LOVE FROM BEYOND

Ray was my College friend from Bontoc. We parted after we received our College diplomas as we went to our separate ways.

Decades later, we met again on the Internet. He was already a retired Army Captain, married to a lady from their hometown. They had a daughter, two sons and one grandaughter with their only daughter. There was a Nanny taking care of their lovely and only grandaughter.

When we had a homecoming on a certain year, Ray met us at the airport, and he also brought us to the same place as our holiday ended. On that holiday, we heard from him his wife had cancer and she had a few months to live.

Back to Toronto. Our online communication continued almost daily. He was just a prolific writer as I am although he finished Chemical Engineering. And he retired as an Army Captain from a branch of the AFP that deals with explosives and guns.

He loved songs from the 50s and I sent him MP3s almost daily too which he saved in his PC. During one party, he said, he connected his PC to an amplifier and played his MP3 collection the whole day. He told his guests the music came from his friend in Toronto. His favorite was Paul Anka's VERBOTEN.

Then his wife died. His correspondence never stopped. A year later, he told me he fell in love with his grandaughter's Nanny. She was much younger than him. At first she refused him, but mutual love prevailed and soon she accepted him. But she had to go home by herself first to Bontoc to tell her parents about Ray.

Ray told me that during her long trip from Manila to Bontoc, they exchanged text constantly all the way. Later he said, he learned her parents accepted him, no reservations.They were townmates. He was to follow her to Bontoc, meet her parents, and follow the traditional Bontoc way of asking her hands from the parents.

There was what they called a "Kaniaw" an all day festivity of drinking and eating. They set the wedding day and then he and his new bride to be went back to Manila in his car.

Invitations were printed, the church was contacted and all necessary preparations were made for the great day.

But then something happened and I wished it never did. Ray was crossing Quezon blvd. one day when he was struck by a passenger jeepney. He was brought to the hospital, but he died after one day.

The accident was e-mailed to me by one of our college friends.

Even today, I am still struck by the uncanny incidents surrounding Ray's death.

Was it merely a coincidence, or did a love from beyond reached out to take him away from this world?.

I still believe it was nothing but an accident, but certain events in this world are really beyond our control.

Here is a link to Ray's favorite song. Please copy and paste the link to your tool bar.---#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw5LC0TibYM