Class VI student Shaheen Parveen was helping her mother in the kitchen and had stepped out of their one-room home to wash utensils close to Sunday midnight.
That was when the four-storeyed building coming up right next to her tiled-
roof home came crashing down on it.
Shaheen’s mother Musarath Jahan and her siblings, Khushi Parveen, 5, and Mohammad Rahman, 7, were inside. And she could not reach them anymore.
On Monday morning, she was waiting eagerly in the lobby of a hospital on Paharpur Road, where her siblings were admitted.
Shaheen recounted to Metro the horror of the night before.
“My father was away. My mother was cooking and my brother and sister were inside. I was washing utensils outside when suddenly there was a very loud sound. Before I could react, something huge came down on my house and the power went off.
“Some bricks came flying and hit me on my leg. But there was no serious injury. I am all right.
“Suddenly there was only darkness and I could hear cries from all around me. The first thing that came to my mind was my family. I was trying to look out for my mother and my siblings but I could not hear their voices (she started crying).
“I do not remember exactly what happened next. There was a lot of dust and people were screaming.
“A few minutes later, people from the neighbourhood came to help us.
“I caught the first glimpse of my little sister. She was crying. It was a huge relief. Some uncles from the colony started removing the bricks and the wires that had fallen all over our house. Someone in the crowd took out my brother and then my mother.
“My sister is in preparatory school and my brother is a Class II student. Khushi (sister) injured her leg but she is all right. My brother suffered a head injury. I met him this morning in the hospital. He was asking about Ammi (mother). I told him she was fine and that she was downstairs.
“I did not tell him that she had suffered serious injuries on her neck and had to be shifted to PG (SSKM Hospital).
“Abbu has gone with her (mother) and I am here with my grandmother. We are here for my brother and sister. I am waiting here to look out for them (tears rolled down her cheeks).”