My dearest mother passed away on 9th September 2015. It was the saddest day of my life. I remembered being the last person still lingering at the graveyard long after everyone else has left.
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| My mothers's funeral |
How could I leave ... I have no one else. My dear dad met his Maker a year earlier on 4th September 2014. I recalled back when I made the annoucement after the funeral prayers to those who came that whomsoever owes anything to either one of them please get in touch with me as I will repay them back. My body was all trembling, shaken and my eyes were subdued with tears.
I'm fond of giving money and gifts to my mother ever since I was studying. With the £305 I received for my monthy stipend from the Malaysian Government way back in 1988, I would put aside about £50 for my mother. I continued giving her when I came back to Malaysia and started to work in the oil & gas industry. I gave her monies and buy her things like jewelleries, wristwatch, handbags, and undergarments (yes, expansive brassieres). About 15 years ago, I started to give to my dad as well, even though he insisted not to.
Since 2016, together with the crumbling of the oil price, my career in the oil & gas industry has gone down to the oblivion. As if when both of my parents died, so was my high paying job. I had to start all over again. It's very difficult to be honest, only Allah swt knows.
It was about a year ago, I had a lucid dream of my mother asking me when am I going to visit her. I said to myself, the time has not come yet.
As in the case of previous years, during Hari Raya and balik kampung times, I rented a 7-seater SUV from Hertz. This time around they gave me an almost a brand new car. On the last day of Ramadhan this year, I was on my way to Taiping with my wife to find prawns, as there's none available at the Kuala Kangsar market.
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The less than 4000 km new SUV
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My wife said to me that surely in Sitiawan (my hometown) has aplenty, as it normally is. At that instant, I said back to her that Sitiawan is quite a distant, and I'm not planning to go there any time soon.
For whatever reason my rented car suddenly broke down. When I called Hertz, they said that they will fetch me with another car which will come from Lumut but I have to send the driver back to Lumut, whereas the replacement of similar type of car will only came late in the evening from KL.
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| Broke down on the way to Taiping |
There I was, out of a sudden going to Lumut (and Sitiawan) for no reason. I was able to say the Asar prayer in congregation at the Sungai Parit Surau which is in front of the graveyard where my parents were buried. Right after Asar, I made my way to the graveyard and there I was again alone, crying my heart out at their resting place. This is all happened on the last day of Ramadhan this year.
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| I was there alone, crying (selfie using timer 10s) |
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| My dad's grave |
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| My mother's |
Thereafter, I managed to buy more than a kilo of fresh prawns at the Sitiawan market and made my way back to Kuala Kangsar got the replacement SUV, and had enough time to break my fast with my wife and her family members.
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| Fresh prawns from Sitiawan |
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| Replacement SUV from Hertz |
