I am just back from a short holiday to Langkawi with my hubby’s family. Although this post is not about Langkawi. Rather, this is like an expression of my sorrow to the news i read as soon as i reached the country. The death of a boy in a holiday with his family in Australia and a couple on honeymoon in New Zealand, which i felt so much sadness for…maybe because i had my honeymoon in New Zealand too and it could have been us.

I remember too well the long drive from one state to another. and most of the time we will be the only car for the long stretch of road. no doubt its the excitement of having the road to yourself, the beauty of the scenery all around you, catching the mountains, the sea or sunsets. its indeed beautiful. but i did recall how hubby will be very tired for the long drive and many times he got sleepy. and although he wanted to drive on to be able to reach our destination before sunset, i had to force him to stop somewhere and get a 10 – 15mins power nap. we did that few times. and it helped that New zealand roads had some scenic stops which we can have a short rest. i took over once or twice when the road was easier.

And i remember too those hilly roads with sharp turns and looking out the window, you may get beautiful scenery, but it will be a huge deep lake or thick forests, there may be barriers, there may be not. and not to say your other side will be the mountain rocks, some even had warnings of rocks falling. and then the advices from friendly new zealanders or the motel owners of landslide, of snows in certain areas. those thoughtful advices were really helpful for us to plan our route. through those hilly sharp turned roads, i can never stop worrying and never stop praying until we get to the end of it and on to a proper road. i will be hubby’s second pair of eyes, coz what is blindspot to him, i can see clearly. all those lonely roads… half the time i would be thinking who to call if something bad happened to us.

and then it did. we were trying to follow a lord of the rings trail on our own. we found the road, but we did not expect was how much further in it was going to be, from fields of sheep and farm animals, to a sudden change of stone roads or boulder roads whichever you can call it, towards what we saw in the distance a forest ahead. those boulder roads were dangerous.but we thought we can handle the long and lonely road. yes, you see no one else and no other cars except the sheep and deers around you. we didnt know how it happened, but the car skidded and hubby really did lose control of the car. and really at that point of time, everything is reeling in your mind, but i was just thinking of my husband, what will happened if… but the car skidded on and brought to a stop when it got stuck in a deep muddy patch at the side of the road. but even then, i think the car could have toppled over. we just looked at each other too shocked to say anything. but that is not the end of it. the problem now was to get the car out of the muddy patch. the thing is that the car is half slanting down, from the boulder roads, its like one step down into the muddy patch. we can’t bring it to neither reversed nor forward. we did not know what else to do, even mentally preparing to be stuck there for the night (it was getting darker). until thankfully fortunately gratefully a car passed by, a local family, and they helped us bring the car back to safety, effortlessly. seriously, it took the man about 5 minutes to bring back the car on the road! heh. we were thanking him profusely. so did we reach the LOTR trail destination? NO! we went back to main road.

it was an experience indeed and now that i looked back. especially through scenic roads which are actually, just hills and more hills, small roads, curvy sharp turns and literally truly just you, me and the mountains…But i am really thankful that we went and came back in one piece.

reading about the death of the honeymoon couple, i am really really sad but at the same time… glad they had each other at the time it happened and together in the next life, because we would not know how to live if we lose one of us. really, we would rather die together than to have just one of us live. my prayers to the departed. my prayers to the family who are still in shock after a nice and grand family get together, only to receive grieving news.

Surely death comes in unexpected ways. Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun.