In December last year, I wrote about the 82 Days of Christmas project that the Assumption College High School Class of ’82 class launched for their beloved batchmate, Pilar Bustamante Estrella. At the time, Pilar had been battling cancer for 10 years.

It was only last month, on June 6, that I finally met Pilar for the first and last time in her hospital room at St. Luke’s. We had been corresponding on Facebook Messenger since 2013, but it was a dear friend and classmate of hers, Christine Blando, whom I reconnected with in December last year, who made the visit possible.

In Pilar’s presence, weak though she was, you could feel her goodness and love. She was very affirming, always thinking of other people before herself. Before I left her room, I asked what she wanted us to pray for specifically, and she said, “Can we pray that we be friends forever?”  Read the rest here