Keeping promises : Sally and Syibli

Its obviously a season of new beginnings as one by one of my dearest friends are making it official with their partners, tying the knots in a grand ceremony, celebrating love. In 46 days, I’m going to have the exact celebration too. But this post here is not about me. A week after Maddy is made a wife by law and religion, Sally has followed in her footsteps. Maddy and Sally (hey their names rhyme!), they don’t know each other, but both of them are equally important people, friends, in my life. I know them from separate places. One from upper secondary school and the other matriculations, but both of them are close friends of mine. So, last Saturday, 1st November, 2008, Sally got hitched to her fiancé (now husband) named Syibli.

I wouldn’t miss it of course. And I didn’t.

Sally, unlike Maddy, is the friend who was always doing the looking out for us instead of the other way round. The motherly type of person, nurturing more than accepting nurture. Back in matrics, I remember her being the constant coffee-making person. She’s traditionally house-wife material you see. Always offering to make tea and coffee, cook fried rice for us, cut the cake, always has a supply of food to feed the masses that made our gang. The best thing about her is her exquisite sense of humour, you can’t help but enjoy her company. We were a big group, but we were the happiest. I’m trying not to make long posts these days so I’d better stop the recollection before it gets unstoppable.

Anyway, last Saturday, picking up Tim and Yong at the bus station here in Sg Nibong (they hitched a ride with me to Bukit Selambau), we started getting ready straight away to leave because, firstly we have another pit stop to make before going to Sally’s. Being a part of Parlimail, (another group of friends) involved in a newly started charity project at an old folks home (which by the way was organized by my own beloved fiance), I was required to at least make an appearance (albeit briefly) at a follow up visit that same morning (I’m blogging this in another post okay). So I dragged both Tim and Yong along. We had breakfast with the lovely atoks before the three of us with Azleena (hired photographer of Sally and my parlimail buddy) carpooled and headed to Sg Petani around 10am. We got therein time to catch her getting made up at a bridal boutique. As Azleena started snapping away the pre-reception shots, the rest of us milled around and chatted (me doing the ultra teasing of the bride) and in between watched a Disney cartoon of Goofy and his pet cricket (it was funny- the cartoon I mean).

Back at her house, we were like the VIPs of the bride, her own official girlfriend entourage. It was a pity that out of so many of us in the gang, only Tim, Yong and I made it that day. It would’ve been so much fun if more of us could’ve made it. Anyway, Sally, though a little plump than she’d wished to be, was very beautiful as a bride (see above picture). We stayed the whole day, fussing her over and being at her beck and call. Because we were so-called VIPs, we even got called over to ‘merenjis’ (give blessing ceremony) without having been pre-empted prior to it, sally’s way of surprising us, catching us off guard. But all in all it was fun. We went back each of us getting an extra paper bag with a lot of additional tidbits. Azleena and I even managed to bring back the food (which was really good by the way).

I’m glad I was able to be there for sally on her big day. She told me countless times how she was counting on me to be there, and I couldn’t disappoint the bride who shares the same birth date like mine. Sally and Syibli, Congratulations on your marriage. God Bless your union, now, always, forever. May you have the best of health, wealth, success, and ever lasting love and happiness. Sally, remember the things I tell you. I know you’d make a great wife, we’ve known that since matrics. Have a better life, a better future. We will still see each other when we can help it okay…

Lots of love, Emme