Late Saturday evening I got a phone call informing me that my 92 years old sister, who lives in California, had passed away about two hours back.
This loss has been difficult for me to bear.
I lost my mother when I was 10 and my father when I was 12. After the death of my mother, my sister became my mother too and looked after me till my adulthood. She then turned into my friend in whom I could confide. This continued till she left to live in her husband’s house.
I have so many endearing memories of her. Now she is gone. So have my father, mother and elder brother.
The pain in losing my sister is specially sharp because, though we spoke on the phone, we did not spend any time with each other for the last 6 years or more. Worse, I was not able to fly out to California to see her one last time, pay my respects and take part in the burial rituals.
For the last
few days I have been going about with a mask so as to spare my family and
friends, already coping with their own burdens, having to put up with my pain
too. But I hurt inside.
Each message of sympathy or condolence received by me during this period, slight in itself, contributed towards lessening the burden of grief and pain crushing me, and, collectively they make the unbearable bearable.
Each and every message that I received has been a great help and is precious to me.
I take this opportunity to offer my sincere appreciation and heartfelt thanks to all those who sent them.
I also beg to be forgiven by those whom I may have missed thanking individually.
Gulamhusein Abba
