OF GRIEVING A FAMILY LOSS AND REJOICING LIFE

Last weekend was a mix of pleasant and terrible news.

The hardest blow is the demise of a family member last nite. Dear, lovely Aunty Nor. Mum called earlier last nite to tell me that she was very ill, and Mum had to catch a bus to KB fast. Abah wasn't available, he's either in Medan or Haadyai. Mum had initially wanted to drive there and asked if I could come along with her. But she changed her mind after thinking that bringing Nunu along wasnt such a great idea to visit a sickly person. Alas, Mum didnt reach KB in time, as arwah had succumbed to her illness and passed away while Mum was still on the bus.
Aunty Nor is the second child of Tok Kecik's six daughters and a son. All the six children are fair and pretty (thnks to Tok's chinese blood), but she was the most beautiful. Every time we visit her at her KB home, I always look at their family albums for old photos of her. Mum said the was a beauty queen once, and a cultural dancer for Kelantan before she met and married Uncle Di. I remember a lovely picture of her; smiling serenely, looking fetching in a slim sleveless gown and white gloves, complete with a delicate tiara on her chignon ala Audrey Hepburn with soft tendrils at the sides. Graceful.
In comparison to Mum, who is a strict disciplinarian, Aunty Nur was always the soft-spoken and kind one, and I think as a child i secretly wished she was my mother.
My cousins, Kak Ja, Kak Ra, Mek An and Erhu are pretty close with us. Eversince we were children, Aunty and Uncle would find time for us to spend together, even when they come to visit us in Penang. A picnic by the sea or a waterfall, a lunch spread at a canteen bench in between Kak Ra's swimming meets, or a trip to bird or butterfly park - Aunty Nur would surely cook up a feast for us. My first jungle experience was and adventurous hike up a small hill somewhere nearby their house. That was when Uncle, an English teacher, taught us how to appropriately jump down from a higher ground.
As we grow older, our closeness is futher bound by Kak Ja, who studied in USM Penang and later, based her career here too, and came to visit every now and then with her son, Shahmi. We never missed the girls weddings too, from K.Ja's well planned and lavish one, to K.Ra's overdued one (she got married in Australia, and had the wedding kenduri a few months later in KB), to Mek An's very unexpected and ad hoc one.
Aunty Nur had always been a diabetic, but even Mum being a doctor couldnt get her to keep her health in check until it was too late. She suffered a debilitating stroke that left her frail and had to be tended by Uncle most of the time. Her health deteriorated over the years, whilst Uncle, strong as a rod as he is, alhamdulillah had always been her rock, steadfastly caring for her when none of the children, due to commitments, could, and devoted to get Aunty to regain her health.

I has been a while since I lost a close family member. The last time should be the passing of my grandpa, Tok Aki and an uncle, Ayahcik when I was about 6 or 7. But I was too small to remember anything and this time, it's pretty shattering to me. I feel bad for not being able to be there to pay my last respects to her. She shall be laid to the ground by this afternoon, I reckon. I shall miss her terribly. May Allah bless her soul and be placed with the mukmins. Al-fatihah.

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Still on the topic of family tragedy, a fellow university friend whom I still keep in touch with sent an SMS last Saturday night, simply informing the recepient of the obviously general SMS that the news of his deceased brother's was all over the major papers the day after (Sunday). I didnt know what was going on, having missed my daily dosage of juicy scandalous tabloid for a few days then. The next day (tht means yesterday) after giving Nunu an early morning bath, I rushed to the in-laws place (which is conveniently only two doors down) looking for Harian Metro. And there it was, the news article, about the untimely demise of my friend's 18-year-old brother. Apparently, the boy (who bore a splitting image of his brother) was allegedly trying to escape a police roadblock at 3.50 in the morning and met with an accident. However, the accident is now in query since 2 witnesses came forth to claim that they saw an policeman beating the boy in the chest to stop him from running away.

I can't imagine the pain and sorrow they're going through. I've met them during my friend's wedding just after our graduation a few years ago, and they're a mighty close-knit family. The boy, fresh out of school, must have been at the wrong place and at a wrong time. The family is now not only seeking solace for his death but also, some form of justice they duly deserve.

I feel really awful now coz just a few days ago, I called him up to follow up on a few unpaid invoices meant for his company (they've been a year overdue). Of course I didnt know about the tragedy at that time, and he sounded somewhat distracted over the phone. He was really professional, and requested a statement of account to be sent to his office.

I pray that these two families stay strong.

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On another note, amidst the tragic deaths, I'm also praying for Abg Razak's 8-month-old baby who underwent a hole-in-the heart surgery last week. She's doing pretty OK when I checked with him just now.

Good news also come in a form of a new bundle of joy and another two coming soon this June.
Farah, my room mate during a year in USM matriculation, just delivered a healthy 3.36kg baby boy. When I received her SMS, it always strike me how fast time flies for I can still remember ever so vividly how resplendant she looks at her wedding which is almost a year ago.

In more good news, Yani, my room mate during my SSP years came to visit yesterday with a becoming tummy and her hubby in tow. They've been trying to conceive for a few years, and alhamdulillah, God grants their prayers and she's 7 1/2 months along now. Its soooo good to see her glowing and basking in expectant happiness.

In addition to that, Insya-Allah, somewhere in August, another SSP soulmate Lynn, will bring another bundle of joy to this world.

Nunu will have more real frens to play with now.

Alhamdulillah, Ya Allah, for all the joy you bestowed to us.