tentang semalam..

When the alarm of my handphone went off, it was 545. In the blurring and semi-consciousness, saw that there were messages and miscall icons on the top left hand corner..

First message via Viber from Ida received at 2.45am: abang imran, bang nah’s husband passed away. Will be brought to Bangsar mosque for final rites and buried after Jumaat prayer.

Second message via sms from akak at 515am: if you wanna go to Bangsar can you give me a lift?let me know.

Abang imran @ dr imran gurbachan singh @ koko. How could I possibly forget him, being the hubby to my cousin abg nah. He was a specialist in ENT though I had never had the opportunity to be treated by him. (should I feel grateful or sorry?) and abang nah being his wife, they were a lovely couple, what more with Amar and Hani as the children to complete the family. I still treasure the time when I looked after Amar and Hani then, waaay back then, late 70’s, beb! Thus the reason for the closeness and affection. And the decision made later.

I was in dilemma whether to go back or not. But by 845am I was with my missus heading down to KL via KKB to pick Akak. We reached there sometime at noon, and we thought maybe we would not be able to meet up with abg nah and her children. But luck was on our side. Immediately when we got to the main entrance of the mosque, there were abg nah and hani and amar. I gave them a hug and words of sympathy. But my being there to pay my last respect was what matter most. I didn’t get to see abg imran but that didn’t really concern me. I would always have pictures of him in my heart. After solat jenazah we left for bak’s place.

At bak and mak place, kak ezza was there, along with ano and nashra. Ida plus her children thoriq thoqif and ruiz were also around together with kamal. The guys went for Friday prayer with bak abang and al. I stayed back for lunch. Glad to be home again, especially with the thought that ida was going to leave for New York with thoqif and ruiz the next day. For good? Perhaps for now.

When it was time for us to leave, it was already at half past two by then, we said our goodbyes. And I just couldn’t say thethings that I wanted to say to ida for the fact that tears would start rolling down my cheeks. I only managed ‘I’ll miss you’ and that had made my eyes teary already.

Dear ida,

You know I’ll miss you, right! Like the way you do too.

For the love of siblings and the chemistry between you and me.

Whenever I go back to pj you never fail to turn up and stay

And make my day like an extraordinary day.

I will surely miss the books and gifts

The food and the stories.

Though I seldom say it out loud

That I love you a lot

I hope you will see

That I’m just being me.

And now that you have decided

I pray hard that God fulfills the dreams and hopes 
you've aspired

And we’ll meet again.

Someday.

On another level, it was good to see abang al akak together with ida and me there at bak and mak place, especially after the rift that took place last year and prolonged till a few months. Despite the fact they didn’t say much to each other, it was a good start to better things. insyaAllah.

Whatever it is, blood is thicker than water, and I sincerely hope they will put aside their differences for the sake of Bak and Mak, and especially Allah.

Finally we reached home at quarter past six. Alhamdulillah.

All in all, it was an invaluable day.