Auntie Sylvia Dies

I received the news this morning. I can't say that I was shocked about it because I saw it coming. Neil's mom finally succumbed to cancer. Her battle with cancer lasted for almost 5 years. At first, it was breast cancer, they thought that she was over it - she was declared clean after countless chemotherapy sessions. However, the disease resurfaced again, this time, as liver cancer. Liver cancer sufferers have an almost 0% survival rate, since she lasted this long, I was kinda hoping that she will be one of the lucky ones who'll be able to escape it.

I didn't expect myself to be affected this much over her death because I didn't really know her. I guess that I was able to relate with her situation because my mom also single-handedly raised us. Neil's father died when he was just 14 years old, also from cancer, so his mom raised him and his sister all by herself.

Neil often talked about his mom. Maybe that's why I feel that I know her. He was always "mommy this, mommy that", so I felt her presence even though she's not physically around.

It's funny that Neil and I became good friends because our sisters were best friends turned mortal enemies. They haven't been speaking to each other for almost 10 years- talk about cat fights, huh?

Neil and his sister are all alone now. I guess that their lives will change drastically since his mom took care of everything. I really feel bad for him. I can't imagine a life without mom. I remember a line from Silent Hill "A child's mom is his God" and in some ways it's true, at least from my perspective. I don't want to imagine how Neil is feeling right now. He probably feels that his world is crashing down.

This is really depressing...