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Sunday morning, I was just about to go to the gym when my wife received a call. Less than a minute she spoke, suddenly burst into tears. I knew right away that someone had died, and before my wife hung up on me, I knew who’s it.

I know our family and good neighbor has been ill, less than a week. First, she was treated at home, but was later referred to Cut Meutia General Hospital, Lhokseumawe. We haven't seen her yet, suddenly we have the news that she's gone forever.

The news of our brother's passing was shocking. The cause of death was even more shocking. She died from exposure to Covid-19.

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During this time, I have never been too worried if our brother was sick. Medical treatment must be done precisely, quickly, and measured because she is surrounded by doctors. Her first child is a general practitioner. Her nephew, who lived with him since childhood, married a specialist. Her brother-in-law, a specialist doctor. His nephew is also a nurse.

So, there were two specialists, one general practitioner, and one nurse with her.

So far, even though we are neighbors, we rarely meet because we have our own busyness. She often leaves the area because of his job. Even though I have rarely left the area since the Covid-19 pandemic, I am still busy, or rather keep myself busy.

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When I don't have any work, I keep busy writing and reading. There are several unfinished novels, as well as daily news writing assignments for our campus portal, Malikussaleh University.

So, we only met by chance. Before his departure for all eternity, the last time I saw her was more than a month ago, while attending his in-house funeral in Lhokseumawe.

My family and I haven't had contact with her in more than a month until suddenly there is shocking news.

According to the story of his family members, she experienced shortness of breath and fever after returning from Banda Aceh to attend the meeting. Whether he contracted it while in Banda Aceh is still being investigated. Most likely from there.

We still can't believe he's gone. As if I still hear her voice, I don't always meet. As if she was still among us.

Because of her departure due to the corona virus, the burial procession also followed the Covid-19 protocol. We can't go near the funeral. No one held a prayer in her house that had been sprayed with disinfectant. All family members will be swab tested to make sure they don't catch it and they will go into independent isolation.

She left behind two children, one boy and one girl. She doesn't have grandchildren yet, but has children from nephews who are considered to be hers own grandchildren. She really loves children. Every Eid, children from anywhere come to visit. The children expected red packets, and she gave them sincerely.

She was very generous, even though he was not the richest person on the street where we lived, but at home the children always came because they always got money.

We all feel lost. But we are sure that she gets the best place in the sight of Allah for all her acts of worship so far. Innalillahiwainnailaihirajiun. []

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Covid-19 Merenggut Kebahagiaan Kami

Minggu pagi, aku baru saja hendak ke gym ketika istri menerima telepon. Kurang satu menit ia bicara, tiba-tiba tangisnya pecah. Aku langsung tahu ada yang meninggal dunia, dan sebelum istriku menutup telepon, aku sudah tahu siapa.

Aku tahu saudara sekaligus tetangga kami itu dalam keadaan sakit, kurang dari seminggu ini. Pertama, ia dirawat di rumah, tapi kemudian dirujuk ke Rumah Sakit Umum Cut Meutia, Lhokseumawe. Kami belum menjenguknya, tiba-tiba sudah mendapatkan kabar ia sudah pergi untuk selama-lamanya.

Berita meninggalnya saudara kami itu sungguh membuat terkejut. Penyebab kematiannya lebih membuat terkejut. Dia meninggal akibat terpapar Covid-19.

Selama ini, aku tidak pernah terlalu cemas bila saudara kami itu sakit. Penanganan secara medis pasti dilakukan dengan tepat, cepat, dan terukur sebab ia dikelilingi para dokter. Anaknya yang pertama adalah dokter umum. Keponakannya yang sejak kecil tinggal bersamanya, menikah dengan dokter spesialis. Adik iparnya, dokter spesialis. Keponakannya juga seorang perawat.

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Jadi, ada dua dokter spesialis, satu dokter umum, dan satu perawat bersamanya.

Selama ini, meski bertetangga, kami jarang bertemu karena kami punya kesibukan masing-masing. Ia sering keluar daerah karena pekerjaannya. Aku meski jarang keluar daerah sejak pandemic Covid-19, tetap sibuk, atau lebih tepatnya menyibukkan diri. Ketika aku tidak memiliki pekerjaan apa pun, aku tetap sibuk menulis dan membaca. Ada beberapa novel yang belum selesai, juga tugas harian menulis berita untuk portal kampus kami, Universitas Malikussaleh.

Jadi, kami hanya bertemu secara kebetulan. Sebelum kepergiannya untuk selama-lamanya, terakhir kali aku melihatnya lebih dari sebulan lalu, ketika menghadiri penguburan besannya di Lhokseumawe.

Aku dan anggota keluarga tidak kontak dengannya lebih dari sebulan sampai tiba-tiba dastang berita mengejutkan.

Menurut cerita anggota keluarganya, ia mengalami sesak nafas dan demam sepulang dari Banda Aceh untuk menghadiri rapat. Apakah ia tertular selama berada di Banda Aceh, masih ditelusuri. Kemungkinan besar memang dari sana.

Kami masih tidak percaya dia sudah tiada. Serasa aku masih mendengar suaranya, aku tidak selalu bertemu. Serasa ia masih berada di antara kami.

Karena kepergiannya akibat virus corona, prosesi penguburan juga mengikuti protokol Covid-19. Kami tidak boleh mendekat ketika penguburan. Tidak ada yang menggelar doa di rumahnya yang sudah disemprot dengan disinfektan. Seluruh anggota keluarga akan diuji swab untuk memastikan tidak ikut tertular dan mereka akan melakukan isolasi mandiri.

Dia meninggalkan dua orang anak, satu lelaki dan satu perempuan. Dia belum memiliki cucu, tetapi memiliki anak dari keponakan yang dianggap sebagai cucu sendiri. Dia memang sangat menyayangi anak-anak. Setiap lebaran, anak-anak entah dari mana saja datang bertamu. Anak-anak itu mengharapkan angpao, dan ia memberikannya dengan ikhlas.
Dia begitu pemurah, meski bukan orang paling kaya di jalan tempat tinggal kami, tapi di rumahnya anak-anak selalu datang karena selalu mendapatkan uang.

Kami semua merasa kehilangan. Tapi kami yakin ia mendapatkan tempat terbaik di sisi Allah atas segala amal ibadahnya selama ini. Innalillahiwainnailaihirajiun.[]

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