Death becomes him

“It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and re-adjust the way you thought of things" - Lemony Snicket



I had slept very late the previous night,leaving me deeply asleep and feeling rather heavy,Mom woke me up quite rudely that early morning,it must have been around six am,the misty dawn giving way to sunrise,she came into my room and slapped my legs repeatedly as the stings delved into my body,reaching for me in my recesses of sleeping bliss,I woke up with a start,very upset and almost cussing Mom,she asked me to wake up and go and pray,I almost hissed out aloud but for timely clenching my teeth,

"She should know I slept late and shouldn't expect me to wake up so early,more so as I have no plans for the day"

I thought to myself,as I struggled with my eyelids which are still heavily laden with sleep,fidgeting with my duvet,I looked to my side and noticed Karl had already gone downstairs to the corner of the house used as the house mosque to pray,my eyelids fell close after much struggle and slowly,I fell into a deep sleep again.

I had only slept for about five minutes when I heard the slapping footfalls of Mom's flipflops coming towards my room again when I sprang up and quickly went to fetch my tooth brush,squeezed out some fluoride gel on the brush bristles and went to my bathroom to wash my teeth,Mom had by this time gotten into my room talking to her sister Hubaida on the phone.

I paused from my brushing,my mouth full and dripping of foam,Mom had shrieked suddenly so I turned sharply to look at her,her face the look of horror,she stared blankly for a while,her eyelids fluttering rapidly,she sighed and said she would be on her way

"Majeed! It's daddy ruki, he's dead!"

Mom dropped the news on me just like that,my brush fell off my mouth as I quickly bent down to pick it,we all knew daddy ruki, Aunt Hubaida's estranged husband was sick but the details where rather sketchy as Hubaida and her ex husband had a bitter and acrimonious split and he was an absentee father to his five kids despite this, the family of daddy ruki kept the details of his illness from his ex-wife and children but nonetheless,we felt shocked and sad at his demise.

Mom quickly went to take her shower and dressed up to visit her sister,I declined going but while I sat in my downtime after having breakfast,I couldn't help but think about my cousins,Hubaida's children and how they must be feeling,although their father was never present much of their lives and contributed measly to their education et al,I knew they would still miss him afterall every child needs his father.

A wry smile crept into my face as I sighed and pondered over the people death had snatched away from me,both those who I was fond of and those am not,first of is my late Dad

DAD- I can't say exactly when I became aware of Dad's demise as he died when I was almost five years old,but I knew there was a vacuum in my life that no one could manage to fill, Mom did try her best but I had needed a fatherly influence in my life but I didn't have it,for so long,I resented my friends who had dads and couldn't help talking about how strict but loving their dads were,so I decided to transfer all my fatherly love and desire to my maternal grand father

GRAND PA- Gran pa showered on me so much love and attention,he  was an islamic cleric so obviously he raised me to love God and I followed him to mosque five times daily where he is the muazhin,that is the one who calls to prayer,though a little strict,I enjoyed being with him and always looked forward to the long vacations when Mom would take us all home to see him and gran ma,I was in junior secondary school three when gran pa died,to say I went ballistic would be an understatement,I was in boarding school when Mom came to visit me,telling me gran pa had passed on,I was upset,I couldn't believe my father figure was gone and worse still,the school authority didn't grant me permission to go for his burial,according to them,it's my gran pa who died,not my father so I need not go! Can you imagine? Those unity schools! Urgh!,then AUNT TANIA died,she was my favourite aunty and I can't begin to recount all of the things we did and all I would miss about
her,my Mom's cousin and my friend fadilat,my Mom's half-sister and a nice aunty to me,aunt hassanat,,fadilat's sister khoutoum,my Dad's brothers,even though I never met them,so many people has gone in my family and I reflect!


It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we're alive - to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are- Elizabeth Kubler-Rose

Whilst this saying is apt,Daddy ruki or Ibrahim took it the wrong way by leaving the responsibility of raising his children with Hubaida to her,since Hubaida's sisters,that is Mom and late aunt Tania helped fund his tertiary education and provided shelter for him and his family and provided for his feeding and that of his children,he abandoned them,embarrassed and insulted at different occasions,my Mom and her sisters,his extended family who I believe do not love him supported his actions,he remarried and the marriage crashed within a year with no issue and when he became ill,aunt Hubaida heard whispers from people that it was leukemia,but we weren't sure,he tormented his family and humiliated everyone in Hubaida's family and till his death,he never got to seek his children and ex-wife's forgiveness and his friends and family didn't even bother to alert Hubaida of his death,instead,again,we all heard from people,would Ibrahim be well welcomed by God in
heaven?


Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful it happens in that order- David Gerrold

Aunt hubaida is despite all these,bereaved,so would not fully go into details now...would talk about this in bits in subsequent episodes...less is more right?

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