Al Fatihah

14th May 2008 was the day I lost one of my friends that I grew up with in school. There were 138 of us, and now our numbers are reduced with the passing of Maria Razak.

I was in a middle of a client meeting when my mobile beeped a text message. I couldn't believe my eyes when the message mentioned of her passing. How could my friend, in her prime age, with 3 kids be gone? But then it got me thinking, Allah could just take away anyone, be it a baby, a teenager, a mother, or even a grandmother. I just lost an uncle just a week prior to this, so another loss is unbearable to this poor and weak soul.

I was trying very much to remain compose in the meeting, but my mind is elsewhere, trying to figure out what was the reason Maria left us so early. I thought it was only a few months ago that we were at the bowling tournament. Then I realized that was before I found out that I was pregnant, so it must have been a year that I last saw arwah.

Later I found out from friends who attended the funeral that arwah Maria had some blood clot in her ateries. That is the silent killer that must have been the cause for Papa's friend who also collapsed and passed away while giving a presentation to his Arab clients in Dubai last year. We have lost a few friends unexpectedly, and I guess the rushing and stressful lifestyle has been the main reason for such early deaths.

When I relayed the news to Papa that night, his reaction was "that was why I'm trying to clear every mortgage and debt I have as fast as possible so that if anything happened to me, you are not burdened..." Oh I just can't hear him talking that way, my tears start streaming down my face... I can't imagine losing my life partner, the father of my children so soon, just when you're about to nuture and shape your young family. My heart goes out to Hazmi and arwah's kids. It's a tormenting loss.

Al Fatihah to my dear Maria, whom in my thoughts I saw a petite young woman running the fields of our TKC ground, holding her hockey stick in the green uniform. I heard her husky voice cheering her other team mates. I also saw her marching in her blue-grey cadet uniform by the side of our main hall. I still remember her complaining not having enough practice when we bowled at the TKC "La-Tua-de-Alley" tournament when all she did was strike most of the time. From now on, there won't be any new image of her, and I have to savor all these memories intact in my mind.

Semoga rohmu dilimpahi rahmat Allah sentiasa...



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