Lost and In Loving Memory

I lost a friend less than a couple week ago. It was indeed a big lost to me and his other friends too especially his family.

I just couldn't bring myself to write about him soon after his demise. Not that there is nothing to write about, there are lots and I feel I don't want to miss any of the details that has made up great memories about him.

One of the thing that I remember most about him was his smile - a flashy smile of straight white teeth just like the smile of Columbus Short.

He was a playful guy, I'm sure everybody would acknowledge that. We even nicknamed him poret which means "keypoh" (busy body). Sure enough, he was "keypoh" in his cute way.

He was kindhearted and sensitive though would not show it as it would effect his "macho" self. But I know way down inside he was a sensitive guy. He was also, i guess, "anak emak" being the youngest in the family. But one thing for sure he was "adik manja kakak".

There was one thing that we wanted to do together.. that was to eat at "All You Can Eat Buffet" at Holiday Inn, Kuching. But we had to postpone it due to his health condition. We settled with the rojak kucei and he had to eat without the chicken.

I still remember, the first lunch that we had at The Elephant. He had .. what was it? .. chicken chop and I had steak and we had to eat up the big potion and my half bit was passed to him as I could not muster it any longer. While we were eating, he kept on staring at the other table. There sat a Malay girl and her friends. In short I would describe her as "Perempuan Melayu Terakhir". From the look of her, I could see that she was "lemah lembut" and soft-spoken girl --- any mak mertua's dream. *** over-rated description, I know! *** Anyway, I knew from the look, he was attracted to this girl. We even contemplating to write his number on the napkin and pass to the girl. Somehow our plan did not materialize, he was shy. Even after so much coaxing done by me... he did not do it. So... we finished our lunch and he sent me back to the office. I had wondered whether he ever thought about the girl anymore after that. I guess it was just a passing fancy.

Had he any girlfriend? That I would not know. There are millions of things I do not know about him but he was one of my great friends. I just felt so comfortable with him. Being with him could make you feel so. That was one of the great things about this guy.

Sometimes thinking about him makes me smile and sad all over... sad that I have lost a dear friend and a brother I never had. I could feel the lump in my throat right now. Shedding tears is normal to me when my thoughts are with him.

May Allah bless his soul and may he rest in peace. Amin. Al-fatihah.