Bapak has Departed

Received a phone call from wifey when I was in the office around 8 p.m. on Thursday, frantically checking if I have received any calls from her sisters or anyone back in Alor Setar. She has asked me to make some prior arrangements to call her brother in Doha, call few relatives in KL, and book her a flight to Alor Setar tonight.

Her father, my father-in-law, the great Bapak Aziz has passed away at approx. 7.20 p.m. the same night. He was the closest for me to a father, and now he is gone.

Went home, fetched Iris, packed, made simple dinner, and waited for wifey to return home from Cyberjaya, and off we went to SBPI Gombak to fetch nephew Hafeez, and we drove up to Alor Setar that night. I stopped at Tapah R&R at 12.15 p.m. to sleep, and again at Gunung Semanggol R&R at 4 a.m. We reached home at 8.15 a.m., just in time for a short yassin, and preparations for the mandi jenazah. 

We waited at the kubur, and caught up with relatives on what happened the day of my in-laws demise. Apparently, he was out in town to do his final errands, which included repairing his wife's old slipper, picked his laundry and etc. People says that he had been difficult to people in his last weeks. Suppose he was trying to spend a lot of final times with them. Few of us planned to return next long weekend, and he had ordered few things that he wanted to eat. Tak ada rezeki, nampaknya...

After the pengkebumian, it was a long event of relatives visiting, and endless string of food. Needless to say, my trainings for the entire weekend were at the bottom of things. If I were to go running, I would feel very bad of disrespecting Bapak. This weekend of non-runnings and lots-eating will be my tribute to him.

We came back to KL today, leaving behind mum-in-law, with my  brother-in-law. She refuses any offer to move to our houses and remained adamant to stay in that rumah pusaka. I think she will enjoy her solo time in the house, without having to bicker with Arwah on every little things. But I thing she will also deeply misses her companion. 

Bapak, Al-Fatihah.