What if my uncle never left us?
I often wonder how life would have been if some things didn’t happen, if some people didn’t leave without saying anything, a simple goodbye perhaps. Some incidents can change your life forever. I wouldn’t say its always bad but, in my case, it was,
It was a cold, fateful evening of December 2016. My cousins and I went out to grab coffee; it was one of those days when you feel like something is wrong, but you cannot point it out. Its just a tingling sensation in your bones, you can feel it, but you can’t do anything to stop it. It was around 7pm when us cousins went to this coffee place and sat in the outdoor dining area. It was a chilly day. We were laughing, enjoying, telling each other stories, confessing things we never talked about before; everything seemed calm at that moment. We left the dining and reached home around 10pm. We had a good time but all of us were worn out, so we decided to rest. Around 10:30 at night, someone knocked at the gate. It was not a usual knock; we just knew something went wrong. I opened the gate and found a man standing in front of me. He seemed baffled, as if he didn’t know what to say or how to say it. He kept finding the right words to break the news, and finally he did. ‘Ap k mamu, Zaheer bhai ka accident hogaya hai. He passed away.’ he uttered. I stood there in complete silence; his words cut deeper than a knife. He repeated thrice, and the third time, it finally hit me. I ran inside to tell the others but, I felt weak, I felt feeble; I couldn’t say those words again. It took me all my courage to inform the others about what happened. We were all deeply attached to our uncle. He was more like a best friend to us; especially to me. We shared such a beautiful bond that I couldn’t share with anyone else. It took me quite a while to realize that I lost him. I lost my dear uncle, my friend, my confidant, my guide, my helper and in short, I lost a piece of my heart. Well, ever since we lost him, life has been different. Whenever something happens, be it good or bad, I still think of him. I still want to tell him, want to ask for his help, for his wise suggestions. It feels like something is missing, there’s a void that can’t be filled. I wonder how life would have been if he was still with us. I feel lost at times, I feel confused. I need him but he’s not here.
I think life would have been better if he was around. It’s great Alhamdulillah but, with his help, his guidance and wisdom, it would have been amazing. I would share every little thing with him, I would take care of him with all my heart. I'm sure he would have guided me and helped me in every step of the way. I miss my uncle every day.
- Hania Alvi
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