In memoriam: Ecatherine Balagso

I met Eka in GENDERS class.

There was an activity there called “Cyber Peek-a-Boo” where we were supposed to get new usernames on Yahoo! and partner with someone within the class we didn’t know—of course our identities were kept secret till the very end of the course. That’s when we met.

She was tall, dark, had a nice smile and an easygoing way of talking. After GENDERS ended we met on a few isolated occasions, greeting each other hi and asking how we were doing in our respective degrees. We weren’t much of anything except acquaintances in good terms with each other, and we just so happened to share friends.

Imagine my surprise when Denise posted the news on the LC24ID101 e-group. Eka had died last Sunday and today was her burial. I had trouble imagining it, as she was normally a sprightly girl and didn’t seem to exhibit anything out of the ordinary. I’m not quite sure of the details but Den told me she was comatose and died within that state, and she may have died of either meningitis or some kidney problem. For many of my friends, it’s the first time they’ve experienced someone their age dying.

The first thing that came to mind: I wish I could have known her even just a little better. The few times I talked with Eka it was mostly about schoolwork, which admittedly isn’t the best thing to talk about. I know precious little about her as a person. Perhaps if we met in some other circumstance more conducive to small talk...such “what ifs” are all we have left now that she’s gone.

For me and my friends, this is a grim reminder of our mortality as human beings and just how fragile our lives are.

Ecatherine Balagso, rest in peace. No doubt, you will be missed.