Goodbye, My Dearest Friend

The hardest part of loving someone is saying goodbye.  I recently lost a dear friend of 17 years ... she was in her late eighties and for most part of her life had fought a long battle with cancer.  However, she never let that get in her way and her courage and optimism saw her through all these years.

We first met in 1995 on a pilgrimage to India, both of us being devotees of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.  Unfortunately, that was to be her last trip as her health did not permit her to do any further travelling. We kept in touch through phone calls and e-mails and often had long spiritual discussions over the phone.  When I made subsequent trips to India, I would update her with the happenings in the ashram and bring  books back for her as I knew how much she missed going to India.  At times when I was under stress, she never failed to give me much needed moral support and motherly advice, some of which came through her e-mails. She was always there for me.

About a year ago, she moved from Butterworth to K.L. to stay with her son. We still kept in touch; however, distance seemed to have come between us and our telephone conversations became less frequent. Many a time when I didn't hear from her for an unusually long time, I would call her up and she would assure me that she was o.k.

The last time I spoke to her was about three weeks before she passed away.  She told me that she had just undergone a medical checkup and that she was fine.  A few days later, I was shocked and dismayed to receive an SMS from her son that she was critically ill and that it was only a matter of time ... What really surprised me was that he had singled out my name from her phone list to inform me even though I've never spoken to him before.  It was as though she wanted me to know ...

She passed away on 9th September, two weeks before her next birthday.  When her son broke the news to me, it was difficult to fight back the tears in my eyes as I offered my condolences.

We shared so many things during those 17 years - our moments of happiness, our worries, our fears.  My dearest friend, wherever you are, you shall always be in my heart and I shall always remember you with smiles and laughter for that is the only way you would have me remember you by.