WHILST IN THE middle of “Sunat Tarawih” prayers (after the obligatory Isyak or Night prayers) in the Masjid Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah, I somehow felt something didn’t feel right.
So I cut short my prayers to only eight “Rakaats” and rushed to drive over to my mother’s place. Upon reaching the road leading to the house, all the neighbouring homes were in total darkness. My wild guess was that a strong lightning that afternoon might have hit the nearby power station but I wouldn’t know for sure. It was a complete blackout, that’s for sure! 😦
Before coming into the driveway, I simply hoped that my mother would not be home and decided to stay in any of my other siblings’ houses. But I was wrong. Upon entering her bedroom, my elderly Mama was lying comfortably on her bed but still awake, shrouded by pitched darkness with only lighted candles in the house. I asked if she’s alright and she answered that the blackout didn’t bother her that much.
I coaxed her into going out with me for a drive to the “Pasar Malam” to get some thirst-quenching drinks (since all the fridges in the kitchen had been out since about 3 or 4 in the afternoon when the electricity supply to her area got disrupted). During the half-hour night drive, at least she could enjoy some air-conditioning in my car, I thought.
Although, she’s always accompanied and being well-looked after by a young nephew and a niece together with an Indonesian helper, I stayed on until “Sahur” or the Dawn supper (still very much in darkness). My mother was pretty much nonchalant about the power outage and she was so very patient about the whole episode…
For my beloved mother — patience is indeed a virtue! 🙂
PLK
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