Death

A few weeks ago, I received a SMS from Tien Han informing me that his grandmother has passed away. I knew that he was pretty close to his grandmother therefore it was not something easy for him to go through. Nevertheless, from what I read in his blog, he managed to get things under control in a short period of time.

A week later, I received another news that one of my ex-schoolmate's father has been admitted into hospital due to cancer. This guy on the other hand tried too much at putting the issue aside that it did not go very well for him. When some of us gracefully rejected his invitation for actitivities that he has planned, this guy got so frustrated that he regretted coming back to Penang during his recent academic holiday.

I can only guess that different people has their own level of capabilities in handling irreversible bad news. Hold on a second... since when death is a "reversible" situation? It is a sad fact that since the day we were born, death has been written as the end of our chronology of life. Each person that we see with our own naked eyes will one day come face to face with death.

Therefore, we were being taught since small not to take things for granted. I have always been repeatedly reminded to treat every single day as if it would be the last day of not only my own life, but of others as well. Alas, there were times when I got to lazy or careless only to be brought back to reality on the fragility of life when something bad happened to me or the person that I am close to.

For example, 2001 marked the year my mom passed away.

2 years later I survived a freak car accident that made me realise the importance of introducing my girlfriend to my family member. At that particular moment when the car was tumbling down the ravine, the only thought that brushed through my mind was "How do I tell my girlfriend that I am dead?" It might sound sarcastic when you are sitting comfortably in your chair reading this but trust me, things are totally different when this short thought is the only thing you can conjure up before the car hits the bottom of the slope in 3 seconds.

In addition, my girlfriend has never failed to land me in panic-stricken state when she did not respond to my telephone call or missed a promised call-back. I would have definitely been much richer if I were to collect RM1 from her for each time she caused me to get anxious. However, optimistically speaking, she has actually indirectly reminded me that like a tiny flame burning on a candle, I could lose her anytime anywhere.

The only advice that I can offer to those who are new to the experience of losing someone is to accept their departure. They have left their memories engraved in your heart and rejecting their demise will only waste those memories away. Last but not least, condolences to all that have learnt to look forward and went on with life.