True Love Triumphs

By Yohanna Abdullah

 

Faizal Bin Abdul Rahim struggled with addiction for 15 years

Years spent under lock and key

Bed is just cold cement floor

But fellow friends keep each other warm

Along with addiction he suffered from mental illness

Beside being addicted he was depressed since his early 20s

 

“Maybe it was due to academic pressure by parents

I was good in music and sports

But those days good grades were very important

To my parents, both teachers”

 

Rehabilitation is not easy for hard core addicts

Temptation is great and compelling

Wasted away his 20s and 30s

Divorced his wife of one year

A beloved childhood girlfriend

Not wanting to drag her into his hell

 

From heroin to subutex to methamphetamine, benztropine to valium

Anything to give him a high

He came back in soon after coming out of the Drug Rehabilitation Centre

Physical training did not cure addiction

Frequent urine checks found him relapsing

 

Worried, parents sent him to an Indonesian religious school

The pesantren increased his knowledge of Islam

But it did not help solve his inner conflict

 

As years passed the rehab improved

With counsellors and psychologists stepping in

Faizal went to a hypnotherapy course

He himself learnt counselling in 2015

And recently he received his degree at 49

 

Best of all he met his former wife

Both had re-married and divorced a spouse each

Both embraced the love they had for each other

Never lost

True love

Destiny brings two hearts

She was sweet 17

He was 21

Even though it has been 31 years apart

 

Now engaging in post-graduate studies

He is blessed to be a counsellor at Club HEAL

A place for lost souls

Burdened with a past

Family is the key, he said

For his never gave up on him

Family is there to listen to you

To share your pain

And pray for your gain

Mak was convinced he will recover in the end

Bapak always reminded him to be with Allah

 

Hear us out

Never judge

As for every one of us

Care for ourselves

And everything will fall into place

Love and be loved

 

11.5.18

 

 

Yohanna Abdullah is a writer and editor for Club HEAL. She has published four books for Club HEAL. She enjoys creative expression and she looks at life with wonder and love. She is a passionate mental health advocate. She is also a loving mother of two.