What began as a seemingly ordinary, relaxed Friday morning turned tragic for a mother and her son who had set out for grocery shopping in Dhaka's Armanitola. On any other day, they would have returned home and shared a hearty meal, but the impact of the 5.7-magnitude earthquake changed everything.
Rafiul Islam, 22, was a student of the 52nd batch of Sir Salimullah Medical College. He was preparing for the second-year final exam, days away, confirmed Prof Dr Mohammad Mazharul Islam Shaheen, principal of the college and Mitford Hospital.
His mother, Nusrat Jahan Mita, sustained a severe head injury and remains under observation at Mitford Hospital.
Brigadier General Md Mazharul Islam Khan, director of the hospital, said, "We cannot say anything until 72 hours pass.. We have not disclosed her son's death to her yet, as such information could worsen her condition," he said.
The mother may still be unaware of her son's death, but the news could not be kept from her daughter, a master's student in the Geology Department at Dhaka University.
Shahriar Mehfuj, the siblings' uncle, said, "My sister moved to Dhaka so Rafiul could focus on his studies and become a doctor. On Fridays, they usually go to the market to shop for a special holiday meal. Who knew this would be Rafiul's last walk with his mother?"
Mehfuj said he did not have the heart to inform Rafiul's father, Osman Gani, about the tragedy. Gani, a teacher at a vocational training centre in Brahmanbaria, remains unaware of his son's death.
The family had moved to Armanitola to live near Mitford Hospital, holding on to the hope of one day seeing Rafiul become a doctor.