A cup of freshly brewed home roasted coffee in the middle of a mountain of books emitted fragrance equivalent to that of the kopitiam coffee her dad loves.
The aroma was so tempting that Susan had to put her book down and take a sip. She felt her drowsiness disappear in a fleeting second.
She rubbed her weary eyes and they lingered momentarily at the mirror on the wall. Her reflection scared even herself. Was it possible the woman with bloodshot eyes and a pallid face Susan? Gosh, she looked like a zombie!
She took in a deep breath to pull herself together. It is not the time to lose her focus.
She threw a nervous glance at the round clock on the wall. It was nearly two in the morning. She heaved a sigh and carried on with her revision.
“The next book…one more after this…there’s still time for this…”
These were the words Susan kept repeating to herself as she went through her notes. Her mind, already saturated with information, went into an overdrive, absorbing information like sponge absorbing water.
She had come too far, further than what her critics have thought her possible of. They have been hostile towards the first ever girl taking an engineering course in the university. Told her she would never make it. Picked on her since the first day as she arrived on a wheelchair.
Ahh, her legs, a casualty of the fatal accident that occurred years and years ago.
It was a perfectly normal day for any family.
Tuan Sheng had taken a day off from work to spend time with his family. Being a people’s leader in the state of Kelantan, the title ‘Tuan’ did not come easily for Sheng. However, he had been doing well over the past decade, and the fruit of labour ripened fast for him.
A challenging job, a perfect family, and respect from the people were everything he ever wanted. Happiness was a possession for the Sheng family.
Alas, fate intervened. He was driving home from the beach in Bachok when a blue Honda rammed into his car from the passenger’s side. The screams of his wife and daughter made the blood drain from his face.
He was powerless to prevent the car from turning turtle.
The massive jam that resulted from that crash delayed the arrival of the ambulance. Had the traffic been more relenting, Sheng’s wife would not have passed away on the way to the hospital. As she was rushed to the Operating Theater, Susan was in a critical condition, fighting for her life.
Sheng blamed himself for the tragedy. Had he approved the construction of a wider road in that area earlier, his wife would not have died. Had he drove with more vigilance, Susan would not be in mortal peril. Why, of the three of them, did he receive the least injury?
Susan woke up from comatose a few weeks later, by which Sheng had taken to alcohol to ease the pain of losing his wife. And another blow hit the Sheng family.
Susan was paralyzed from waist down.
It was a setback that would deter many from moving on in life, but not Susan. She knew it was her mother’s wishes for her to excel in her studies, and she vowed to fulfill her piety to her mother by doing just that. The positive energy radiating from her managed even to rouse her father from his drunken stupor.
It was a long, long journey before she made it into University Malaya (UM). She had survived jeers from her parents, biased teachers and even the cruel hands of fate far too long to give up now.
No, she will be undertaking her ultimate paper in her fourth and final year and there is no room for quitters. She will soldier on no matter what!
Tuan Sheng, who had requested to be transferred to the Klang Valley upon his daughter’s admission into UM, was sitting at the kitchen table when Susan emerged from her room.
“Are you ready for it?”
Susan nodded confidently.
“That’s my girl.”
A fire rose in her chest. The wrinkles around his eyes showed how much Sheng had aged, and Susan was determined not to let him down.
At nine o’clock sharp, the examiner gave the go-ahead and the scribbling began. Susan’s hand flew across the paper at breakneck speed. Her peers around her looked at her in awe as she filled the blank papers with formulae and calculations.
Finally, exhausted, she put her pen down and closed her eyes.
Susan woke to the sounds of machines beeping. She was in a white room filled with weird devices and tubes. The sense of déjà vu filled her eyes with tears. She adjusted her right hand and it brushed against something soft.
Tuan Sheng woke to a start, and couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw his daughter smiling at him. For two weeks he had slept beside the unconscious body of his daughter and finally she has woken!
The result for the finals was announced a fortnight later. Susan gave the honour of opening the envelope to her father.
With trembling hands he slit the envelope open and gave an enormous gasp.
Susan had obtained first class honours despite fainting in the middle of the last paper!
On the day of her convocation, Tuan Sheng, the proudest man in the universe that day, put on his best suit and went to the ceremony with his daughter at his side. When Susan Sheng was called, the crowd gave her a standing ovation, to the girl who had proven that nothing is impossible.
As she received her honours from the chancellor, Susah held her father’s hand tightly and touched her mortar board. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Mum, I’ve done it!”
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