Life can change in a second. Literally.
I know we all know this, but do you ever really think about it? I know I haven’t thought about it in a while myself. Sometimes, maybe because I’m young, I think that life is going to be so long… but maybe it’s not. Maybe it will all end tomorrow. Or maybe sooner.
When I was living in Los Angeles, I became friends with a group of girls - many of which I am still close friends with and a few I would consider BEST friends. One of them, I’ll call her R, is still one of my best friends on earth. I love her. One of the things I love about her is her insistence in our spending time together from the first day I met her.
We became close quickly - and the kind of close where you don’t need to sit together and talk to be together. We would be in separate rooms in her apartment and still be “hanging out.” We became so close I would never go home - I would stay on the couch every night for months and it was so fun because all the other friends would be there staying together. It was like having five sisters always around and another two or three that would drop by often. I loved it. It was the first time I had ever had that feeling. Like our own little special sorority.
In that group of “roommates” (mind you, we didn’t pay rent, this was all forced by R) was another girl, Lulu. We would always joke around with each other - she said I look like a n3ama (ostrich) and I told her she looked like Snoop Dogg in hijab (except that she was really, really pretty mashaAllah). But, some days she also looked like Franklin the Turtle… it all depended.
We would cruise Sunset Blvd. in my convertible and listen to music. We would go to eat at the “Curry” place near our house (still don’t know the name - we always just called it “Curry”). We went to Dockweiler Beach and had bonfires. We went to the Grove and walked around. We went to “Lulu’s” for her birthday - this crappy diner that we only wanted to try because it was her name… We had Ramadan dinners together.
She was extra spunky and extra sassy, and she fit into the group in her own special place. It wouldn’t have been the same without her.
We drifted apart after I left Los Angeles and move to Riyadh and even when we all were “evicted” from the apartment when R’s brother moved in LOL (“the end of an era” as we all said). Still, we were Instagram friends and when we saw each other when I would visit LA we would always text each other and stayed in touch.
The last time I saw her we were driving next to each other and randomly spotted each other and we both screamed out the window “OMG I MISS YOU!”
We had our arguments, no doubt. We had realllllly different perspectives on certain things. But, I loved her.
A few days ago, R texted me to let me know Lulu’s family had a gas leak in their home and it exploded and unfortunately she and her father were both in very serious condition. I’ve been praying for her and thinking about her ever since.
I was sure she was going to be fine though… she’s only 24 and she was so full of energy and life so how could she not pull through? A similar feeling I had when I found out my mom was sick.
Unfortunately, this morning R informed me that Lulu and her father have both passed away, Allah yarhamhum (May Allah be pleased with their souls). When I don’t know what to say, I can only reflect on the best memories and write… so that’s what I had to do.
To Lulu, my little Snoop Dogg:
I missed you before. I miss you a million times more right now. Thanks for all of the fun and all of the memories. Thanks for putting up with my snoring when we had to share the living room. Thanks for the one time you and M attacked me with perfume and gave me an asthma attack. Thanks for cruising. Thanks for being the only other person that would let me listen to Arabic music. Thanks for the time we went to the zoo and informing me I have the body of an ostrich.
Most of all, thanks for reminding me, and all of us, that this life is so so so delicate and in a second it all can change. I love you and I’ll always love you and I’ll always pray for your beautiful soul. May Allah grant you the highest level in Jannah and may you and your father be amongst the shaheed.
