YLANG YLANG

“Nice”, Nadia smelled the fragrance given off by the Ylang ylang blossoms. She looked up the tree; huge. She could not believe her eyes. How could the huge tree spring those tiny blossoms? She sat down under the tree, feeling the paltry breeze hit her soft cheeks. Tranquillity. She had been longing for this since she left home. Five years had passed since the last time she had a chance to immerse herself in those beauty that she would never get anywhere else. Nadia closed her eyes. She was still amazed with the Ylang ylang blossoms. The fragrance was so strong despite their tiny yellow structure. One would never imagine that the scent was indeed emitted by the flower. She guessed the English proverb ‘never judge a book by its cover’ could apply in anything. She felt a bit of jealousy. Those tropical blossoms were truly blessed. They did no hard work. But still they were blessed with the nice smell, beautiful yellow petals, and huge tree that would definitely supply them with adequate nutrition. In contrast, as a human being, Nadia needed to work hard for her living. She needed to be away from home. She needed to sacrifice most of the things she loved. Since five years ago, she had to follow her family decision to go study in England. She was against the decision. There were many excellent local universities that offered medical courses if her parents wanted her to become the doctor. She knew that was not the main reason for their decision. They wanted me to be away from home. There was internal conflict within her extended family due to inheritance issues. Nadia was almost kidnapped. They never knew who the kidnaper was. The case was not reported to the police as her father didn’t want her mother to suffer anymore. She knew her mother always acted strong in front of them. However, deep inside, her heart was broken into pieces when her own siblings and her own mother disowned her. All of them were aware of her mother suffering. If the kidnapping was been revealed to be carried by one of her brothers, her heart would break further. Therefore, her father and brother took the decision to send her away so that the incidence would not be possible to happen again. Nadia was not allowed to be home since five years ago. Nadia was truly upset with the decision. Why couldn’t they trust her? She knew and confident that she could protect herself. Besides that, if they were worried that much, why didn’t just allow me to do the course at National Science University (USM) which was located 20 minutes from her house? That would be a better choice. She really wanted to know the real reason why she was sent away. Why they were so scared? Nonetheless the reasons, everything was revealed now. It happened two weeks ago. After calling her mother, accidently she did not ended the call. She must be in a rush. Nadia could hear the conversation in the background. Although it was not clear, she could grasp the issue immediately. The conversation was between her brother, father and one of paternal uncles. xxx “Have you decided when to tell Nadia about her blood family?” her uncle asked. “Not yet, I am scared. We are scared that she would get very upset and leave us”, her father replied. xxx Nadia was in shocked. Her mobile just slipped through her hand. She fell on her knees. She just could not believe what she just heard. After trying to regain control of herself, she tried to think clearly about the next action. She knew that she needed to confirm it with her family. She called home again. “Assalamualaikum, two calls in a day?” her mother tried to make a joke. “Wassalam, mum…is it true what I just heard? That I am not your daughter”, she could not wait to hear the answer. She could hear nothing from the other side. The moment fell into silence. “Hello, Nadia”, her father took over the phone. “Yes, I am here waiting for the truth” Nadia answered. “You just finished your final exam, right? I will book a flight ticket for you in two weeks time. Settle everything there and come back home. We will talk further when you are home” he calmly gave the order as he normally did. “How should I wait for two weeks with this feeling in my heart?” Nadia tried to force his father. “No, bear with it until you are home. It is better this way” her father replied and ended the call. Nadia felt devastated. But she had no choice. She needed to wait for two weeks to get the answer. Two weeks felt like forever. She could not stop her mind from thinking any possibility about herself. Nonetheless, after two weeks everything was revealed. She was a daughter of her father’s close friend. She was taken under her father custody after her blood family was killed in a hit-and-run accident 20 years ago. Her parents suspected that the accident was planned by someone who they knew well. They refused to reveal the person. Her parents did not want she filled her heart with darkness of revenge. “And if you happen to find out who the person is, we hope you won’t misunderstand our intention for keeping it as a secret”. Their pure request caused Nadia to burst into tears. She hugged them. “I would never leave you. I am grateful that I am blessed with a family who's willing to sacrifice anything for me. Now it is my turn to repay for everything. From now, whoever try to breakdown this family would get what they deserve” she expressed her feeling and walked out to immerse herself in the late afternoon serenity under the Ylang ylang tree. She opened her eyes. “Oh Ylang ylang, I know I am jealous because you do not need to do anything to live in this harsh world. But I am more jealous because your present can bring happiness and tranquillity to people’s heart and mind. O Allah, please give me the same strength so that I can bring the brightest smile to this family again”, Nadia stood up. After staring at the blossoms for a while, she walked home to where her family was waiting for her.