‘You never messaged me after getting home...’

“I am your dearest friend, Mim. Do you remember July 21, 2025? The day we went to school together. We sat side by side on the same bench. But I still have not been able to understand what happened after school ended. I could never have imagined that the last thing you would say to me would be, ‘Message me after you get home.’ I will never forget you because you were the best friend of my life...”

Anika was supposed to send a message after reaching home. But that message never came. Mim could never have imagined that saying goodbye to her friend after the final school bell would be their last conversation.

Anika was killed in the devastating plane tragedy at Milestone School and College in Uttara. To remember her, her classmate Mim wrote this heart wrenching letter. The rest of the letter stirred deep grief among hundreds of visitors.

Everyone wore black badges. Teachers, students and guardians filled the campus with grief, memories and the pain of loss, creating an atmosphere of profound silence. Tears filled everyone’s eyes.

In her letter, Mim recalled sitting side by side on the same bench, sharing tiffin and walking home together after the school bell rang. A devastating tragedy shattered their smiling faces in an instant and silenced countless childhood dreams.

Still unable to overcome the loss of her friend, Mim poured out all of her emotions, writing, “I never imagined that I would lose you. I can never give your place to anyone else. Many friends will come and go in life, but no one will ever be like you. You were my moon, and now that moon has become a new moon. There will never be a full moon there again...”

On the first anniversary of the Milestone tragedy, the school organized a memorial gathering. One corner featured a ‘Memory Wall,’ where visitors paused before countless handwritten letters filled with the grief of losing beloved classmates and family members. Among them, Mim’s letter touched hearts the most. On a sheet of paper bordered in blue, she wrote with deep affection to her dearest friend.

Those Lost by Milestone School and College

The memorial ceremony began at 9:30 am Everyone arrived wearing black badges. Teachers, students and guardians stood together in grief, remembrance and the pain of loss, while a profound silence settled over the campus. Tears filled everyone’s eyes.

Teachers and classmates attending the memorial could not hold back their emotions while reading Mim’s letter.

One teacher, overcome with emotion, said, “These little letters remind us that a tragedy does not only take away lives. It also takes away the colorful dreams of innocent childhood and the familiar routines of everyday life. Mim’s final sentence on the Memory Wall expresses the wish of the entire Milestone family. May you be well in the hereafter, InshaAllah. One day I will come to you. I pray that Allah grants you Jannah. Ameen.”

Monirul Islam Molla, a teacher in the English Department, recalled the painful memories of that day.

“My daughter and I survived by just 30 seconds. The aircraft crashed only about 20 yards in front of us. After taking my daughter to a safe place, I rushed into the rescue operation.”

Unable to hold back his tears while recalling the rescue of the children, he said, “Every time I touched one of the children, it felt as though their bodies were burning at 200 degrees.”

He demanded state honors for the teachers who died during the rescue effort.

“They could have left the scene that day if they had wanted to. But instead, they put their own lives at risk and made every possible effort to save the children.”

Farjaha Kaberi, a teacher at the primary section, also shared her experience of searching for her own child that day. Fighting back tears, she said, “My own child is a student at this school. He survived by just 30 seconds. But after the accident, I could not find him for nearly one and a half hours. That was the most terrifying time of my life. While searching for my own child, every injured child around me felt like my own. I tried to rescue every one of them as if they were my own child.”

The institution’s Founder Principal and Adviser, Retired Colonel Nurun Nabi, said the teachers’ sacrifice would remain an inspiration.

In his closing remarks, he said, “We will never get back those we have lost. But their memories will live in our hearts forever. Only a true teacher can have the courage to sacrifice his own life in the fire to save children. We will never forget them. We want to move forward carrying the spirit of the lives they dedicated.”