Alhamdulillah, i still have the chance to meet another Ramadhan. (We just never know if we'd live to see another one.)
Hari nie, dah 2 hari umat Islam sedunia berpuasa. Dan hari ni jugak is one of those days yang aku takkan lupa sampai bila2. To recall back 7 years from today, 2nd Ramadhan 2004, was the last time i saw my
Atuk.
I remembered that sahur. I slept beside Atuk, with many others at the living room. When we gather among families, we prefer to sleep in the living room ramai2 rather than in bedrooms. That sahur, Atuk was acting strange. He didn't join us for sahur. He was the sort yang suka gather ramai2..makan sama2. Banyak kali aku pujuk, "Atuk, jom la sahur". His answer? "Hah..makan2". He only took his medication.
That morning, he did his usual routine. Siram pokok bunga, sapu daun2 mati kat halaman, kemas itu ini, cuci kereta n porch. Nothing strange at that point. Sampai bukak puasa pun OK je. He looked very excited. Oh, i forgot to mention. It was late October. Few weeks back, Papa was transferred to Sabah for work. Supposedly with the whole family. But i wanted to finish school first. So it was Papa who went to Sabah first without us.
After Maghrib, and now preparing for terawikh, one of our neighbors came and gave us
bubur kacang hijau (not my favourite)
And there i was on the counter reading the newspaper, and Atuk took the
bubur from the kitchen. Seeing me, he said,
"Makan la bubur ni. Jangan sombong".
And that was the last thing he ever said to me. (Apart from a goodbye before he went for terawikh kat Surau Cheras Baru). I didn't go for terawikh that nite. Forgive my appetite that day.
Sedang orang lain tengah sembahyang terawikh, my sister and i stayed home playing Uno cards on bed at Atuk's room. Tengah dok main2..somehow at one point, i fell off the bed. Not suspecting anything, my sister and i laughed at the incident.
The phone suddenly rang, my cousin answered it. And to the point when i heard, "Atuk dah takde". Confused, i asked for confirmation. Who called? Apa maksud dia "Atuk dah takde"?
It was the truth i heard. Later after the call, my mom, brother and grandma got home. They looked calm. Even my grandma looks calm.
My brother was with Atuk during his last breath. They have already finished the terawikh. Atuk was so eager to help out at the
moreh and asked my brother to help out too
. Then he took a plate of karipap to distribute to people. He went down the stairs, and that last step of stairs, Atuk suddenly fell down.
People were helping to bring him to hospital. My mom took Atuks' car keys, but the car won't start. It's as if it knew that its' owner had gone for good. That car was a Mitsubishi Gallant, my Atuks' second love (my grandma being his first).
At least
Atuk pergi dengan tenang. Dia sempat puasa 2 hari, sempat habiskan terawikhnya, malah telah berniat untuk tolong kat moreh. He left his home clean, the lawn all cleared and neat, and his car was cleaned and polished.
When Papa heard the news, he took the first flight to KL. Arrived the next morning to get the chance to see Atuk for the last time.
I really missed Atuk. He was 74 when he died. He always sent and pick me up from school and mengaji when my parents were off to work. When i, always accompanied him to IJN to take his meds. Usually to Pasar Pudu and to the bank too.
Ya Allah Ya Tuhanku, kau tempatkanlah Atuk di golongan orang2 yang beriman dan jauhilah Atuk dari api neraka. Amin.
Al-fatihah.
