Death is inevitable.

Let me tell you a funny story.

A year and a half ago, my cousin was involved in a very very bad accident. When we arrived at the hospital, we rushed into the ICU to see him. When we walked into the ICU, we didn't know which was him. Everyone in the room was bandaged and had their faces covered with tubes and were attached to machines.

So after consulting the charts on the walls, we finally found him. Bruised, battered, bleeding and swollen. He had massive head injuries and was barely breathing on his own. We then asked the nurse what happened, and she consulted the chart and said " kemalangan antara basikal dan motosikal."

We then enquiried, "siapa naik basikal?"

To which she replied, "Ntah la. Mungkin dia kot" *while pointing at my cousin*
(these ppl are really efficient I tell you. They don't know when he was admitted, what injuries he suffered, how the accident happened. Nothing. Great. Two thumbs up!)

We sat at his bedside, and said a prayer for him. Telling him he had to pull through. We saw tears streaming down his face. While he may have been in a coma, we were sure, he could hear us.

About two weeks later, my cousin had recovered. And over dinner one day, another cousin revealed to us that my uncle had rushed to the ICU to see him and sat down for half and hour, stroking his hand, talking to him and consoling him. Only to find out later when another family member entered the ICU, that he was talking to the wrong guy. My cousin was in fact, lying on the bed next to the man my uncle was talking to.

That story never fails to make me snicker.

Today, at 1am in the morning, this cousin passed away.

I choose to rememeber everything great about him. That funny hospital story (albeit wrapped in tragedy), the way he had laugh- loud and hearty, he was always the one asking whether we "remember him or not?" (cos he worked in the east coast and was hardly back) and eventhough as the years passed, we saw less and less of him, I will always remember him for the great cousin that he was.

RIP my dear cousin.