Goodbye, Ashburn..

I just lost a friend today. Permanently.

We have known each other for the past 20 years probably. But we got to know each other better since we were both in the same class from 1995-1999.

He was probably one of my closest guy friends. Probably because we had a few things in common. Us being neighbours, having the same group of friends, being in the same school, among other things.

Here are some of wonderful memories that I had of him:

1. I would make a point to visit his house every year for Hari Raya and we could spend hours talking, while munching on his sister's yummy homemade biscuits.

2. I remember him as being the organizer for many of our primary school reunions. He would find out when would be the best day and place for us to meet up and he would take the extra mile to inform everybody about it. Without him, probably the bond among us, ex-Raja Muda (s) won't be this strong.

3. A few weeks before my wedding reception, he volunteered to announce the great news to everybody as I was just too busy to do so. He emailed everybody that we both knew.

4. He was the official photographer for my 'majlis khatam quran' a week before my wedding day. The photos that he took turned out to be fantastic.

5. As for my wedding gift, he framed a portrait of myself: one of the best photos that he took on that day.

6. The last time that I had a chat with him was end of 2009, when he was the official photographer for my sister in law's solemnisation ceremony at Kelana Jaya.

7. The last news that I heard about him was about his engagement. I just couldn't believe it when I first heard the news from my cousin. I went to facebook to check and turned out it was true. I regretted not having to sms him at that time to congratulate him.

8. The last time I saw him was when he was in bed a few days before his death. With the amount of medications that was running through him, with him being ventilated and sedated and watching his vital signs fluctuating on his monitor, i just knew that he had a slim chance of surviving. Despite that, there was tiny voice inside me telling that there is still the slight possibility that he'll make it. Sadly he didn't..

Alif, I will treasure all our fond memories together and you will always be in my prayers.

Al -fatihah..