Dear Serene,

You were only 7 when you left.
Now, 13 years passed by since the day you left, May 7th 1992.
Seeing the newspapers today brought back memories when we were small.
We were good frens for 5 mths.. sat in the same school bus in the same chair.. and oso in the same class.
I always thought of you to be a little girl with the brains.
You were the one who knew maths solutions to more advanced questions that no one else knew. I was envious of your brains, brains I did not have.
The day before you left, I remembered vying a seat on the floor with you. And we had a small argument becos of that. In the end, I won.
I never had the chance to apologise to you personally before you left our side. That year, I blamed myself for indirectly causing your death. That if I had let the seat to you, you would have lived to be with us today. As i grew older, the realisation that it is not my fault came to me, it was an accident. It was no one's fault, not you.. not me.. not the bus driver. We know he
didnt mean it either.

It was a good 5 mths spent with you. I loved your sincerity of friendship to me despite of certain people in class bullying me cos i didnt know how to retaliate.
From young, I always thot you must be really happy in that somewhere up there, with no worries, no homework, leading an absolutely carefree life with other little children out there.
and until now, I still think very much the same way.

Serene, you are remembered by many people here, your parents, siblings, loved ones. And I am one of them.

From your friend,
angele. JO1 - 1992
Katong Convent Primary