PALAKKAD: The tragedy unfolded before her eyes, leaving Ajna Sherin to face the bitter reality that her four closest friends will no longer be by her side. She must move on in life without them. The relief of the narrow escape from the accident at Panayampadam, near Kalladikode, notwithstanding, Ajna is in shock.
As she speaks, her tear-filled eyes rest on two items that now carry immense emotional weight: Ridha Fathima’s writing pad and Nidha Fathima’s umbrella, which they had handed to Ajna for safekeeping as their bags lacked space. These now remain the only objects to remind her of lost friends. The grief was so overwhelming that Ajna kept away from paying her final respects on Friday.
“I can only remember a deafening sound and a cloud of dust that blocked my vision. I don’t even know how I fell into a pit or what exactly happened,” recounted Ajna, clutching on to the writing pad and umbrella. “Irfana’s mother was there to take her to an appointment with the dentist. I still remember her running towards us, calling out Irfana’s name.”
Piecing together the fragments of her memory, Ajna said, “We were on our way home. We stopped at a shop to buy chocolates. That’s when Ridha handed me her writing pad and Nidha her umbrella to keep in my bag. While I was trying to fit them into my bag, they had moved on. And that’s when everything happened.” This was all Ajna could take, as she fell silent.
At Aysha’s house, her elder sisters wailed inconsolably. Her friends remembered her as someone who always played the bride in their oppana performances.
Aysha’s father, Sharafudheen, looked devastated, unable to accept that the ‘bride of his heart’ was gone forever.
