A teacher passed away on Sunday. It was totally unexpected. Meh, cross that out. Jodoh maut sapa yg buleh expect? Nope, this guy didn't suffer from any chronic disease. In fact he was as healthy as the next guy. Cute even around that late twenty-ish age. We attended the surgery lecture last Tuesday without any clue. Then Butirsky, the head guy made an entrance in full black attire. Even his usual jovial attitude seemed to have perished in thin air. He was solemn. Everybody started sok-sek-ing. I did catch a few phrases mentioning 'dead', 'mati', 'cuti' among the hushed whispers.
Butirsky then called out a student's name, all the while gesturing the fellow to approach the bench. So she did. Kitorang dengan penuh anxious nyer menunggu the news being transmitted. We saw the girl nodded obligely, then she turned back towards us. Then, she grinned.
I swear half the lecture room pumped their fists into the air. Yes, we were that happy over somebody's death cuz that called for a cancelled class and a cancelled lecture. Ha.
Tho the deceased wasn't exactly our teacher nor that we've ever known or actually recognised his face, his loss kinda affected our day. He was good friends with our teacher. Imagine waking up one day with the news that your best friend, lunch buddy, gossip partner missed a step and took a plunge into the ocean and, well, died. We could tell she was severely heartbroken, she was not her usual chirpy self, and she didn't even bombard us with her usual popquiz. And she didn't even attend the funeral until the last minute, bleary eyed and all.
Being a medic, I should be accustomed to bad news and the eventual death. But when it hits too close to home, you can't help but feel the surreality of the fact. Some even joked of the possible consequences; if the deceased didn't attend the beach party and actually gave in to his students' invitation to have a Tamil New Year dinner in hostel, he wouldn't have slipped, hit his head on the barrack and died.
He had other options of course. I don't think God had the idea of playing Final Destination with him in mind. Given if he did skip the party and attend the New Year dinner instead, maybe he'd get into an automobile accident and die too.
The whole experience kinda made me realised, nak mati, bila-bila je boleh mati. Maybe all the while, no matter how many times we've been told, we tend to forget the simple fact.
How do you deny Allah and you were dead and He gave you life? Again He will cause you to die and again bring you to life, and then you shall be brought back to Him.
Al-Baqarah, Verse 28.
