A New Chapter

Paid a former colleague from SPS a visit today. However, unlike the usual gatherings, today’s was different and it was definitely not one that I will want to attend again, at least, not in the near future. Rahilah has just put her son to rest earlier in the day. Her 2-year old son had suffered a heart condition that had confined him to the ICU for the past few weeks. In the end, he lost the battle and was called home to be with Allah. When I first got to know of the severity of his condition, I was at a loss as to how I could console her or to assure her that he would pull through. Although praying for a miracle is not my character, I did it to make myself feel better. Alas, my eleventh hour's plea did not materialise.

I first met Rahilah at NIE when as trainee teachers, we would cross each other path during the course of our training and had even assisted each other in some of our assignments. Then as if fated to become long-term friends, we were posted to teach in the same school upon graduation. Being in a new environment and among unfamiliar faces, it helped to see a familiar face. We would help each other out whenever we could and even after we had settled down and got acquainted with the other teaching staff, we continued to stand by each other. Then when we were teaching in the same level, we would share ideas on how we could conduct our lessons more effectively. We also got to work closely together when we became members of the same committee – Discipline and Pastoral Care Committee. Over the years, as our friendship deepened we became very much involved in each other professional and personal development. I have witnessed her transformation from a timid and inexperienced teacher to a caring mentor to new teachers, as well as, her elevation from spinsterhood to becoming a proud mother of two. In a way, we have matured and progressed together until my departure and her transfer to another school later.

Looking closely at her today, my first (excluding those brief encounters we had whenever I returned to SPS) since I left SPS, I felt so helpless. I have never been good at expressing condolences and don’t think I ever will. Other than the understandably haggardness, she appeared relieve. It seemed that she has accepted the cruel reality and has allowed her son to move on to a better world. She later told me that she had been preparing herself mentally for the worst when the doctor told her that her son needed a heart transplant.

I admire her for having the strength to pull herself through such a difficult and painful time and the courage to come to term with the inevitable. I salute you Rahilah, for having emerged from the ordeal a stronger woman and a better mother. Indeed, a new chapter of her life has unfolded.