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Oftentimes, it takes death to know how a person lived.
It was Easter Sunday, March 23, when a major
television channel reported that two young ladies met a fatal car
accident along C-5 that morning on their way to hear an early
morning mass after a day’s work in an airline company.
One of the fatalities is Abigael Encarnacion
Parong, a young lass who just earned her degree in Legal Management
in Ateneo de Manila University in 2007. Her companion in that tragic
accident was Kristine Marie Oroqueta.
Abegael lived a normal life as a child and a
young adult except that she exuded creative intelligence, a deep
Christian faith, athletic talent and diligence. She was always a
source of joy to her parents Lyn and Lito, sibling Paolo, relatives
and friends. All those who knew her would remember her for the very
distinct sweet smile she always carried on her amiable face that
invited enduring friendship even to people who were not personally
close to her.
She was one person who simply loved to love
people. It was precisely for this reason obviously that she
dedicated a good part of her youth working as an active volunteer of
Gawad Kalinga to help build poor communities in Nueva Ecija and
Payatas, Quezon City because she truly shared the vision of ending
slums, violence and poverty in the country in her own modest ways.
During her graduation rites, Jesuit priest and
Ateneo President, Bienvenido F. Nebres, who personally took time out
from his busy schedule to celebrate a funeral mass for Abegael, was
quoted as referring to her as an example of living a happy and a
meaningful life as an Atenean who was a friend to all. Like others,
Fr. Nebres also remembers her for her distinct sweet smile.
No wonder Abigael’s friends fondly called her
“Angel”. Perhaps, it was no mere coincidence when her late
paternal grandfather ordered her parents to use “EL” instead of
“IL” as the last two letters of her name. “EL” stands for
God in the biblical jargon. Abigael’s lifetime was indeed an
epitome of the presence of God every step of the way.
Family, relatives and friends who attended her
funeral were surprised at the herd of people who paid their last
respects to Abigael, many of whom they do not even know. But
apparently with their show of grief, she touched their lives too in
simple ways one way or the other.
Her uncle, Danny Dula, even remarked that the
internment seems to be her premiere night if it were in the movies.
Her aunt, Cora Encarnacion, said they knew only of the purposeful
life Abegail lived with her untimely death. All the attention,
respect and the little stories shared about her goodness were surely
a source of great consolation to her family that she did not leave
this earth in vain even if her life was short-lived.
Abegael did not die as a heroine or a public
figure or a celebrity. The quality of life that she lived would not
even deserve media attention other than the fact that her death was
tragic.
There is this philosophical story that when a
person is born everyone around is happy and proud to welcome the
newly born as the baby cries out loud to his or her lungs content
maybe in anticipation of living in a cruel world. But when a person
dies, it should be that mourners cry bereaving the loss of the
person who touched their lives as his or her soul looks at them with
gladness and peace from somewhere beyond. For sure though, the
extent and degree of the grief of the mourners measure the kind of
life that the dead lived.
There are countless of Abegaels who lived and
passed this world quietly. Their memories would obviously live in
the hearts of the people they touched. Abegael’s passing is a
reminder that there is a great sense for every human being to live a
life of meaning to and for others.
The death of Abegael and all those of her breed
defined their lives. Certainly, they were earth’s loss. But come
to think of it, human beings like Abegael are heaven’s gain.
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