The
room reeked of medicine. She was surrounded by tubes and machines. I could
barely recognize her. The beautiful girl with bright smile and shiny hair had
vanished. In her place lay a thin, haggard woman with short spiky hair. Her
eyes were closed tight and her skin had a pale shade to it. She was a bad
comparison to the girl I once knew, beautiful, intelligent, confident,
friendly… I could go on describing Shifa. She was the most admired girl in school
and had won the ‘Most Promising Student’ award in the last year of our studies.
Prosperity had been painted all over her and no matter what she did, she did it
well. But that was eight years ago. Today, Shifa was a tortured woman. She had
tried to take her life with an overdose of sleeping pills and had slipped into
a unconsciousness. The Shifa I knew would have claimed that it was a coward’s
way out. I had to know why she did it. I
had to find out the facts.
The
house remained the same. I had been a guest here frequently. Shifa had been my
best buddy in school. She has been the direct opposite of everything I was. She
had been well-known and I had very few friends. Nobody even knew I was in class
most of the time. I was ordinary, reserved and shy. But Shifa had taken me
under her protection and guarded me like a mother hen. She had taken me to her
house and her family received me with pleasure. And ever since that day, I had
been a constant visitor. Treading down the paved pathway brought back a lot of blissful
memories. But joy was now replaced with distress, for Shifa was not here to partake
them with me. I moved to the front door and rang the bell with a burdened/
grieving heart. How was I going to face her kin? How was I going to comfort
them when I could not console myself?
The
door opened and I was met by a well-known face. The face was pinched and wrinkled.
A look of sadness welcomed me. I introduced myself as I was sure, I would not
be remembered. It had been ten years since I last visited. Shifa’s mother embraced
me tight and began to cry uncontrollably. I held her and let her cry. Her only
daughter was dying and the doctors had given up faith. Three hours later, when
I walked out of the house, I was still battled as before. My questions remained
unanswered. All I knew now was that Shifa had been employed as a corporate
attorney in a well-known law firm. She had everything going for her, a good
job, money, friends…everything. She travelled often. One day she had to fly to
France to conclude a business deal. She was there for a week and telephoned her
mum every night for the first three days. Then the calls ceased. She also did
not answer her mum’s calls. A week later she came back but she was different.
She was silent and stayed in her room all day. She refused to eat or see
anyone. She stopped going to work, stopped taking showers and had stopped
talking finally. She shut herself in her room and sobbed all day. Her mum had
tried her best to get her some help. She had taken Shifa on many medical
officers but they failed to cure her. Meanwhile, Shifa’s health worsened. All
day long, she lay in bed crying. Then one day, her mum found her in bed with
empty bottle of sleeping tablets lying on the floor beside her. She had never
been conscious since.
What
had happened in France that made Shifa consume the sleeping tablets? What occurred
in the four days that altered her life completely? Why didn’t she talk to
anybody about what had happened? What was distressing her? Why didn’t she seek
help from anybody? So many questions! Questions without answers, for, the only individual
who could answer then is lying in some hospital bed unscious to be the world
around her. Has she now found tranquility, the peace that she was so
frantically seeking? Shifa, why did you do it?
(710
words)
Reference:
Sebastian M., Sharmini Balraj. (2004). Eksplorasi
English Form 5. Selangor Darul Ehsan: Penerbit Fajar Bakti Sdn. Bhd.
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