My grandfather was a strong and hardworking man. He always works to find extra money for the family. My grandmother always tells us stories about how he always hit on her when they were young and how they were having a hard time. With two children, my father and my aunt, they came to Malaysia and they were kind of suffered. My grandmother always says that my grandfather was the reason that they can live a comfortable life now. My cousins and I call my grandfather “Aiyya” which is ‘the respected one’ in Tamil. There nothing much to say about our relationship though, because he is seldom at home. He is always busy working and doing business regardless to his health. I guess he is used to the workaholic way of life.
So one Thursday afternoon, if I’m not mistaken, I just got back from driving school. During that time, I just finished SPM and I was waiting for the results. So my parents felt that it’s the perfect time for me to get my driving license. On that day I was very tired because I haven’t slept the whole night. Just as I put my head on the pillow, planning to take a nap, I received a call from my father. It was odd because he seldom call me at this time because its either I’ll be sleeping or I’ll be off for driving classes. Luckily that day I was doing neither. I picked up and said “Assalamualaikum”. I was shocked by what my father said. I felt like somebody ripped open my chest and took my heart away. I was speechless when my father said “Aiyya passed away”. For the first time in my life, I felt a loss of a family member.
My father passed the phone to my mother and she asked me to get ready. According to her, my sister will be coming any second to fetch me. She asked me to bring some extra clothes for her and my father. I just kept quiet. My sister is teaching in a school not far away from our house and our house is on the way to my grandparent’s house. After about 20 minutes my sister came and we made a move immediately. In the car we were both quiet. At the corner of my eye I can see my sister shed her tears. I feel for her because my brother and she were the first two grandchildren of my grandparents. They were very close. Along the journey, I was going through a nostalgic moment. Even though there aren’t many memories with my late grandfather. But the ones I have are very precious. I still remember there was this time when me and my cousins played ‘truth or dare’ and I picked dare on my turn. My cousins asked me to go and kiss Aiyya. It was suppose to be a joke but deep down in my heart I wanted to do it. So I went and did it. It was very awkward but it was the first and last time I kissed him.
After an hour we finally reach Jasin where my grandparent’s house is. There were a lot of cars and when my sister and I went through the gate I can see that most of my neighbours were there. When I walked in they consulted me and my sister. They said “be brave and be strong”. The first thing I saw when I walked in was my aunties. They were all reciting Yassin for my grandfather. We immediately went into my grandmother’s room. There, my heart dropped again. My grandmother was crying hysterically. She couldn’t accept the fact that my grandfather is gone. I don’t blame her for being too emotional because he was the love of her life. They got married when she was 15 and she has been living with her ever since. They were together for almost 60 years and now she is all alone. She cried even louder when she saw my sister, their first granddaughter, came in. I still remember my grandmother said “Your Aiyya always wanted to see your wedding, but now he is gone”. My sister wasn’t married then. She just started working.
Me and my sister were with my grandmother until my parents came. Shortly after they came the van that brought my grandfather’s corpse came. They carried him inside the house. He was face at the ‘kiblat’ direction and we all recited ‘Yassin’ for him. After that we brought him outside where his body was washed and the Imam poured camphor water all over his body. All of my uncle and male cousins were there. It was an environment filled with sorrowness. The fountain of our blood has stopped. The sadness was indescribable. After that we prepared him for the funeral ceremony. We wrapped him with white cloth his body was brought back into the house. We recited the Yassin for him again and all my relatives kissed his forehead for the last time. Later that evening we went to the cemetery for the ceremony. After it has finished we stayed for a while then went back to our house.
After about a week all of my relatives went back. I stayed there for about one month to help my grandmother with her house chores. I thought since I am not doing anything at home might as well I go and stay with her. She was having a really hard time. She cries in her prayers, she cries when she eat, and she even cry in her sleep. I really pity her, at the same time I really look up to her because she still has the courage to move on with her life. 5th February 2008. That is the day that I will not forget for the rest of my life.
most of us choose the last question~
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