An October Tragedy

An October Tragedy

I had promised to write about my honeymoon in NZ in my last entry. But something happened last weekend that probably warrants this to be written first: my house was broken into last Saturday, on the 2nd day of Ramadhan.

When it happened, my family and I were just concluding our Subuh prayers in the main hall of our house, which is on the ground floor. I had heard some strange sounds coming from the roof that morning when I woke up for sahur, but I dismissed it to being sounds made by a cat or monkey, which was always the case. Apparently the robbers came in through the window of my parents’s room, which was the only window in the house that didn’t have grills.

When I saw them coming down and confronted us in the main hall, the situation had not sunk in to me yet, and I thought it was my brother in law. But then it occured to me that my brother in law and my sister were away at his parents’s house that morning. By the time it sunk in, they were already around us, and they were armed with knives and a hammer. My feeling then was one of utmost dread, and I could feel my blood draining from my face. Pucat gila..

One of the robbers repeatedly told us to be quiet and not resist or he would kill us. He kept saying, ‘Kau kalau gerak aku bunuh semuanya. Aku bunuh isteri kau. Aku bunuh kamu nanti.’ They tied all the men in the house, which were my dad, my brother and myself. My father tried to talk to them and reason with them and one of the robbers hit him as a result. We were too stumped to do anything. And I feared the worst.

They told us that they just wanted to rob us, and they had no intention of harming us. Ironically, they kept telling us that they were fellow Muslims, and that they were fasting as we were. Before we knew it, they were ransacking the house for valuables. My dad and I plead that no one was harmed, and one of them made a reassurance that they were Muslims, and they wouldn’t do such a thing. I felt like saying back, ‘orang Islam pun merompak ke’, but my brother, sensing my intention from my expression, gave me a nudge that any answer to his statement wouldn’t be the right one. At least the robber’s reassurance calmed me.

The robbers left the house with our valuables after a ransacking galore that lasted for almost half an hour. It could have been worse. They only left because the house phone rang incessantly, and they got scared. I realised later that they’d been scared all the while they were in the house. It was just a matter of who was more scared between them and us. It turns out the call was made by my wife, who was outside the house washing when the intruders broke into the house. She managed to escape by climbing up our 10 feet tall front gate, and ran to the neighbour's house to get help. To this day, she still wonders how she’d done it, especially when she was wearing kain batik time tuh. You're a hero dear! : - )

My first fear when I saw the intruders in the house was the safety of my mother and my wife. I’ve heard so many tragic stories where the robbers have other intentions than robbing their victims once they’d broken into their house, and it has always been one of my worst nightmares when the robbers have ill-intentions on the women in the house. A friend of my neighbour’s house was broken into, and the robbers did the unspeakable to their daughter in front of them. Nauzubillah...

The general feeling is that around this time of the year, when Raya Aidilfitri is approaching is when robberies become rampant. It is when these people rob to have enough money to either go back to their homes (especially the immigrant labours), or get new stuffs for the big day. Either way it’s wise to be careful. Never take for granted the funny sounds you hear around the house.

Return of The Newly Wed

Return of The Newly Wed

Boy it has been another long hiatus for me. After my last entry on the troubling text messages I had received, I had been very preoccupied with the wedding preparation. Alhamdulillah, the nikah went smoothly well on the 4th of September 2004. The akad had to be done 3 times however, though in no way it was my fault if you please. My now father in law was the one who performed the akad on me, and I am proud to say *ehem*ehem* that I was as cool as ice when I uttered my part of the akad. However, one of the witnesses of the nikah was quite particular about the way the akad sentences were uttered, and we had to repeat the process twice. Not that I’m complaining. Looking back, it gave me the chance to bask in the limelight longer, and savour this one in a lifetime moment. Insya-Allah… :-)

So what can I say about life after marriage? Well, in short I would say it is an enriching experience. Suddenly, I am responsible over someone else’s well being. And I had never been responsible over any other life-being bigger than a gold fish previously! So a great paradigm shift was required here. It feels like a call towards being a more responsible and accountable person. While previously my main concern used to be what strategy to apply for my football Championship Manager game, now it has turned to how should I manage this union that is my marriage. It has only been a month, and I’m still learning.

The best part of marriage is of course the companionship. While previously I had to wake up on my own, now I wake up with a lovely lady beside me. The idea might sound tempting, but some of you might be surprised to know that it is not really the physical part of the relationship that one cherishes the most. It is simply the presence of your significant other, both physically and emotionally, that makes it meaningful. While previously I would have to go over a personal problem on my own, now I have someone to share it with. 2 heads make better work than 1. ‘I’ rarely exist anymore. Most of the time, it’s ‘We’.

We went on our honeymoon between the 22nd September and 2nd October in the land of Lord of The Rings. Look out for my next entry for a rather long account of the whole trip. There will be pics too, so if you don’t care to read what a love-drunken honeymooning husband has to babble, you can always look at the beautiful scenery in the pictures. :-p

Till then, ciao for now!