'I did not know what happiness was until...'

I did not know what happiness was until my aunt’s caring words sank into me on my graduation day. There she was sitting on the front pew, looking at me with loving eyes, proudly as I stood on the stage giving a speech. She was my angel. She protected me and cared for me since the demise of my parents.

As an orphan, it was not easy for me to get acquainted to strangers. I had built a wall over the years to protect myself from being hurt. The fatal incident of a robbery left me broken and shattered. I could vividly remember the bloody tragedy. After my tuition class on Friday night, I came home in my friend’s car. When I arrived, I felt strange as mom and dad did not lock the door and left the gate wide open. Quietly and suspiciously, I walked into the house sensing something terrible might have happened. In front of the doorstep, to my horror were my parents and twin brothers sprawling right across the carpet. I was paralyzed with fear. Blood was oozing. Mom and dad were lying on their stomachs holding each other’s hands. My twin brothers were heavily injured with slashes of knife cuts on their heads and back.

“Wh-what’s going on?” I asked with a quivering voice. “Mom, dad, Habil, Qabil …please wake up,” I pleaded but they were motionless. It was a very horrifying scene. I found myself screaming and howling hysterically. My neighbours who came to help. The ambulance and police arrived within minutes but they were too late. I was so shaken that I could not stop crying. Not even the paramedic could calm me down. I was escorted to the hospital. Somehow, they managed to contact my aunt. Her hug and consoling words relaxed me a little. I was given a sedative jab and I fell asleep instantaneously. When I woke up, she was right there by my bedside. I felt safe and secured in her presence.

The police came to interview me. My aunt was with me all the while. I was kept away from the press and television for weeks for fear of my recurring hysteria. The doctor-in-charge put me in a psychiatric ward for half a year, under close observation to help me cope with the terribly haunting tragedy.

After six months in the psychiatry unit, I was finally discharged and reported as being in a stable condition. I went back to the house where the killing took place. It was a very emotional experience. Tears kept rolling down my eyes. I could not stop it. However, I was quiet and not hysterical anymore. My aunt was there holding my hands and rubbing my back, giving me all the moral support and love she could. I packed my belongings, took the family pictures hanging on the wall and put them in my bag. I was put under my aunt’s custody.

My parents and siblings were brutally killed in a home robbery. The prime suspects were two middled aged man. My parents were shot whereas my twin brothers were stabbed to death. It was reported that about RM20,000.00 worth of money and jewellery were stolen. They were finally arrested, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Despite that, the life of my loved ones could not be returned.

“Hawa you must let go off the past. Don’t keep that hatred in your heart. Do not disappoint your late parents. You have a bright future ahead of you. Stay focused in your studies, pass with flying colours and live your life to the fullest. Realize your dreams of joining a forensic team. Make your parents and siblings proud of you. It’s not the end of the world. I’m still here for you,” she advised and encouraged me.

“…but I can’t forget them. Why me? Why my family?” I asked knowing that there was no answer to that.

“Who said that you must forget them? God loves them and that is why He took them in His care. You should be grateful that He still wants you to live their legacy, to care for the unfortunate. They would be sad if you keep wasting your youth away,” she rationalized with me and gave me a big hug to comfort me and take my doubts away.

Fortunately, her caring words and actions awakened me. I picked myself up from feeling worthless and hopeless. I was only fifteen then. However I strived hard and I succeeded.

Today, I am celebrating freedom. Freedom from the bondage of anger and hatred. And I am celebrating this new joy, this new me with my loving aunt. Without her support, I would not have made it.

By: Ainul (Form 5S1, 2010)
Taken from: http://smkmbi.blogspot.com/2011/02/continuous-writing-sample-narrative.html