A passing Angel

PART 1

She woke to the ringing of her alarm clock, but as per usual she hit the snooze button.. "just 5 more minutes she whispered". When she heard her  neighbors dog barking, she sprung up and like a flash of lightning she bolted into the bathroom, as it was a rather special occasion it was the opening for enrollment at UJ and she wanted to to put in her application for her studies. Yusrah was a rather organized and simple young women.  She always offered her help to the elderly and was very gentle with those of physical disabilities. She preferred to stick to routine, simple at heart, loved spending time with her family and was passionate about art. She would spend her days helping in the house hold chores, took a sincere interest in preparing scrumptious dishes as she loved her food aswell. In her spare time she adored taking random pictures with her camera which her parents bought her as a muharram gift, she painted pictures of scenery and drew lots of abstract art. Once a week she made it a point in visiting the old age home and the orpahnage. She took almost all of her Saturday mornings to spend at the old age home and orphanage, she would wake up extra early and prepare delicious treats for her special friends, they always loved having her come over and she would chat with them about nonsensical things, they would chuckle and giggle and enjoy a cup of tea with the goodies she brought, the elderly loved her dearly. At the orphanage she would play games with the kids be it hide and seek, or monkey in the middle, she always had a tons of fun, especially seeing the smile on the kids faces it brought her so much joy. Yusrah was a very confined, compassionate soul, modest and soft at heart. She finished her matric last year in 2016 and was now turning 18,she so much wanted to go out and study something in art, more so interior design. She loved selecting pieces of furniture and matching it with appropriate accessories, she had an eye for design and all who knew her was adamant she would prosper in this field. Although her father was not too fond or keen in allowing her to study and go to university, he was honestly very reluctant in agreeing but with Yusrahs determination, persuasion and persistently convincing him of the advantages she will one day have in furthering herself in studies. Eventually with alot of consideration, her dad finally agreed. Keeping in mind that she slyly slipped her application in without her father's permission, she was always strong willed and very seldomly backed down, she stood strong in her beliefs and always strived to become an achiever. When her father gave the answer, Yusrah was overyjoyed and extatic she immediately called Ayesha her best friend to tell her of the good news. She begun almost immediately with all the preparations involved in getting ready for her big day, her father gave her one circumstance, that the university be close to home so he could have a watchful eye on her, with that they both found common ground and settled on it.

The day came for her new venture and she awoke before her alarm clock rang, with a blissful heart and smiling gleefully at the crack of dawn, she sat on her mussallah at fajr time and made a special dua. "oh Allah bless me on my journey, safeguard me from wrong doers and guide me to a successful bright future".  She then scurried into the kitchen and prepared her lunch box for the day, her mum offered to do it for her as she was still the baby of the house but ultimately she felt as though she was now entering the real world and wanted to become more independent. Yusrah was beautiful inside and out, she had an outstanding character which was always admired by the elderly and those her age were instantly attracted to her. She was thin, tall, she had black long hair with a slight tint of brown and it was absolutely pin straight and had an amazing shine to it, she had a soft subtle skin tone, with rosey cheeks and eyes that sparkled when she smiled.

She had many proposals for marriage but she turned them all down as she had a greater vision in bettering herself before she became a wife and mother.

She wore a soft white palaso pants with a long light peach chiffon top which complented her skin, she draped a long floral dupata to match her outfit and wore a strappy bronze sandal to finish the touch. Her father dropped her off at the bus stop, he opted to take her to and from university everyday but she felt that it would be to taxing on him as he was now retired from being a manager at a leading firm for more than 30 years and she didn't want to impose on him in any way possible. Her father, Abdul always wondered how did he manage to get such an almost perfect daughter as he was very mischievous in his youth and turned to alot of bad things in society, but in his late 20's when he met Zohra his beautiful wife he eventually changed his bad habits and adopted a better, less sinful lifestyle. People would always look down upon him in his younger days and judge him for the choices he made, they would often pass remarks and he would turn a deaf ear. Once he got married his life changed. Yes, there was the endless financial struggle which they faced moving from one place to the next trying to make ends meet, Abdul worked hard to provide for his family and Zohra would make things from home to help earn an income. One day Abdul got an offer for a very promising job and that's when financially they became more settled. It was after 10 years they had Yusrah, she was the "laat lametjie" as they say. Her siblings were much older than her and that's why her father always made a big fuss over her.

