Life And Death

Death. A simple word – five letters but fills the consciousness with dread. It is a morbid thought, yet it draws the curiosity and interest of so many. Perhaps because it is inevitable, unavoidable, and what we cannot avoid, we explore. The thought of it sent a chill down my spine and riddled me with trepidation, but as I matured – and continuing to do so – I learned to regard it as a symbol of power and even contentment. People around me disregard the change I have undergone, maybe because I know in a way that they never can.

My life has always been free of thorns – the benefits of having my parents by my side. Everyone gets a second chance to correct their mistakes, which they have previously made, but the odds were against Ibrahim. It all started on a lovely morning of 11th September, my birthday; of course, Ibrahim was invited he was very close to me, since my childhood we have done almost everything together no matter what. We were more than just inseparable - we were brothers. He was the kind of hide and seek no one could ever find him (although I did that one time). How could someone be that good at something? Sometimes I wish I was as good as him.

I remembered meeting him like it was just yesterday, the party was nice, but I missed his presence. Why did he not come? Was angry with me? Or had I said something wrong to him recently?

I tried contacting him and his mother, but there was no response. I was on tenterhooks, anxious about his whereabouts. SO, my father and I went to visit him. My heart was palpitating; I could sense the air of negativity blowing. I tried reassuring myself. I realized that maybe I am speculating too much. Perhaps he is sick or has an exam or something! But who has exams in September! It is the starting of our school year! We finally reached, and I just had a feeling something terrible had happened.

I entered the same house with the same familiar garden, which reminded me of how we played cricket and broke the window somehow. Those were some wonderful, stress-free days! The same furniture, the same everything, but somehow, the atmosphere did not seem lively and joyous like it usually was. Then I saw something, which shook the ground beneath me. I saw Aunty (Ibrahim’s mother) shattered and devastated. I ran into Ibrahim’s room as fast as I could, let the earth push me forward. I just stopped; I fell onto my knees and let the teardrops fall. He was gone.

Aunty gave me a note, and I quickly tried opening it, fumbling in the process. It was a letter from Ibrahim. I never ever forgot what was contained in that note.

‘I know you might ask why I never told you that I had Cancer. I know you would have a million questions on your mind. But Zain, I wanted to spend my last few months being happy, and you granted me that. I wanted to die smiling, and I think I might as well will. Thank you, Zain, for everything.’

I was traumatized and in bits. I never expected this; maybe he never told me because he wanted to be treated as an average person? I wish I wish I knew about this some way or the other. I learned many powerful lessons that day, and from a less thankful person, a person who never cared to help, a person who did not manage to think of others, I changed. I started looking at the world differently and realized how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken away.

I finally got to know how it feels like to typically have someone you care about taken away, it’s hard to move on, but eventually, everyone does because that’s how life works. I now understand the extraordinary complexity of death and pity those innocent people on the grassy verge of promptly dying. As a grown man, I always try to empathize with people cause, after all, life is of great importance. I learned to respect life and its significance. Maybe life has given me a second chance. Perhaps this was it; all I could hope that this was it because I just could not bear any other thought.

No one could find him this time around in a game of hide and seek.