“He was afraid of loneliness and darkness, but in his last days, he was beset by them,” says Shaik Humaira Parveen, her voice barely audible as she recalls her husband Shaik Abdul Khader Jilani’s grim battle with death amid the unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic, when loss and uncertainty became an all too common reality for countless people across the globe.
Jilani’s untimely demise on May 5, 2020, left Parveen, merely 27 at the time, to navigate life with her three young children in tow, the youngest just a three-month-old infant.
“He was logical, methodical, and possessed artistic talent,” she reminisces, her sombre voice tinged with pride. “Every time he walked into a room, it felt brighter and warmer. People took notice of him as he had a powerful aura,” she adds, gesturing toward a photograph of a well-dressed young man, nestled in the corner of an old dressing table.
