2nd Sept – my day, with a humbling thought
I was happy to see Ahmad (not real name). He turned up with a small group of ex Almanar pupils on the second day of Hari Raya. Like his elder sister he attended tuition classes at Almanar.for three years and is now in Form 5 at a technical college.
Before Ahmad left our house I asked how his father was. I had met the latter on a number of occasions. According to Ahmad his father had not been well for some time, but seemed to have recovered somewhat from a life-threatening illness. On hearing that, Pakcik responded that he would drop by on the following day to see the father whom I had not seen for quite a while. Of his sister Ahmad was happy to say that she had just graduated and was beginning to apply for a job.
“ Has she got a steady someone?” I asked jokingly. The answer was a yes with a gleam across his face.
“ Kalau begitu tak lama lagi Pakcik dan Makcik terima lah kad jemputan! (In that case it wouldn’t be long before we get a wedding card!)” I quipped.
“ Ayah kata kenalah tolong adik adik dahulu sebelum kahwin.( But my father said she should assist her younger siblings first financially before marriage.)”
______________________________
Early the following morning Pakcik was ready to pay a quick visit to Ahmad’s father before the day’s visitors began to arrive. Just as I was stepping out came a short SMS message to say that Ahmad’s father had passed away. I proceeded to his house, nevertheless; but it was no longer a visit to see a sick person.
To see Ahmad and sister crying was hard for me to bear that morning. Looking at his sister I could imagine the words uttered by her father. She had graduated no doubt, but that was not quite the end of the tunnel. Now she has to help her mother hold the fort. Her father’s pension might not be quite enough for the need of the family.
C’est la vie! ( That’s life! )
______________________
I had done what I could and now I pray that all would be well for them with Alfatihah for the departed father; and, insya Allah hopefully we would, in due course, receive the invitation card, signifying the end of the tunnel.
Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan
28 comments:
Dear Pakcik,
You might say curiosity kills the cat but I have to ask you this, in your last sentence, you said, "invitation card, signifying end of the tunnel." Do you mean that getting married means end of the tunnel for a girl? You know....it could be the beginning of a dark tunnel instead. What is your ideal thoughts of "end of the tunnel"? har har har *curious laughs*
C-f-S
Look at the time, you naughty, naughty girl. You woke me up!
When a girl is out of a tunnel, one long dark tunnel, she will jump free into the light of the day and free to get married whatever!
How on earth you can catch my posting at this hour every time baffles me.
Once I had a large Persian cat, a true beauty I named Jamil (for beautiful). Sadly the Singapore friend who gave it to me had done whatever you call it, and it could not get married. it died in Kalumpang, in the kampong house of my earlier posting. That was when we were posted in London. I hate cats since!
I was waiting up till 1/4 to midnight for a posting, to be the first to wish but fell asleep after a long day - part of which spending 40,000ft above the plane coming home.
Happy birthday babah dear, wishing you absolute happiness and good health. I can already see your warm grin and hear your contentment: "HE'd already granted me more than what I prayed for".
But i am human and i am greedy ... i pray that HE gives you much much more. Love you babah.
on another note... i have always wondered why Pakcik seldom showed that "fondness" for cats. Compassion for all things living, yes... giving them stray cats food/leftovers, help when needed, taking them to the vet even, etc. but seldom that gentle pat or rub on its head or tickle under its neck/tummy to hear it purr. Always that "shooh! shooh!" when one sneaked into the house. (maybe because no.2 have asthma)
I lost my much loved semi-persian cat - Fluffy - that I took care during my students days. It was given to me by a senior when he left upon completing his course. It died a cruel death a few days after an incident - kicked by a bunch of teenage mobs. Unexpectedly I had grown so fond of it that I went through a period of grief, and i have difficulty in "allowing" myself to love one, eversince.
So, maybe that answers it.
Nwar
Prayers from good children have special connotation in Islam. I am glad because, as you said, I have been granted with such children.
Yes your guess is partly right.
Happy Birthday Ki and Wan! I bought you Sakura kit-kat chocolates !
Happy birthday babah and mami! I can imagine you both enjoying 3-in-1 kopiko and mami's tasty apple pie at the wakaf, sharing a romantic moment together. Gentle summer breeze whispering thru the pokok pokok rhu, bees buzzing around mami's pokok bunga, smell and sight of the ocean... perfect picture of how i wish my "later" days would be... and i cannot help but remember babah's kind words during my unhappy moments .. life is but an unfinished portrait.
Love you both, happy birthday.
Rayyan,
Thank you. You can eat it for Ki
Llove,
"Gentle summer breeze whispering thru the pokok pokok rhu, bees buzzing around mami's pokok bunga, smell and sight of the ocean... " all will still be here when the love birds are long gone.
