A tribute to Ayah Wa and Che' Wa...

Che' Wa on the 9th of December 2009...

Ever since I got married in 1997, I always have this fascination with the Trengganu side of the family. 2 people that I loved seeing were of course Ayah Wa and Che' Wa...now both are not with us anymore... Ayah Wa passed away several years ago while Che' Wa left us on the 5th of January 2009. Al-fatihah to both of them, may Allah bless their soul. 

Anyway, let me share some stories about them. I don't know why but I always have this fascination and respect for the both of them. Ayah Wa was my father-in-law's cousin and they were very close. Daddy called him abang while che' wa was called abg' Yah. Daddy used to go to school with Ayah Wa.

Let me tell you about Ayah Wa first. Since the first time I met him, I was enthralled by all his stories... he was such a character... a real story-teller... from him we heard about Daddy's exploits when he was little...hehehe... We of course had fun laughing at Daddy...hehehe. Ayah Wa used to work for the government and he was quite successful. He was happily retired by the time we got married. I remembered him being able to 'massage' people with natural skills and he knew many natural remedies.

I remembered once he asked all of us to try sniffing some sort of medication for resdung. I was of course in the clear, while my husband failed miserably...hehehe, he was sneezing for a few minutes... And he was very active in politics too, I remembered him going to political rallies as this was during Anwar's time in jail. He was very passionate about life too. Even though he was quite small for a man but his stories made him taller in my eyes. I loved hearing his tales, normally we would listen to his tales open-mouthed...hehehe

When he was hospitalised in Selayang Hospital, we visited him. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he was instead regaling his grandchildren with a lot of jokes. He even joked about all the wires that the nurses put on him...hehehe... I even remembered a time when he drove all the way from Trengganu to Johor Bharu with only his grandson as company. If I'm not mistaken he was driving that green satria... just like a young man... 

When he died, he left Che Wa fending for herself in that big house. Whenever we're in Kuala Trengganu, we would not fail to drop by. She's another character that I loved, she was very 'Trengganu' with that 'Dah nak wat guane' attitude. She used to be very beautiful, was actually a 'ratu' in her heydays. She's very pretty when she smiled (evident in the picture above, right?). 

She talked very fast but I would normally understand...hehehe, not like my husband...hehehe, though he would smile as if he gets the joke! Anyway, she loved the present King, Tuanku Mizan. I remembered when he was made the King, she was glued to the television, referring to Tuanku Mizan as 'raja kita'...hehehe... Her fascination with Tuanku Mizan was heightened by the fact that the royal entourage would have to pass her house everytime Tuanku was in town.

The last time we were there, I suggested to her that she should replace the carpet as it was wet and it'll leave a musky smell after the flood, but she said to the effect that whatever she had would remain like it was until she's gone. What do you know, she left soon after. But she was very happy when we were there, kept on teasing Mummy and Daddy and the rest of our family. She also referred to herself as being 'comel' coz she lost a bit of weight...hehehe

I also remembered that since we're the lazy type and don't really care about the appearance of our car (it was dirty, okay?!!), but she said , " Takpe, kita buat dia, bukan dia buat kita"... or something to that effect... I would really miss my trips to see her, but I really do feel that she was prepared to see her maker when we met her last. 

They left behind three sons and scores of grandchildren. We're closest to the youngest, abg Na (who's currently working in Jeddah). To Abang Na and family, don't be too sad for her, I think she already prepared herself for the hereafter when we met her last. She was already redha with what Allah have in store for her. 

I think I feel the lost so much because there'll be one house less to visit whenever we're in Kuala Trengganu. I would miss all the laughter that we would share when we were there. I would truly miss the company and I think I know why I loved them so much. When I first got married, they accepted me into the family right away, always making me feel right at home... I'll miss you both but I know that Allah love both of you more than all of us put together... may you rest in peace, Ayah Wa and Che' Wa... may Allah bless your souls...al-fatihah...