It's meant to be...

Last Thursday, 17th November, I received news that Johari was admitted to ICU. I knew him when I first came to this school. He was promoted and transferred to another school as a Guru Besar. He was a nice man. Open, out spoken but always courteous and respectful. He was 52 years old. I was not sure why.  The bearer of news said it was an infection but not sure on which part of the body. I was already busy and hadn't done my packing as I was leaving for KL the next day. I had promised Ikram I would see him on Saturday.

That Thursday, Rokiah's daughter came to school to take some forms for her to sign. I helped her to type Rokiah's SKT form and chatted with her, being my ex-student. Rokiah had been warded for almost 4 months due to complications of her diabetes. Her daughter said that she was in CCU for almost a month. She will be going for a by-pass surgery next week. Ya Allah, permudahkanlah untuknya. She is only 45 years old.

As if that's not enough, I learned that Hafsah's got her termination letter effective January 2012. Noordin Sopiee & Associates will be winding down operations. She will be out of a job. She is 53 years old. She has enough to last her a year without working. It will be tough due to her age. People will want to hire someone younger and less experience as they can offer a lower salary. Maybe it's time to move on.

Everything happens for a reason. Segala-galanya adalah ketentuan. Tiba masanya "kun Faya kun" maka jadilah seperti apa yang telah ditetapkan sejak kita di Loh Mahfuz lagi. InsyaAllah, things will work out by itself. All these news on one day i.e. Thursday. Last Sunday, 20th November, I received an SMS informing me that Johari had passed away. Innalillahi-wainna-illaihiraji'un. Daripada Allah kita datang, kepadaNya jugalah kita kembali. Al-Fatihah for a friend.

"Sometimes Allah breaks our spirit to save our soul,

He breaks our heart to make us whole,

He sends us pain so we can be stronger.

He sends us failure so we can be humble,

He sends us illness so we can take care of ourselves;

Sometimes He takes everything away from us 

so we can learn the value of everything."

NEVER TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.
Finally, last Sunday Nooraini sms me. I thought we could meet up since I was in KL and we had not met for a few years. She told me that her sister, Yatie, had passed away on 28th October. I just asked her where she was now and she said she's in Air Keroh. I will try to find her sister's house this weekend. She had taken 2 months leave to calm her ailing mother. Yatie was my junior in school. She was only 47 years old with 3 children. Nooraini must be devastated and her mum, inconsolable. We had been friends since school. What else can I do to help ease her pain? Just be friend I suppose.