Smile, Forever Young =)

Antonello Joseph Sarte Perez.

February 17, 1993- April 17, 2011.

18 years, 2 months, 0 weeks, 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes of a short yet well- lived life.

Rest in Peace.

Amen.

The warmth of your smile will be forever cherished, your gentleness will always be remembered. An angel sent from above, our source of light, hope, and strength. - AJ's epitaph

So I'm writing this post while here in Manila Memorial Park. My father and I went to his tomb at around 8:30am. Well, Steph's direction was quite right. "After the bridge, turn left then look for Tamarind Lane and ask the guards for direction," she tweeted me. Yeah but it was farther. It's near the Elizalde Gate but it's no biggie. Back April 26, during his interment, I promised him and myself that I would visit him on November 1. I kept my promise. We got lost upon reaching him. When I saw his tomb, everything came back from that faithful Palm Sunday. I was online when he tweeted his last tweet. I went offline 10 minutes before the news broke on his kingdom, Twitter. Yeah, just like a plain kingdom from a far away land set long, long time ago, the news first broke on the social network he really loved to use. It's still surreal. It was surreal.

In order to keep the sadness away, we have to move on. Moving on is not done overnight. I, myself, is not personally known by AJ but there's what we call "a person who has touched many lives until the end." From his simple thoughts up to being proud of graduating from LSGH has been cherished not only by his family and friends but also his fans. From that point, we can keep his happy memories and leave the bitter ones behind. Cherish his the warmth of his smiles, the gentleness of his voice and sincereness in every word.

Yes, I'm an avid fan. He is my idol. I try to pattern everything from him. My iPod is a silent witness to that. All the songs that he tweeted as "#nowplaying" is still on my iPod. From that, the "17" playlist was born with Fall Out Boy's Sugar We're Falling Down as the first song to be played, always.

This man is truly missed. He will be forever young. He will be forever loved, remembered and missed. AJ, see you soon!

I think this will prolly by the last post about his passing. If there will be a post about him, it will be a happy one. Long live Antonello!Live AJ in our hearts, Forever! ANIMO AJ!