It was a Friday morning when I opened a news link that the brother in law shared in the family whatsapp group, it was about a MAS plane, MH17 that crashed in Ukraine. As I read the article, I started to feel uneasy when I saw the words "returning to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam....." because I remembered that my cousin always joked about flying past my dog, Ginger's homeland (near Ukraine) everytime he flies to and from Amsterdam.
Just as I was reading towards the end of the article, Jenn sent me a message on whatsapp "Are you awake?", before I could reply, another message followed "Our cousin is gone........" I froze, I did not know what to feel, the meaning of those words doesn't seem to register to me at that moment. Sadness? Anger? Shock? Confusion? Disbelief? I did not know what to feel.
My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of my phone, it was mom, I knew what she was going to tell me, that's when I started to cry angrily and cursing whoever it was that shot at a civilian plane! I was asking if it really was his plane? Could there have been a mistake? Mom said it was confirmed at 2am....it was really his plane, on his usual route coming home from Amsterdam. No survivors.
Families, friends and loved ones ... gone. In just a blink of an eye.
I had so many questions, who do I ask? How do I even find the right words? What's going to happen to my cousin in law and her sons? Who is with them at their home now??? The whole world was in shock.
I have lost a cousin. My dad has lost his favorite nephew. My uncle has lost his eldest son. A wife has lost her soulmate. 2 young boys have lost their hero.
We still have a lot of unanswered questions. Will there be a body for us to bury? Will we be able to have a proper ceremony to bid our final farewells? All we can do is wait.
All we can do now is pray that it was painless and quick, that God has taken all the passengers home to a better place without any war or suffering. All we can do is pray for strength and peace for all the families affected. We are all going to be okay, in time.
RIP Captain Eugene Choo, you are dearly missed.
