Farewell to an Old Friend

Farewell to an Old Friend

It was heartbreaking tragic news as he was told that his close friend has suddenly passed away. He was further shocked when he suddenly realized that it was his friend that he saw that night.

Gopeng which was a small rich ex-mining town located about 20 km from Ipoh, the state capital, in the state of Perak in Malaysia.  Eugene and Menom were not only childhood but best friends and lived almost their entire adult lives in the town of Gopeng.

Town of Gopeng in Perak

Eventually Eugene left home in Gopeng bringing his father and his younger sister along with him. He was promoted as an assistant distribution manager in Shah Alam, Selangor. His father could get his weekly treatment in a nearby hospital and his sister could begin her course at a local college.

One night Menom and his wife just finished dinner at a local ‘mamak’ store and they drove to their house. His wife unlocked the front door and Menom was taking out some grocery from the car when he decided to smoke his cigarette (not allowed to smoke in the house). The entire neighbourhood was very dark except for a few roadside lamps. As he was sitting on the bonnet of his car, he saw a stranger opposite and near to his house beside a roadside lamp. As the stranger was beside the lamp, Menom could only see the outline of the stranger but it was very familiar.

Just as Menom was going to call out to the stranger, his wife came to the car and said why he is taking so long. Menom looked at his wife then turned back to the direction of the stranger and was about to reply…..the stranger beside the lamp post was gone. Menom looked everywhere in the neighbourhood but there was nothing there.

Menom had a terrible time trying to sleep feeling extremely uneasy and restless. When he got to sleep, he would snap awake dreaming of seeing a dark figure inches from his face, over and over again.

The next morning Menom received a called from Eugene’s father and he was crying….saying Eugene was dead…

Some people might consider it is a freaking coincidence but Menom truly believed that it was his best friend who came to say farewell.