An Uplifting Surprise ....

Last week when I was in Melaka, I took off alone to visit my parents' graves. I needed time out on my own. I was feeling so hurt and embittered. Having to control and conceal it made it so overwhelmingly depressing. Who safer to talk to but the dead? You can rest assured that they would not be telling anybody about it.

I sat between their tombstones with my late brother's grave behind me. It was like being encircled by the three people who had provided security, protection and love. I could just pour out everything that was bottled up inside me while the tears flowed freely. The graveyard was, as usual, a quiet and peaceful place for me. Being a weekend, there was no busy traffic along the road or passers-by. The graveyard was empty as usual too, at that hour.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts that I was startled when I sensed a shadow flying above. I looked up and saw a hornbill. I was amazed in wonder. A hornbill? You could not miss identifying it by its beak. It was not exactly a small bird! It perched itself among the trees at the end of the graveyard opposite to where I was sitting. I looked up again and a whole flock of hornbills flew and perched among the same trees. A flock of twenty or more birds. I was puzzled. Where did they come from? Why here at the graveyard? It was a rare sighting. I had never seen a flock of them flying freely in the sky and at a close range. And never in Melaka or the graveyard. WOW !!! What sheer luck!! They were a sight to behold. They were not of the large, deep black with prominent bright yellow beak hornbill species of Sarawak. They looked something like the photo below ...

 
It was a smaller version and greyish with white edges at the wings and tail and a light coloured yellowish beak. It was amazing. Hornbills in Peringgit. Why did they stop here at the graveyard? Maybe they were migrating.

I went nearer to the trees to have a closer look. They did not take off. It was as if they were there to look out for me. I did not have my handphone with me !!!! I stood near one of closest tree and one of the birds flew a branch down as if to confirm my sighting. They were not making much noise like the little birds when they gathered. They were just perching on the branches for a break. They were just there for me.

I was so down and they uplifted my emotions. I took it as a gift from Allah to cheer me up. It made my day after a few days of being in the doldrums where I felt so trapped with no way out. I forgot my problems totally. I accepted my fate with grace and faith that somehow, things would work out by themselves. I gave a happy smile and sang my heart out. I went to a tap nearby and washed my puffy face as I was meeting up with my sisters for breakfast. No point letting them worried about me when they saw my miserable face.

I felt good. I felt so blessed. As if the birds were a consolation for me. HE did not forget me and HE never left me on my own. Alhamdulillah. SubhanAllah. Take it in stride. Face it with grace and patience. Persevere. Make the best of the situation. HE had pulled you out of the doldrums. Life was just facing a little hiccup. He would never let you walk alone. Thank you, Allah, for your small mercies.