Lost a friend

Imagine getting a phone call from one of your old friends that you haven’t spoken to in years and only to get a news you never thought you’ll hear. I lost one of my college friends and for the first time ever, i travelled to another state just to pay my last visit.

My friend called me at about 5/5ish yesterday and we made a move to Kelantan about an hour later. The whole journey took about 6 hours+ /7 hours and not only was the area dark, but it was raining as well so it was twice as hard to see what’s ahead of us. We reached our hotel at 2 in the morning, checked in, washed up, and went to bed.

Woke up a few hours later and the uneasy feeling starts kicking in. Holy shit, we’re all the way in Kelantan, paying our last respect to one of our friends, something we didn’t imagine would happen so soon. The journey to the funeral parlour was a quiet one and i guess we were just trying to process the thought of seeing our friend for the last time.

Just as we arrived, all eyes were on us and reality starts kicking in. We’re here and we’re looking at the whole setup, it’s happening. Walked to the side of the casket where we could see her, silence was all. Not a single word from any of us, tears rolling down our cheeks, just paying our respect.

It’s so surreal. We’re literally looking at our friend lying in a casket, lifeless. She looked like she was sleeping, and it was very natural. We weren’t that close but we had some memories together when we were friends and up till now, i still find it hard to accept the fact that she’s gone.

The hardest part would be when we were at the crematorium with all her family and friends present. There was a prayer session before we said our last goodbye. We all stood behind her casket, had one hand on the shoulder of the ones in front, and asked her to travel safely to the other world. The thing that got everyone balling their eyes out was asking her soul to leave the body (it’s a belief apparently).

We left a flower on her casket and we walked away as the casket slowly enters the cremation chamber. Now we’re just looking at the crematorium chimneys, patiently waiting for the smoke to appear, indicating the body is being cremated. As soon as the smoke appears, that’s when i truly accept the fact that my friend is gone forever and is now in a better place.

I’ve mentioned it before, anyone can go anytime and more often or not, it’s always a surprise. You can interact with a person today, and you might not hear from the person days later or even few hours later. Keep your loved ones close and let them know you love them before you lose that chance. Appreciate the people in your life. Write soon.