I was first introduced to a version of Luis in a funny story recounted by my friend Marien.

photo from Luis' twitter account

Her brothers decided to send off a cockroach into the afterlife with a production. Bathroom lights dimmed, alcohol poured, a match lit - Alex Proyas and Brandon Lee would have found it amusing. I was a little bit jealous that her brothers were so brilliantly (and maybe a little sadistically) funny. 

One day, Marien handed me two books. She told me they were written by her brother and I was too happy because books as random weekday gifts are the best. I got home, opened one of them called the King of Nothing To Do and found a re-telling of the same hilarious anecdote, it never fails to make me laugh. I joked that I should probably get her brother to autograph my two books, but we never really got around to it. 

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Every so often, I'd read through King of Nothing To Do until I came accross this story that really resonated within me. The story was called "Like Song, Like Weather", a story about a dancer named Lisa. This line stayed with me, "there really is no significant way of telling the dancer from the dance." Why I found this line so compelling, I don't really remember. What I do remember is how at the time, it felt so significant, as if someone found the words I had been struggling to find, arranged them on paper and pinned down what used to be just an abstract idea. That felt like the kind of writer he was.

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Months later, I found myself in Katipunan at a benefit show that was being held to raise funds for his hospitalization. The place was full. I thought he must have been such a good friend to have all these people show up and pull through for him.

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I got a copy of Dear Distance. It was my favorite among the three books of his that I had. I finished it in a few nights. It made distance and sadness feel too tangible. The stories perfectly capture the feeling of disconnection from things familiar or new. It felt like isolation.

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I have never met him. All I knew of him were stories, both from his writing and the occasional anecdote from Marien. He was a great writer. But more than that, he is well-loved. by family, friends and even strangers, who all share a communal sense of loss in varying degrees.