The face of death

In just almost one month, I've seen various faces of death and all of them were tragic.

Nixlove gave me an aquarium last August and I lovingly devoted time and effort to keep all of the fish alive. Unfortunately, two of them died this week. A resident veterinary at the petshop told me my water babies got some fungi (which is hard to accept since I've been painstakingly cleaning the messy, murky aquarium water.) Call me overly dramatic but I love my water babies. I've always loved fish for pets.

On October 19, we all know an explosion ripped the entrance of Glorietta 2 mall, killing at least 11 and injured over a hundred others. And I saw four cadavers. And although it must seem oh-so-natural for me to be seeing (literally) dead people because I'm at the police beat, I still get scared you know. Fortunately work weighs more that my emotions and I was able to continue with the story.

And on November 8, lawyer Rene Saguisag, his wife, driver, and a dance instructor figured in a vehicular accident at Osmena road. His wife Dulce, a former DSWD secretary, died on the spot. Saguisag is still recuperating at St. Luke's Medical center and all the time I was at the hospital for the coverage, I had to bear with the grief surrounding their family.

And last night, a suspected bomb went off at the south wing of the House of Representatives, which killed at least four (as of this writing) and left 12 others hurt. I was tasked to cover the hospitals where the victims were rushed. I was luckily allowed to enter the emergency room of the New Era General Hospital and saw Representative Henry Teves and two others in great pain because of burns and shrapnel wounds. I saw how Julasiri Hayudini, an aide of the late Basilan Representative Wahab Akbar, fought for her life. I left her alive when I left the hospital, athough her vital signs were no longer stable. She died 4:40 pm today.

I don't really care seeing gory images or bloody victims. What really bothers me is this reality: How short life is. 

Keep safe, everyone.