Le Reunion

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

In the name of Allah, The All Compassionate, The All Merciful,

As promised, I will now share about what happened when my mum came here to KL.

On the night of 30th of August, I packed a few things and went on my way to KLIA by train. I arrived at approximately 11 p.m. and thus I wait for my mum because her plane will arrive at about 12.19 a.m. As I wait, I couldn't help but wonder at my mum's possible reactions at my hijab clad head. Another fact that you should know, I wore my usual attire because I followed my heart instincts, thinking it would be best to show my mum that I take heed and follow my choice of faith accordingly. First impressions are everything, I assure you, as I have had my fair share of experience involving first impressions and believe me, you wouldn't want to know how bad it can be if you fail to present a good FIRST impression of yourself.

When the time came, I waited near the arrival gate because I wanted to greet my mum before she saw me first. When I saw a familiar figure, I called out to her and she turned her head towards me and smiled. I repeat, she turned her head towards me AND SMILED.

And I was expecting this. (see picture below)

Oh my what happened to you?

But instead, I saw this.

Oh, hello there!

Mind you, I saw her first before she even saw me so I can see her face VERY CLEARLY. I thanked Allah in my heart that her first impression of me was okay(at least, that's what I saw on the outside). We chatted as if there was no gap at all between us and when we arrived at the hotel, after both of us were about to sleep, my mum talked to me about things, kind of like a heart-to-heart conversation and we chatted until we drifted off to sleep. I mean, it has been a year since I last went home, so I was really glad we caught up on a few things. Like how my mischievous little brother got even naughtier by day, and how things are at home. I was kind of disappointed at some of the things she told me, particularly regarding to my dad's issue. My dad's issue encompasses a lot of things, not just about me but other things as well.

So, the next day, we went down to the lobby and as we checked out of the hotel, the receptionist was eyeing us with an astonished look so my mother patted me on the back while proudly saying to the hotel receptionist, "This is my daughter." I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by this gesture. Alhamdulillah.

Later, as planned, we went to INTI Nilai by cab to meet with my younger brother and to tell you the truth, I was kind of nervous about it because I just told him about me being a Muslim only a few days prior to our meeting. I was anticipating some kind of gap but he's very much like my mum, all cool and calm. As if the hijab don't even matter. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.

After we did some sightseeing at my brother's room and college, we went on our way to Keramat, where I am staying currently as my host family had invited my mum and brother to come ziarah Hari Raya at the house. About maybe an hour later,  we went on our way to Low Yatt as my dad had asked my mum to buy him his Kaspersky antivirus and external DVD player. After Low Yatt, we went to Sogo and went shopping for clothes, using the budget that MY DAD had given to US(including me). My dad even passed a duit raya packet to me with this written on it.

To (my name),

Always do your best.

Daddy

I was shocked but my mum was even more surprised. We kind of laughed about it(sorry Daddy) because we are so, so, so surprised. Okay, perhaps I have emphasized our shock enough. :P

Before I forget to mention, (fyi, by now, you should have noticed that my blog posts was never on draft, I typed it according to what I was thinking at that moment and immediately publish the post. That is why my posts was always so random, quite unorganized) we were sent by my host family to the Low Yatt complex and before we went out of the car, my mum said something to the host family that SHOCKED me, yet again.

"Thank you very much for taking care of Farah."

I can't believe that my mum, MY VERY OWN MOTHER, say out my Muslim name, and yet, some people fail to call me by that name, saying that they were so used to calling me S(my pre-Muslim name). I think my mum is waaaaaay more used to calling me by my pre-Muslim name and yet, she made that effort. Food for thought.

Anyway, after we went back to Nilai after our little(did I say little?) shopping spree, my younger brother salam-ed my hand(the way Malay Muslims salam-ed the elders)  and I was so touched by his acceptance. :')

That night, me and my mum skipped our chat and went straight to bed since she will be having an early flight the next day. When tomorrow came, I felt queasy inside, and I know I will really miss her.  Before she boarded her plane, she hugged me and when she was about to leave, I saw tears in her eyes. I can't help but feel teary as well but I held it in. She finally left and I headed back to Keramat, just this morning.

When I arrived, I went to my room and cried and cried and cried until I fell asleep. After I woke up, I stopped crying and feeling much better, I went out of the room and talked to my host's mum. She revealed something that made me feel teary again, and this is what she told me.



Yesterday, when I was eating, my mum was chatting with my host's mum and she told her this, as she cried.

"I don't mind about her embracing Islam as long as she follow her religion properly. Please take care of her."

She also mentioned that my mum cried because she pitied my fate, having to face a lot of things and not being able to go back to my own home. Oh mummy... :'(


My dear readers,

what you are reading here is not a mere fairytale. This is a story of a mother's unconditional love, how that love brought her to her child, though she have to travel alone for that sake. This is a story of how love brought two people together, despite their different faith and belief. This, is a story of a Christian mother, trying to be strong for her Muslim daughter, to give her daughter strength and hope, despite everything that happened to her. This, is a story of a woman, striving to carry out her duty as a mother to her child, no matter what.

This, is a story of love. 

A mother's love transgresses all, and we can't help but acknowledge how Allah's love is far beyond that. For if not for His ever sufficient rahmah, I wouldn't have realized how deep is a mother's love to her child, no matter what happens.



This year's Eid is the best Eid ever, alhamdulillahirahmanirrahim.....all praise be to Allah, The All Compassionate, The All Merciful...





We must hurt in order to grow, fail in order to know, & lose in order to gain. Because some lessons in life, are best learnt through pain.