In Requiem
Of course there were flowers, too many in fact, and you know that the most flowers you are ever going to get in a one-time occasion is at your very own funeral. This morning, I saw plenty of flowers, and they were for Chat.
There she was, staring right at me, as I entered the Capilla de la Señor, so cold, quiet and empty, except for her two grieving brothers, that early in the morning. Chat, with her dark, earnest eyes, that stare out of a perfectly oval-shaped face, with a widow's peak lining her wise, protruding forehead (I have always wondered if a widow's peak, which made one look diva-esque, rendered a woman to the fate of widowhood), with a smile that I very well remember to be always followed by a high-pitched shriek and a giggle. She, Chat, always got away with it and maintained that certain something, this regality she had all over, which was so exclusively, and totally her.
The sealed coffin and the body it contained may very well be a metaphor for the occasion, for I remember Chat in exactly the way that she looks in the photograph, surrounded by the flowers, full of life, looking like a spring goddess, and being, in every inch, the queen that she was. This is the way she wanted to be remembered, (hence, the sealed coffin), which, as her final act of royal bearing, you only wanted to respect. Still, I know her to have her long black hair intact, and on her a hand embroidered gown with gold trimmings, lovingly made for her, by our friend and mentor Rene.
Myself being jaded to cancer for knowing it to have ravaged certain beautiful women I knew at their prime, still, I feel a stab of pain and regret over Chat's passing, too soon, I think, as do my friends Jay and Wendell. There are many who loved her, and those of us who knew her. In the end we all feel at a loss for words, as now, and only take comfort in the thought of having known how it is to be touched by a friend's life, and know, that somehow, we're all the better for it. That, in essence was Chat.
Wife, mother, friend, beauty queen, a follower of Jesus,
Maria Rosario Silayan. 46.
Filed Under: People
There she was, staring right at me, as I entered the Capilla de la Señor, so cold, quiet and empty, except for her two grieving brothers, that early in the morning. Chat, with her dark, earnest eyes, that stare out of a perfectly oval-shaped face, with a widow's peak lining her wise, protruding forehead (I have always wondered if a widow's peak, which made one look diva-esque, rendered a woman to the fate of widowhood), with a smile that I very well remember to be always followed by a high-pitched shriek and a giggle. She, Chat, always got away with it and maintained that certain something, this regality she had all over, which was so exclusively, and totally her.
The sealed coffin and the body it contained may very well be a metaphor for the occasion, for I remember Chat in exactly the way that she looks in the photograph, surrounded by the flowers, full of life, looking like a spring goddess, and being, in every inch, the queen that she was. This is the way she wanted to be remembered, (hence, the sealed coffin), which, as her final act of royal bearing, you only wanted to respect. Still, I know her to have her long black hair intact, and on her a hand embroidered gown with gold trimmings, lovingly made for her, by our friend and mentor Rene.
Myself being jaded to cancer for knowing it to have ravaged certain beautiful women I knew at their prime, still, I feel a stab of pain and regret over Chat's passing, too soon, I think, as do my friends Jay and Wendell. There are many who loved her, and those of us who knew her. In the end we all feel at a loss for words, as now, and only take comfort in the thought of having known how it is to be touched by a friend's life, and know, that somehow, we're all the better for it. That, in essence was Chat.
Wife, mother, friend, beauty queen, a follower of Jesus,
Maria Rosario Silayan. 46.
Filed Under: People
Tags: Chat Silayan
6 Comments:
there are indeed many words left unsaid. we couldnt find the right metaphors for people like her. there are very few people like chat who can touch lives with the many things that she did, big and small. we shall miss her physical presence dearly. take care over there. hi to jay and leo.
ako din..
Oh, MM. I'm so very sorry for your loss. She must have meant so much to you. If it means anything at this point, your words do illustrate a great love, and I'm sure she appreciates your tender post here.
hi john,
chat and i, we shared some historical moments back in the day, so it is just fitting to pay my respects, she was buried yesterday afternoon. you should have seen her john, she was a very beautiful woman.
i just read the article about her in the inquirer. she is indeed a very beautiful and remarkable woman.
Thank you for remembering her the way you do. Thoughts like yours ensure that she is remembered the way she wanted to be.
from one of the two on the morning you visited
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