Ahmedabad: Saurin Palkhiwala stood motionless when the news flashed. Air India Flight 171 had crashed. For a moment, time spun backwards. Thirty-seven years ago, he had stood amid smouldering wreckage in the same city. Now, again.In 1988, he had lost someone tied closely to his family – Pradeep Harkishandas Dalal, his sister’s would-be father-in-law. On June 12 this year, it was his daughter. Twenty-six-year-old Sanjana. A young woman with dreams, a degree from New York and a ticket to London for a reunion.“The moment I saw the news, something inside me froze. I did not need a confirmation. I knew. I just knew,” said Palkhiwala.He left work. Picked up his wife Sonali. Drove to Civil Hospital in silence. Hope flickered, briefly. Then faded.Sanjana had been their only child. Born 14 years after their marriage. A gift, as they often said. A prayer answered. The home still carries her voice. Her paintings. Her books. Her energy.“She was full of life. Always curious, always kind. She loved to dance. She loved to cook. She wanted to start something of her own. A food brand, maybe,” Sonali whispered.The couple had been planning her engagement. Now they sit quietly in a house that feels suddenly too big. On one wall, a collage of Sanjana’s childhood. On another, her college convocation. Everywhere, a presence that has become absence.Her cousin, Saloni, said they were more like sisters. “We spoke every day. She had just picked up tennis. She would send me photos of every new dish she tried. She loved cricket. She loved life.”They now speak of her in past tense. Slowly. With care.“There is no logic to this. We are helpless before fate. Perhaps, it was God’s decision. She came into our lives late. She left early,” Palkhiwala said.The family held her besna recently. Visitors walked in with folded hands and lowered eyes. Nobody had the right words. Because there are none.