As I prepared for my next journey (that was nearly a month ago), I was reminded of how life still goes on, even when I am not around.
Last weekends, I had to miss the wedding of one of my favourite cousins..From her email, it was a merry affair, being the eldest and the first in her family to get hitched. I guess now I won’t be able to hang out with her as much, unless Mr. Hubby …….. …..I’ll have to ask them the next time we meet.
And my nephew (a cousin’s son) Danish is now five months old. He is becoming a handful. I’m surely going to miss out on certain milestones in the next 4 months. He might even think I’m an alien by the time I return but as long as he doesn’t scream in my face, he will soon adjust.
It’s not just happy news all around, two cousins passed away in March. To add to the pain, they were brothers and they died within two weeks of each other. The older brother 15years old suffered from a lifetime illness and the younger one 12years old was involved in a road accident I managed to visit him before he passed away in JB a week before I left. My heart went out to my uncle and aunt. I cannot imagine the pain of losing, two children so close to each other.
Another cousin, his pregnant wife slipped and fell, which led to the early birth of his son. The baby passed away a few days later.
A month ago, I found out through an email that an old school friend, Sakina, was admitted into the ICU. She has been battling leukaemia since January. I visited her a day before I left and, according to the doctors, things were not looking good for her.
The last time I saw her was about ten years ago but the person I saw lying motionless on hospital bed didn’t look like the girl I knew in school. And that was painful.
Note: Keyna passed away on Sunday, March 28th 2011(AlFatihah.....)
Although I feel guilty about missing family celebrations while I’m away, the pain is so much less when compared to being told of a tragedy happening to people I care about.That was one of the risks I took when I embarked on these expeditions, apart from the obvious physical dangers.
“Lennon says life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, but what about the bit that happens when you’re living other lives?” asks Along.
Along (my eldest brother) has been living in the UK for over a decade and clearly knows of the emotional risks of being the eternal traveller. Besides being unable to define where exactly “home” is after being away for a long time, Along has miss out on important family milestones as well as not being there enough for his parents, siblings and friends.
Note: Along didn’t get to come back for the funerals of our cousins and so was I.....
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