Yusrah enjoyed every moment on the bus ride, the morning air was so fresh and crisp, it was  a bright sunny day, the clouds beautifully stretched out in the sky. A sweet middle aged lady sat next to her, greeted her gently and minded her business as she burried her head in her novel. She finally arrived at the university, as she stood at the entrance she gracefully took a deep breath, smiled and said, "bismillahirahmaaniraheem".

She then took her first step into her new promising furture. She felt a sense of enthusiasm, to finally be doing what she loves most.

Yusrah made new friends in the course of her day and met many acquaintances, she enjoyed seeing different cultures and races being in one place at the same time. She sat on a bench under a tree as she ate her sandwich. She couldn't help but notice the vibrant colours all around, she found it so unique that each individual had such a particular taste in keeping with trend and fashion.

When Yusrah got home that day, she couldn't stop speaking about her new venture. She told her parents about every little nitty gritty detail that she could possibly think of. As the days flew by, seasons had changed and time was moving by so quickly, it had already been a year that she was in varsity and always came out top of her class with the best grades. It was now winter and Yusrah hated the cold but always appreciated winter and its virtues, which were all the delectables she could endeavor, the steaming hot chocolate with loads of marshmallows dunkend in, the piping hot dumplings with mutton curry, the delicious soup and of course curling up by the fire place with a bowl of popcorn her soft and cuddly blanket and her favorite read. All was going so blissfully well, until the one day when she fell ill.

It was a Wednesday morning and she had pains in her tummy, for some reason she couldn't wake up that morning and slept longer than usual. Later that day her mum accompanied her to their family practitioner. He told her that she had a stomach bug, as it was currently in the air and she may have picked up the viral infection from varsity. He then gave her medication and sent her home. She was home for 2 days and took lots of rest, although she didn't have much of an appetite she managed to have lots of fluids and keep herself hydrated.

Once she was back at varsity she wasn't quite the same. She was often feeling light headed and nauseaus, the ache in her tummy wouldn't go away but she pushed it aside and carried out her days as normal. After eid that year, the pains became more intense and she was out of options, as she had been to so many doctors and specialists in the past 2 months, non had a proper treating diagnosis.

Yusrah and her family lived in Ormonde, a place in Johannesburg for almost all their lives or basically ever aince she was born,Abdul bought a quaint 3 bedroom home in the area and they made a life for themselves. He remembered one of his good friends who had stomach ulcers, use to vist a very good specialist in four ways. He couldn't remember exactly of the where abouts so he gave his friend a call, his friend gave him all the necessary information and the next day he called to make an appointment for Yusrah to see the doctor. His name was Dr L Samuel and he was one of the leading Urologist specialist and surgeon at Life Four ways Hospital. When it was their turn to see the doctor, He asked a few questions, examined her and then sat at his desk making his notes. He lifted his head on occasion and gave them a smile. He wrote out 2 referral letters, one was for Yusrah to have blood tests done the other a CT scan of the stomach. Yusrah, Abdul and Zohra decided to have all the tests done on the same day at the hospital. As they patiently waited for the test results, they went to the coffee shop. They then took the results back to the doctor although it was almost closing time Dr Samuel made it a point to see them as his last patient for the day. He had a look at the results and asked to speak to Abdul alone.

He sat for a while in his chair and said politely, Mr Mohammed I don't know how or in what way to put this but I am afraid I have some bad news, please remember that everything happens for a reason and only by the will of God. He then further added,"Yusrah has colon cancer, the tests have shown", pointing at the CT scan pictures, "It has now spread very fast into the rest of the body". Abdul, hands trembling and his lips quivering, "Doctor what do you mean"."Well, said Dr Samuel," there is no easy way to say this, but unfortunately your daughter is now in what we call stage 3 in cancer. Abdul stared at the doctor in complete shock, the tears automatically fell from his eyes and he was speechless. "I am deeply sorry, My Mohammad". Abdul said, with a choke in his voice, is there anything we can do to save her. Doctor Samuel looked down and signed, "at this stage there is not much that can be done, but we can try chemo therapy and to ease her pain I can prescribe morphine, its a very high dose of medication which will help to settle the pain for a while. Abdul burst out crying and held his head in his hands and was shaking profusely. Doc then, went to sit next to him and consoled him, gave him a glass of water and calmed him down. When Yusrah and her mum walked in the room, they immediately knew something was wrong. Dr then broke the news to them both. Yusrah kept her head down the entire time Dr spoke, when he was done giving all the explanations she lifted her head up, smiled and said, "Thank you so much doctor for finding my diagnosis, I am truly grateful". Zohra and Abdul both couldn't help but break down and cried continuously, Yusrah walked up to her parents, kneeled down and held their hands. "Mummy, Abba she said, in a sweet and soft voice," why are you crying, this is from Allah, and surely with every difficulty comes ease. Please have faith and everything will be OK". Dr Samuel was in awe with Yusrahs reaction, he has never come across someone at her age who was so strong willed and so peacefully accepted the devastating news. Dr said to her, "my darling you are my inspiration and surely Your God is with you".

