The Grace of my beloved Aapa!

My Dearest Aapa,

I am writing to you in the hope that you’re in a much better place now. A place which shall give you everlasting peace and which is far away from the sufferings of the mortal frame. There were many things I wanted to share with you, rather wanted you to know, but fate was in a rush to procure the great soul that you were!

Your presence has always had a deep impact on my life and now that you’re gone, I am stumbling upon your absence, every moment, struggling hard to comprehend it. I keep pacing back and forth between the memories I have created with you and the harsh reality that doesn’t seem to find solace within my being. Guess, somebody’s aptly quoted, “nothing could be worse than unprepared good-byes.” Yours is a similar blow to us!

You were the eldest in the family, the pillar and the rock that kept everyone intact. The thread that connected all the members together. And how fondly you were addressed as ‘Aapa’, even by the younger generation. ‘Aapa’, in Urdu means elder sister. Can there be anyone better than you who’d given meaning to this term in its truest sense?! If today I understand the essence of family, value the relationships and people. Then I owe this to you. You were a living example to us as somebody who’s lived for others. Who’s considered other’s well being before theirs, who’s only been generous and giving, who’s weaved every single bond in the colours of their love and compassion all through their lives!

You were my ‘Phupu’, who gifted me my name,my identity when I opened my eyes into this world. Mom always used to say, still, she does ‘embrace the qualities of your phupu, the beloved!’ If in this life, I am able to acquire at least one of the element from your character, it would mean the world to me. There can never be anyone even closer to you, who can walk in your shoes or under the aura of your personality. In the period of  self-centeredness and conceit, you’ve left behind a legacy of your own for your people to follow.

The sense of duty and integrity with which you have led your life till the last breath, speaks volumes about you. And it cannot find its way through mere words of expressions. You used to say, ‘Who will cry after I am gone, I don’t have children of my own.’ I so wish, I could show you the scar and the void that you’ve left behind in our lives! Who says you have no child? You were the ‘Mother’, the supreme shadow that Ahmed family has lost forever!

Aapa, if only I could go back in time and get you amidst us. Tell you how proud we were of you. Let you know how beautifully you have taught us, the significant lesson of patience and endurance. How your simplicity and strength of spirit have left a lasting impression in our minds and that your contribution in our lives shall be remembered forever. But unfortunately, I am left with ‘if only’ and ‘I wish’ right now...

We are broke without you, it's like an era coming to a closure!

Love you and will always do, until we meet again!

With love and deepest respect,

Yours loving,

Mini