Photo via Justice For KAE Facebook Page
Two Saturdays ago, hours before Kae Davantes’s family posted her photo to Facebook and Twitter to announce that she and her car were missing, my sister and I already knew about it because of a text from our mother. We were close to Kae’s family, as we all used to live in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia.
My older brother and Ate Kristelle were classmates back in elementary. I remember him mentioning that he used to have a crush on her when they were little. She was there from the day I was born. She was one of my many big sisters when I was a little kid growing in Saudi. She left for high school while I was still in elementary. I remember she, along with other returning students, would come back to Saudi and visit us every year. We would play bowling, have dinner and walk around Abqaiq. Ate Kristelle was always in the recreation Library with my older sister and they would stay there for hours talking about blogging and fashion sense. Every year, she’d always come to me and say “You’re growing up so fast! It feels like it was just yesterday when I last saw you.”
When we heard that she was missing, we tried to keep positive: Maybe she just slept over at a friend’s place? Or she was stuck somewhere with no cellphone reception? As hours passed, my sister and I started to worry because time was running and yet there were still no signs of Ate Kristelle. That evening, Lysette, one of Ate Kristelle’s siblings, posted to FB that her that ate’s body was found in Silang, Cavite, at around 6 a.m. My heart dropped. I couldn’t believe it. I remember my mother telling me that she was engaged, and that made it even more sad. Ate Kristelle was a kind and hardworking person. Being the eldest of three, she was very close to her siblings and took good care of them.
The pain of losing her is devastating enough, but knowing she suffered a painful death just puts anger and more sorrow in our hearts. We continue to pray for her soul’s eternal repose. Yesterday, a Mass was held at Mary Immaculate Parish. Ate Kristelle’s family was calm, but I could see the pain in their eyes despite the small smiles and laughs they made. She was laid to rest at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque. On September 14, me, my sister and our childhood friends travelled together to attend her wake. Tita Beth, her mother, hugged all of us and said, “Go, visit her. Hinihintay kayo ni Ate Kristelle niyo.”
