The call came earlier than most calls do. It was around eight in the morning—too early for casual conversation, too early for small talk. When I saw my ex’s name appear on my phone, I was surprised. We still speak from time to time. Not often, not regularly. But enough to know that life had moved us into a quieter, more mature kind of connection. We had once shared a life. Now we shared occasional conversations. I missed the call, so I sent a message instead. “Ang aga naman. What’s going on?” Seconds later, the phone rang again. I answered, half-expecting a familiar request—perhaps a question about insurance, maybe a proposal he needed help with. That was the kind of practical reason I imagined for a morning call. But instead, I heard him crying. Through the tears he managed to say the words: “My mom passed away.” I froze for a moment and asked him what happened. He told me quietly, almost in disbelief, that his mother had just passed away earlier that morning—around six o’...