Wednesday 7 April 2010

All that's left are the memories

I am a bit unsure on how to start this post. Perhaps I should first apologise for the brief absence from blogosphere. It has taken me a while to get things organized with the shift to a new working environment. Something happened today that has caused me to think about things and put my thoughts in a blog post. But I'll get back to that shortly...

Early this year in January, I posted a story about Two Birthdays. The second birthday in that story is about a close friend of mine named Badique whom I re-connected via Facebook, after losing touch for more than 24 years. We had talked for nearly two hours, mostly re-living the stories of our past when we were studying in the UK... the wild and adventurous years. The visit to my friend's house that day was on the eve of his 48th birthday.

I ended that story with a wish for my friend to recover from his illness and the hope that I would be able to meet up with him again for his next birthday.

That hope is now no longer a possibility... my friend succumbed to his illness and passed away at around 11.15pm last night. This morning, I headed out to Shah Alam to attend the burial. The large number of friends and well-wishers who turned up to pay their last respects is clear evidence that Badique was well-liked as a person. Those who came range from old school-mates, university friends and ex-colleagues.

Throughout the early part of today, my mind is mostly in recall mode... remembering the times we went through together. I revisited Badique's FB profile just now and lifted a photograph from one of his albums to be included in this post.

Four young men in London circa 1980. Badique is the guy on the right with yours truly on the left.

Farewell my friend. I have fond memories of you. May The Almighty place you among the soliheen. Amin.

15 comments:

mamasita said...

I share your sorrow in losing a good friend and my deepest condolences to the late Badique's family.

AlFatihah..May his soul be amongst the solihin..Amin.

Kak Teh said...

Al Fatehah, semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya dan ditempatkannya bersama yang beriman.

D.N.A.S said...

Sorry to hear about your loss. Al Fatihah.

D said...

I don't know your friend at all, except from the previous post you wrote but believe me, I was almost in tears reading about his departure! (it's the hormones, trust me..)

Al-fatihah... may he be placed in Jannah

Nurie said...

Innalillah....semoga roh arwah dcucuri rahmat Allah.

I shared your sadness oldstock,lost of someone dear to us is hard to bear. Somehow something change in us...maybe because it make us reflect our time in this world too.

Take care...

Mamaboyz said...

alfatihah to arwah Badique..

Lili said...

Salam Oldstock,

Yes, we all share your loss. Read about him the last time and was touched by your poignant posting.

Al-Fatihah buat arwah Badique.

Pat said...

Your post brought tears to my eyes - I am so sad that you've lost a friend. But find solace in the knowledge that he is in a better place now.

On a happier note: you've learnt that there is no better time than 'now' for meeting friends, loved ones, generally the people who matter.

Stay positive, my friend.

Snakebite said...

was so young and handsome and enthusiastic of the future. then we grow old and grizzled and like atlas carry the world on our back.

your friends troubles are over. he is on a new journey and hopefully he is just as happy young good looking and enthusiastic of the better things to come.

soon it will be our turn.

Justiffa said...

Al-Fatihah.

Semoga arwah ditempatkan bersama mereka yang soleh & beriman dan semoga juga keluarga & sahabat di beri kekuatan & kesabaran menerima pemergiannya.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Dear Oldstock,

I'm truly sorry for the lost of your friend.

It must be heart-wrenching to think a part of you had been taken away too. Yes, boyhood /school days friends are the truest buddies that had gone thru' thick & thin with u.

R.I.P Badique.

Fadhil said...

-> Kak Teh and mamasita, thanks for the kind wishes.

-> DNAS, thank you for dropping by. Your blog seem familiar but I can't recall if I've been there before. Insyaallah bila sempat nanti I'll pop over again.

Fadhil said...

-> D, I shed the last tears for my friend as I helped carry the keranda to the van jenazah. Perhaps you know better than I do, yang pergi tetap akan pergi. Kita yang tinggal ni perlu menafaatkan masa yang masih ada.

-> Noor, in some ways I can consider myself lucky to have the chance to meet my friend again before he left us forever. I shall now remember my last chat with him in January.

Fadhil said...

-> drwati and lili, thank you.

-> Pat, of late I have been making the effort to meet up with long lost friends whenever I can. Last month, I arranged a small dinner get-together among friends who studied in Kuantan 31 years ago. I'm thinking of doing another one with another set of classmates possibly next month.

Fadhil said...

-> Snake, yes... soon it will be our turn. That is why we should savour each day.

-> Justiffa and Tommy, thanks for the kind thoughts.