I haven't been around here for a while. Tests, procrastination, and other things got in the way. I have tons of stuff (ok, maybe not literally tons) to talk about, but they're all overshadowed by what happened to one of my sister's best friends this morning.

I guess that's how death is actually: so unexpected and so senseless.

The whole thing was quite a whirl actually. It all started when Daphne got a call from her weeping school advisers at 2 am. They asked her to check the radio for news on her friend's house that caught fire with her friend trapped in it. We turned on the radio to hear her friend's mom hysterically talking about how no one was left, about how her kids were supposed to graduate.

And that's when Daphne started to cry with painful sobs. My parents called the fire brigade and her advisers ran to the scene. Eventually, it was confirmed that yes, her best friend and six other people had died.

I had to cry too. This girl was my seatmate in high school Chinese classes (I was a dropout that was classmates with my sister, LOL.). She had a really sunny disposition, and now she was just gone. And really, when you see your sister curled up into a ball on the bed repeating the words "And we thought we'd all graduate...", you try not to cry.

We ended up sleeping when the sun was practically up with my sister's other friends calling and crying.

The next morning, we were all pretty disoriented from lack of sleep. In fact, I remember waking up this morning after less than two hours of sleep and sitting around in a daze. I then shuffled to my Mom's bathroom, knocked on the door, and asked her what I was supposed to do. She calmly told me to shower.

We then attended their baccalaureate service. Generally, these services are happy with graduates laughing and excited about leaving school. This particular service was filled with teary eyes, wet hankies, and the funniest thing: a quiet peace. Dexter (church friend of mine who is Daphne's classmate) led the congregation as we sang songs, and you could see how on fire he was for everyone to really make our lives worthwhile while we're here. I remember thinking Thank you, God, for helping him. That's not him speaking; it's You. And that's exactly what Dexter told me when we met at the funeral home later.

We were looking at all the practically barbecued bodies waiting to be cremated. It was terrible to see how changed they are, and to realize how trapped they must have felt. I shuddered seeing one of their black hands extending out of the sheet. I didn't even go in the room, but Daphne saw her friend, bones and all. It definitely wasn't pretty.

But somehow, there was still that peace. Daphne mentioned a song sung at church last night and how she just felt it was true for her best friend and everyone else who died.


We remembered how her thin best friend often joked about getting fatter in the future. We figure God might give her a bigger body in heaven. And though it's hard for them right now, though her Mom is still in hysterics, we just know that God has a purpose. Like their teacher said this morning: she's tasting the greatest glory that we can't even dream about. And they're with Him now.

I haven't been around here for a while. Tests, procrastination, and other things got in the way. I have tons of stuff (ok, maybe not literally tons) to talk about, but they're all overshadowed by what happened to one of my sister's best friends this morning.

I guess that's how death is actually: so unexpected and so senseless.

The whole thing was quite a whirl actually. It all started when Daphne got a call from her weeping school advisers at 2 am. They asked her to check the radio for news on her friend's house that caught fire with her friend trapped in it. We turned on the radio to hear her friend's mom hysterically talking about how no one was left, about how her kids were supposed to graduate.

And that's when Daphne started to cry with painful sobs. My parents called the fire brigade and her advisers ran to the scene. Eventually, it was confirmed that yes, her best friend and six other people had died.

I had to cry too. This girl was my seatmate in high school Chinese classes (I was a dropout that was classmates with my sister, LOL.). She had a really sunny disposition, and now she was just gone. And really, when you see your sister curled up into a ball on the bed repeating the words "And we thought we'd all graduate...", you try not to cry.

We ended up sleeping when the sun was practically up with my sister's other friends calling and crying.

The next morning, we were all pretty disoriented from lack of sleep. In fact, I remember waking up this morning after less than two hours of sleep and sitting around in a daze. I then shuffled to my Mom's bathroom, knocked on the door, and asked her what I was supposed to do. She calmly told me to shower.

We then attended their baccalaureate service. Generally, these services are happy with graduates laughing and excited about leaving school. This particular service was filled with teary eyes, wet hankies, and the funniest thing: a quiet peace. Dexter (church friend of mine who is Daphne's classmate) led the congregation as we sang songs, and you could see how on fire he was for everyone to really make our lives worthwhile while we're here. I remember thinking Thank you, God, for helping him. That's not him speaking; it's You. And that's exactly what Dexter told me when we met at the funeral home later.

We were looking at all the practically barbecued bodies waiting to be cremated. It was terrible to see how changed they are, and to realize how trapped they must have felt. I shuddered seeing one of their black hands extending out of the sheet. I didn't even go in the room, but Daphne saw her friend, bones and all. It definitely wasn't pretty.

But somehow, there was still that peace. Daphne mentioned a song sung at church last night and how she just felt it was true for her best friend and everyone else who died.


We remembered how her thin best friend often joked about getting fatter in the future. We figure God might give her a bigger body in heaven. And though it's hard for them right now, though her Mom is still in hysterics, we just know that God has a purpose. Like their teacher said this morning: she's tasting the greatest glory that we can't even dream about. And they're with Him now.