Deceased in service

"Eternal rest grant unto Cik Rahimah.
And let Your perpetual light shine upon her.
May her soul rest in peace. Amen ."

I remember having Cik Rahimah as my Physical Education teacher in Form 4. I know how "inactive and wimpy" I seemed to be, but well....... she was the one who gave me the drive to continue, even when I was at my worst. With the amount of push-ups everyone had to do, some survived, some barely made it, and I.... was the only one who fell flat on the floor. I and the rest of the Four U students at my time, had no problem because when Cik Rahimah the Superwoman was there, we would have no qualms of... well... doing anything.
She passed away at 6:00 p.m., 2008/04/07.

At that time I was asleep. Or at least, I was trying to fall asleep. I was tossing and turning, without actually knowing the reason. Sleep eluded me at that very hour.

That was all the information I got from Sakkunthala, my junior - who is now in Form 5. I read the message quite late. In fact, just ten minutes ago. Some two years ago, I think she was the one who was diagnosed with a brain tumour - she underwent an operation, and she was doing pretty well when she returned to school. I saw the joy on her face when she came to school. I just loved her smile. Even if Physical Education was mostly theory and not practical, I couldn't help but look at her and listen........ and when dreamy airs came, I'd think about Cik Rahimah being able to run and jump around like the rest of us.

Our dear teacher, deceased in service ; diagnosed with cancer but still willing to take upon herself the task of being a Physical Education teacher.

She used to get frequent pains from her chemotherapy sessions. Even so, she was the usual calm, reserved Cik Rahimah. She steadfastly endured the pain for our sake ; ours were the sufferings she carried. Coaching the school netball team was an increasingly difficult task as the days went by, but she kept on training the girls to victory. I remember back when I was in school, and whenever I saw the netball team in their game, they would always remember to play well.... for her.

The last I talked to her was early last year, while she still was in school. I asked her how she was, and she said things were fine. Or at least, we felt they were. No one suspected anything. Only later, she had to take sick leave. I never saw her since. I was hoping that she would be there for my results day. But not a single sign of her was found.
Now, I get this sad news.

It was just as people said - in these days, one can never be sure how successful surgery is, when a patient has cancer. One single cancerous cell can multiply and destroy everything. One thing is for sure though - I have strong hopes that she will see me through, from heaven.

Adieu, Cik Rahimah. Tu vas toujours nous manquer. Que Dieu te bénisse, maintenant et toujours et dans les siècles des siècles.