about my late tok yah and pek.

I have been planning to write about my tok yah (grandfather) for a long time. But every time I want to start writing,  I just don’t know how to begin.

May be I should begin by saying that my tok yah was a very special person to me. Not just him but his wife, my grandmother who I called pek. They were the closest person to me other than my parents and my siblings. We lived together since I was small. We lived in the same house for many years... until they’re gone few years ago.

Actually it wasn’t really a same house that we’re living in.. but it was attached to each other. Just like how we’re attached and bonded to each other too.

I remember all those days when they were still around. When my Pek was always busy pulling out the grass that grew around our house during the day and in the evening I could hear her voice reciting the Quran everyday.. and at night, me and my sister would have our Quran lesson from her. It was she the one who made me able to read quran and to finish reading it for the first time.



While my tok yah.. he couldn’t walk really well since he had an accident. But he was the strongest person I knew. And he ate a lot. LOL. He worked really hard during his younger age, so I’ve been told. He had a hearing problem. And at night I could clearly hear the TV he watched from afar because the volume turned so high. And every evening he would sit in the rattan chair in front of the house, and he would tell me the endless story of his during his young age. From all those wars, mecca trip, football matches to kenduri during those times.. And I could still clearly hear his voice until now.. when he called my name and say: “Uda.. tengah masak apa tu.. burger ker..”  haha then we eat together. And his favourite food was fried rice. And just plain fried rice, no veggie or meat or chicken. Just plain rice. And his favourite drink was teh tarik.. or teh tarik kedai to be specific.. don’t try to make him teh tarik at home because it tastes different he said haha

And I could still vividly remember those times he always asked me questions asking when will I finished my studies. And when I gave him an answer he would say that he didn’t think he would live that long to see it himself. I always reacted saying it was wrong to say it.. it could be me the one who gone first. We never knew.. he didn’t say anything but I remember his look kinda said that he didn’t think so.

Now that they’re gone, I always missing them much. Sometimes I had these dreams where I got to see them. And talk and cried. They were the first person closest to me to be gone. And sometimes I keep asking question like where are they now?

But death is something that I really must get used to as a doctor. Some friends of mine who already started their clinical told me that it’s a normal scene in hospital to see people leaving this world everyday.

Pek and Tok Yah.. I really hope to see you one day!! And we can catch up with each other. Surely you guys have so many stories to tell. Like always.