fashion sense some of the wannabe fall-in-liners wore.

In the end, we DID arrive in the Cathedral...ZzZzZz and all it took was 3 second of walk to see Cory's face compared to the 6 FREAKING hours that we suffered in the line. We got seperated from my mom, by the ways, so it was really fun. Because she already saw her Cory the day before. WE were really lucky because we were one of the last ones. A few minutes after we left, the doors closed because the President from Malacañang arrived to pay her respects.

We watched it for a while in the silent film in the parking lot. Then, we went inside Max to empty our bladder. We also changed our soaked clothes because for all the good the raincoats did, it was jsut a color to keep us together. It didn't keep us dry much. When the people opened their umbrellas, the water would drip from the sides of the umbrella and land on us, so why bother using umbrellas? We just considered the rain a "blessing".

WE went home on a taxi and after a quick change of clothes, we went to sleep. I woke up at 11:30, WOW! I hoped to get rid of my eyebags this day, because it's back to non-ending study be Thursday, but it's fine by me. It was worth it, to see Cory's face, even if we DID get the foot view...

I'll never forget her. My mom was right. It was a long time since I last went to a such a crowded place. I can hardly remember the rallies I went to when I was younger <I'm still young>! So, people, let's taka moment of silence to pray for Tita Cory's soul. May she rest in peace. Tita Cory, you will remain in the Filipino's hearts forever. It will take a life time before we forget you.