Unsent Mother's Day messages: #SanaMa, umuwi ako noon

For Mother's Day,  GMA Public Affairs produced a #DigiDokyu series that gives people a chance to share messages for their moms that they can no longer send.

The mundane often gets overlooked, but once it's gone, the void it leaves is revealed to be irreplaceable. 

"Pinaka-nami-miss ko sa Mommy ko ‘yung paglalambing niya sa akin," Jhunica Ann Salas shared.

Even though Jhunica lived in a dorm in Manila as a student, her mom would still try to erase the distance by sending her photos of food from her kitchen in Bulacan. 

"'Yung luto niya, pi-picturan niya para umuwi ako sa bahay namin, dahil ayun ‘yung parang pang-akit niya sa akin na ‘o baby, ito na ‘yung food mo, luto na, uwi ka na.’ Siyempre hindi ko siya matitiis," Jhunica said. 

Her mom would always cook her favorites, like shrimps. "Kahit hindi ako nagbabalat, siya kasi nagbabalat n’un, ako kakainin ko na lang siya," Jhunica said.

The were best friends and Jhunica could talk to her about her life... and she tried not to take her mother's love for granted.

However, after one exhausting shoot for a short film, Jhunica called her mom to say that she won't be able to make it home. "Bago ako matulog naka-charge ‘yung phone ko tapos nilayo ko talaga sa akin kasi siyempre puyat na," Jhunica recalled. 

When she woke up and finally got around to responding to the missed calls, she learned that her mother had a heart attack. And she was gone, just like that. 

Her siblings told her that, before the incident happened, their mom had asked them not to eat the food she had prepared for Jhunica. 

Jhunica continues to wish she could at least apologize to her mom:

Sana Ma umuwi ako noong pinapauwi mo ako n’ung araw na ‘yun, pinilit ko na umuwi na kahit na may gagawin ako

Sana sumaglit ako ng Bulacan kahit pagod na pagod na ako.

Kasi siyempre, hindi ko naman alam na ‘yun na pala ‘yung last naming pagkikita.

Jhunica couldn't have known that her mother would no longer be there, welcoming her home with food, but the pain from the loss is still sharp and she'll always want to have said "I love you" one last time. — Aya Tantiangco, GMA News