In just 6 weeks Yusrah condition deteriorated drastically,she had been for one chemo therapy but there was no improvement, she lost lots of weight and became very frail. Her sisters Mariam and Kadija were now staying over at the house, to help their mother with Yusrah and all the guests that came to see her. All her friends from varsity, even her lectures would come to see her as they all became so fond and attached to her.

On 14th October 2016, Yusrah held the hand of her father turned to give him a smile, took her last breath and thus left this world.

Her parents and siblings were distraught with the loss of their baby, they couldn't believe that she was gone. When Abdul threw the last handful of sand on her Qabar, he couldn't help but think of the day they brought her home when she was born, all wrapped up in a soft pink blanket and today here he was burying his child.

Months passed by and the house was hollow and empty, the atmosphere was dull and sordid. The once bright and bubbly soul who filled and lightened their lives was now gone. One Sunday as Abdul sat on the edge of Yusrahs bed, nothing had been moved or given away as they found it very difficult to part with her things, from the corner of his eye he noticed something sticking out from behind the cupboard, he moved the cupboard and took it out. It was wrapped in a pretty pasely gift wrap and tied with a cute little pink bow, he carefully opened it. It was a painting of a father holding his little girl, the portrait had a surrounding of them sitting close to a river, with lots of greenery. On it was written Happy birthday abba, I will love you forever. Yusrah had been working on this piece for months and wanted to give it to her father as his birthday gift, which was on the 29th October. Every time Abdul unexpectedly walked into the room she'd quickly throw something over it so he wouldn't see and with a cute and cheeky little voice she'd say, "abba its not for you to see". Now he knew what she had been busy with, he immediately fell to the floor on his knees and held the painting tightly in his clutches and cried, his heart felt so immensely sore. "My Yusrah, Ya Allah my Yusrah", he cried.

Abdul had lot of guilt as he felt he shouldn't have sent her to university and kept her home, to beable to take much better care of her. Zohra time and again would reassure him, that it was Yusrahs dream to go out and study and he shouldn't take responsibility of what had happened. Abdul after a long time would go every Saturday to the old age home and orphanage, to live in the footsteps of his daughter. He found that in someway it brought him solace and peace, in some way it made him feel closer to her. The elderly people only spoke good of her, Mrs Chetty mentioned that Yusrah bought her a little radio because she knew how she loved listening to radio lotus on Saturdays. Mr Hussan also told him, that Yusrah would bring him toffee sweets every time she came, as those were his favorite. The kids at the orphanage missed her so dearly. Zohra would go with Abdul sometimes, but she felt it very difficult, she preferred to stay home and sit on her musallah, she found more tranquility in that.

My dear readers we should never judge a book by its covers, because even an ugly duckling can raise a beautiful swan.
As parents we need to keep in mind that, yes, our kids are an amaanat to us but they are also a possesion of Allah and like passing Angels, they can leave us at any time. Either taken away from this world or by going of into their own ventures of life. We need to do the best we can to raise them,in being good individuals with good character. We may not be perfect parents and often think we not doing good enough but the fact that we keep trying is fine.
Never tell a parent who lost a child, to get over it. Rather be their support and make dua for them, as their loss is a lifetime of heartache.
Lastly this is dedicated, to all those fathers out there, whom are always actively involved in their kids lives, who never gave up on their families and who were and still are the best dads.

A story that moved me to tears, Thus is a real life incident my dearest readers and that is why it really shook me

Do share it with others

Jazakallahukhayran

xx

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