Bato at Ilaw

Went back to one of my favorite places in the world after six years! Though we only stayed there for 3 days, I still vividly remember the chapel where we got introduced, the dorms where we slept in bed assignments arranged alphabetically, the haunted common rest room and the equally haunted howls of the wind from our windows, the cafeteria where we ate and the corner where I cried (with some of my classmates) because the priest/facilitator gave this sort of simulation on what we'll feel when we die.

I think the place has not changed much since we left there. Or maybe time has played on my mind that I don't notice how the paint on the walls have faded, how much moss has accumulated on the red bricks in the garden, how the view in front of the mountain has less trees, and how empty the halls have been...

Though one thing has always remained. Don Bosco Batulao - bato at ilaw - has always been welcoming, for those who have taken their retreats there and for those who will create memories which we'll always want to re-encounter.