Unforgotten

"Ohana' means 'family.' 'Family' means 'no one gets left behind.' But if you want to leave, you can. I'll remember you though. [looking at her picture of her dead parents] I remember everyone that leaves." - Lilo

And I remember them all, even if the privacy of mourning prevents me from naming them. They were members of the family of humankind: a teacher of history and geography who brought the world closer to a bunch of sheltered high school colegialas; a cousin-in-law who articulated his thoughts well and sometimes mirrored them through the vigor of his piano playing; the mother of a trusted domestic help who fell from the height of a tree while picking fruits and is now in a space where pain cannot touch her anymore. They left this world while I and fellow survivors continue to do what must be done to take us from weekdays to weekends. Sundays allow me to pause before moving forward in hopes of a re-purposed life given how little time there is left. Photo by Babeth Lolarga