Mak Long....

Mom flew back to Terengganu even knowing that by the time she arrive, the funeral would have been over. Plane tickets were not available at such short notice due to Easter Hols..

Email I received at 12.06am:

Angah, Mak Long baru meninggal…

Al-Fatihah for Mak Long who despite losing the use of one hand at a very young age, lovingly cared for a very colic, screaming brat called Nina some 29 odd years ago.

Addendum: 0500 hrs. Read the Yasin, calmed myself down and trying to focus. Work.

Innalillah..

My late aunt, Mashrafah Mar lost the use of one of her arms at a very young age and  her disability become a good reason why she refused to settle down even though many had asked for her hand in marriage. Instead she lovingly took care of us her nephews and nieces. Her face lights up whenever we visited her, sad... our visits had became more and more infrequent as we grew older.

According to my cousin, who is on holiday in Terengganu, she passed away at approximately 4am (local time), having fallen ill and the clinic doctor suspected her kidneys were failing, but she was asked by the hospital to come back in mid-April for her regular check-up.

A week ago, apparently, she was wistfully talking of her nieces and nephews and how it had been a long time since she last saw me. ( I last saw her)

She suffered from various ailments, and I suppose I carry no guilt because I did ease her sufferings financially. My insistence that she come and live with mama which I believed she would be better cared for and was not made to work and does straining daily chores, went unheard as she refused to leave Terengganu.

I should be grateful she passed on peacefully. We will all return to the Almighty finally one day and coming to terms with a loss from 12,000 km may not be something new to me and altogether adds another page to the sad experience in my life.