I tell you a story of my guy best friend who did everything to be successful in life and manage to succeed. Let me tell you the story of my guy best friend whom I cherished like he was my twin brother. My best friend who is willing to sacrifice everything for me.

He is Jojo Angelus Castillio. I’ve known him since I was still in gradeschool. We used to fight a lot since I hate boys and he thinks I’m such a know-it-all but eventually, we became really good friends to the point he knows me too well that just by my body movement he knows if I’m really happy or sad, what I’m thinking etc. I call him Jo which he hates because it is too common. I remember giving him a new nickname, I called him Neve a foreign word for ice since he was such a cool person. He was a painter, an artist, a musician.

Jo came from a not-so-rich family. In fact during his HS years he has to work part-time to help out in the family because his father was out of work and only his mother was working. Then their income started to go well since the father manage to get a job that can support all 7 of them. Jo is the eldest and he has 5 siblings. I remember that after HS, Jo worked on his scholarship in Italy. He wanted to study painting there which is his passion. He used to bring me SM Megamall for the painting galleries there. He was the reason why I fell in-love with abstract because that was his forte.

Going back to working for his scholarship, he got it and he flew to Italy as soon as I stepped into College. He worked there at the same time studying. After graduating, he took up his Masterals and started selling paintings in small-time galleries so that he can send money to his family here in the Philippines. After his Masterals, that’s his big break came. He became a restorer and from his restoration projects he was able to earn millions. He managed to bring his whole family and some of his relatives to work, live and study in Italy.

Jo was lucky, because one of our barkada, we call him Otousama (his name is Raz) migrated to Italy with his pregnant wife the time he went there to study. Otousama became his support. Besides painting, restoration, Jo build his own band. He is a good singer and an awesome guitarist and keyboardist. He formed Adam’s Blasphemy and he and his bandmates would play part-time in clubs there. Otousama was also part of the band and his keyboardist. Because of that, I became friends with his bandmates since when he visits the Philippines for a vacation, he tags them along. I met Fours, Marco, Lez and Serg because of him. I became a loyal and good friend because of him.

It was Jo who gave me the nickname Sese and since then on, that nickname had a very special meaning for me. He also calls me “hime” especially when I was depressed. He was always the first one to know if I’m hurting inside, even if he is not here in the Philippines and seldom sees me, he knows if I’m hurting. And now this person is now with his maker.

My precious guy bestfriend had a motorbike accident last night. He suffered internal bleeding in the brain and in his lungs and extreme brain trauma. He was in coma 4 hours after his accident. He died because the doctors could not stop the internal bleeding. When I heard he had an accident last night from Otousama, I didn’t sleep a wink and today when I heard he is going to die I was crushed. I thought, I will never have regrets because I refuse to but looks like it I will. Because Jo was my dream guy and probably my true love that I refused to accept. He used to court me but I rejected him because he was my best friend and falling in love with your best friend have risks and during those times he was courting me, I never really felt anything towards him more than a friend.

However, despite that, we remained the best of friends and now I will never see him, I will never hear him again. Ala nang tatawag sa akin na “hime”, ala na akong mumurahin na “Tang-ina mo Jo” at magsasabi sa akin na “Whatever bitch”. Ala na yung Jo na magdadala sa akin a art gallery sa Megamall, ala na yung Jo na papatayin ako sa takot everytime na magspeeding sya EDSA ng nakasakay sa motorsiklo nya, ala na yung Jo na kahit sobrang busy, kahit alang tulog basta tumawag ako para mangamusta, sasagot at sasagot. Ala na yung dance partner ko, yung lagi kong kaduet nuon sa karaoke, yung tagalibre ko ng fishball sa UP, yung bodyguard laban sa mga manyakis sa daan. Ala na sya, and the last words na narinig ko sa kanya before he met his accident were these words, “I love You Se”.

And I talked to his comatosed body today via phone (otousama placed the phone near his ears), I said, “Neve, you always say I love to me, so let me tell you this, I love you too. I love you Jo. Besty I love you.”

He would be cremated there in Italy and his ashes will be bought home by the end of August by his little sister Layla. I do think that he knew he is going away because he asked me this question out of the blue, “What will you do, if I die?”

I refused to answer it because it was obvious. I won’t be able to take it and it will take a lifetime before I am over his death.

And there goes my bestfriend Jo, leaving me behind and suddenly I felt I cannot go on anymore. I will miss you forever, Jo. I will miss you greatly.