Al-Fatihah.

Bismillah.

I got a call last night. Or more like this morning 'cause it was at 3 am. Looked to check my phone and saw that I had 2 missed calls from Abang. Now, that's weird was what I first thought, 'cause my eldest brother's not the type to be calling me at 3 am in the morning. The phone rang again, and I finally picked me up although I was half asleep, half awake.

'Faten, Mak Long baru je meninggal' said Abang, before I could even ask why he was calling.

I froze and went speechless for what seemed like the longest time. 'I've never heard silence quite this loud'. I didn't cry. I'm that type of person, actually. I never show my weakness in front of my family.

'Inalillah wa ina ilaihirajiun' was all that came out of my mouth.

My aunt on my mother's side passed away last night, from breast cancer. The cancer had spread to her liver, just like how Mama's did, except Mama's was worst. Yes, I've lost two of my beloved people to breast cancer. Then again, ajal itu kan hanya Allah sahaja yang mengetahui. We could die tomorrow, heck we could die on our way to the supermarket, and we'd never see it coming.

Ingatlah Faten, badan dan jasad ini hanyalah pinjaman daripadaNya. Kasih sayang, keluarga, harta benda itu semua pinjaman daripadaNya. DaripadaNya kita datang, kepadaNya juga kita kembali. Ingatlah Faten, kata Allah itu benar. Hidup mati kita hanya untukNya.

"Bagaimana kamu ingkar kepada Allah, padahal kamu tadinya mati, lalu Dia menghidupkan kamu, kemudian Dia mematikan kamu, lalu Dia menghidupkan kamu kembali. Kemudian kepada-Nyalah kamu dikembalikan." [Al-Baqarah, 2:28]

Mak Long, I'm sure you're in a better place now. InsyaAllah, semoga Allah tempatkan Mak Long di kalangan hambanya yang beriman. Amin. Send my regards to Mama, I know she's constantly looking over me. You've lit up my life with your presence. Mak Long ingat tak when I was about 4 or 5, you were getting married and we were up in Atok's room and you said, 'Faten pembawa rezeki Mak Long. You're my lucky charm. You're my best friend'. Mak Long, you'll always be my best friend. I love you and I'm gonna miss you. May you rest in peace.

*Minta semua sedekahkan Al-Fatihah kepada arwah Mak Long saya, semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat. Amin*