Thank you for the thought
Dear Pak Cik,
Happy and sad all in an instance! Al Fatihah! I wish to say again I welcome this story and many of the same posted earlier. It's such an inspiration. I wish 'Ahmad' and his sister all the very best for the future.
Hank
P/S Thanks for dropping by at Rainbow
dear pakchik,
here's wishing you, happy birthday, with great affection and admiration.
السلم عليكم ورحمة الل
C'est la vie!
Begitulah kehidupan - laksana putaran roda ferris yang membandingkan turun naiknya kehidupan. Moga Ahmad tabah serta di beri Allah kekuatan menghadapi segalanya. Al-fatihah buat ayahandanya yang tercinta.
(Mungkin saya ketinggalan atau kefahan saya berlainan berbanding dengan komen-komen di atas - maafkan saya).
Hank,
Not every one likes the same. I try to vary within my area of involvement.
Hank, your sketching skill is another that I truly envy. It is so useful as a media in blogging. I can see a lot of things I can use.
Salaaam
Nali,
You are still not identifying you blog name! It is good to see you visiting again - and having your own as well.
Cikgu Humairi,
WAKS
Saya rasa kefahaman Cikgu memang betul. Tak usah merendah diri. Kalau betul ada yang terasa was-was enmail saya ia lah almanar@pd.jaring.my. Pintu terbuka 24 jam!
Dear Pak Cik,
First of all apologies! Belated Birthday greetings on Sept 02! Even after your reminder it slipped my mind. I'll be made to remember in 2013 and there after as Sept 03, today is my No 1 daughter's birthday. About the sketch somehow I like pastel as it brings out the shadings and it is fast, about 1 hr.in total to create one. You are giving me an idea to create a sketching blog. I think I'll just do that. Thanks for your cuit2.
Hank
Better late than never. Happy belated birthday wishes to both of you at Almanar I crossed the 75th barrier eleven days ago. AlFatih
Happy Birthday Pakcik...Many Happy returns of the day (even though this is belated...)
Hank,
Why not? Give your sketching blog a try. We will see how you can express your thought through that media.
Ninot,
Sometimes I would rather not be reminded except thar it is a reminder of a gift that one should be grateful for. It is more so when the flight is reaching a dizzying height. Thank you, Ninot.
Kotastar,
You racing fast at heel. Let's pray the rest of our future mileage is fruitful in every way.
Sdr Al-Manar,
Insya Allah, seseorang itu akhirnya akan dapat juga menyelaraskan kehidupan masing-masing walau sekeras mana pun dugaan yang dihadapi.
Saya dalam beberapa keadaan mengalami cuma dapat 'melawat jenazah' kerana kelemahan diri yg menangguhkan urusan ziarah.
Ujang Kutik,
Betullah pendapat Ujang. Kalau bersabar dengan kepercayaan kepada Illahi segala2 nya berakhir dengan baik.
What can we mortals do but He knows best. May Allah bless the good father and the children he leaves behind.
I was asleep one night in your room in the back when I heard a rustling beneath the bed. I looked down in my stupor when I saw two bright eyes staring at me. It was kucing ccoreng - some black, some brown, some lost soul looking for ikang goreng in the middle of the night. I thought you sent him there. Now you tell us you dislike cats (in Sydney or elsewhere)
Happy birthday Abang Ngah. May Allah keep you and Kak Mah well for many years to come, in the company of your wonderful family.
Salam Pakcik,
A very sad moment. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rojiuun.
May Allah swt instil patience to Ahmad and the family members.
AG,With cats it is a kind of love-hate relationship. But kucing hitam and kucing coreng are about the worst types, if ever they cross your path. Kalu ader senapang tembok boleh sepuloh dah.
It is exam time now. Kak mah dengan Abang Ngah just watch the concerned faces of Ainun and Nuar; between them one sitting for UOSR, two PMR and two SPM. It is their turn!
PakMail,
We hear more pitiful cases carried in the newspaper, but few which we have something to do with.
Dear Pak Cik,
If you're referring to 'Easel and Colours' at pelangi.blogspot.com, yes, it's mine.It was created way back in 2002. I had designs of creating an Art blog even then. I could not find a proper format and it remained dormant.But after going through others' art blog I found they had used an upgraded version of blogspot. So I adopted it and transferred all my sketches from Rainbow. I may have to change the settings to allow for comments. I'll be posting sketches from time to time from now on.
Again, you had provided the cuit2 to make me reactivate it.
Your Comments: 1. Portraits are difficult as likeness has to be seen. Brian's eyes went through many phases of change and still it was found wanting. 2. For the others (aloe vera and chilli) I'll incorporate the suggestions in later sketches. Thank you once again!
Hank
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