This one is probably different from my other writing, hehe. I am writing this for my late grandmother, Mbah. A few days ago, on October 1st 2026, I got the news from my mom and dad at 3 in the afternoon that Mbah had passed away. I had just finished the Ashar prayer when the message from my parents came. When I read it, I did not know what to say, so I only replied to their chat with “Okay, I am on my way there”, because I truly could not find any other words.

That was how I first heard the news. I told my HR and my manager that I needed to leave right away, then I headed straight to the hospital. Maybe before that I should tell the earlier part of the story. As far as I know, if I am not mistaken, Mbah had a stroke and had already been in the ICU for 22 days, counting from the day she was admitted. The last time I saw her was on Saturday the 26th. That day I went to the hospital and met my aunt (Bude) when I arrived, and she told me to go see Mbah in the ICU at Ananda Hospital. But at that point, if I am not mistaken, it was around 3 in the afternoon and visiting hours were already over, so Bude told me to hurry so I could at least see her condition. Normally I would not have been allowed in because visiting hours had passed, but because Bude spoke to the security guard for me, I was allowed to go in. When I got inside, it happened to be the exact moment Mbah was being moved from her previous room to another one, and I saw her condition, which I cannot really put into words. There were so many devices attached to her body, from the oxygen tube to the needles for the IV and more. I could not say anything there, and I could not even get close to her because she was in the middle of being moved to another room.

Before I went in, Bude told me to whisper to Mbah that her grandchild had come. But I could not, because at that time Mbah was being moved to another room. So all I could do was stay silent and look at her condition. A few minutes later, after she had been moved, the security guard told me to leave because I was not allowed to stay long in there. And that was the last time I met my grandmother while she was still with us. Since there was nothing I could do, I left the ICU, and there was a family meeting. So to keep it short, that was the last time I saw Mbah before Thursday, the day I would walk with her to her final resting place in this world.

Back to that Thursday. After asking for permission to leave, I rushed straight to the hospital. On the way there I could not hold back my tears, I cried as hard as I possibly could. My mask and my helmet were soaked, my eyes were a complete mess along the way. When I arrived, I met my mom, my dad, and my aunt who were already waiting to bring Mbah home to be buried. From leaving the ICU, to getting into the ambulance, I stayed by Mbah’s side all the way home. To keep it short, the whole family came, Mbah’s older siblings, her younger siblings, everyone arrived, and of course there is no need to ask about the tears.

At that point I went home because I had come straight from the office and had not been home yet from the hospital. So I went home to pick up Emak (my mom’s mother) and my little sibling so they could see Mbah. To keep it short, it went on until night, and then I drove Emak home along with my little sibling, so that the next morning we could bury Mbah.

The next morning, at around a quarter to seven, I set off again to help with the burial. When I arrived, Mbah was already being bathed. To keep it short, after that was done, at around 9 we went to the mosque for the funeral prayer. After the prayer, she was taken to be buried. At the cemetery, we all went to Mbah’s final resting place in this world. From the hospital all the way to the cemetery I stayed with Mbah, from helping carry her from the house to the mosque, and all the way to the grave, though I did not go down into it, my dad and my uncle were the ones who went down. So that is roughly it. I wrote this to remember Mbah, and to say thank you for all the memories, from when I was little, playing with my cousins at Mbah’s house. Back then my cousin and I were basically like Upin and Ipin, with Mbah as the grandma (Opah), and my aunt, who was still living at Mbah’s house before she got married, as Kak Ros, haha.

So that is the story, and here are a few photos to remember her by. This was a morning walk to Bundaran HI with Mbah and the family.

This was when we went camping together, Mbah was there too.

This is a photo from Lebaran, with my mom, my little sibling, and Mbah too.

This is an old photo from when we all stayed over together as a family.

And this is the last photo together with Mbah and the family.

I wrote this as a keepsake for Mbah, and thank you, Mbah, for all the memories. And to anyone reading this, I truly, deeply ask you to send your best prayers for my grandmother, may she rest peacefully there. And one more thing, as we were about to head home, a butterfly came, and the color of that butterfly was so beautiful. I do not know what it means, but I hope it means something good.

And to be honest, I cried while writing all of this. I love you, Mbah, rest well. May Allah grant her the highest place in Jannah, forgive all her sins, ease every step of her journey, and gather us all together again one day in a better place. Al-Fatihah.