‘Butterflies in my belly… I wake up every night’

Navi Mumbai-based Cheryl Fernandes’s younger brother Squadron Leader Celson Rodrigues (34), wife Sunita (32), daughter Rhea — who would have turned three on February 13 — and mother Lily (65) were swept away. And while Celson’s body has been recovered, the rest of the family is still missing.

In her one-bedroom flat in Airoli, Cheryl refuses to cry. Dressed in a yellow maternity dress, the 36-year-old holds tight to baby Aira, born on August 25. She’s just got off the walker following three months of post-pregnancy complications. Still dependent on a walking stick, the former employee of a Pune-based company smiles slowly, ‘‘I have to accept this’’.

‘‘Each time there’s a natural calamity,’’ she says, ‘‘We sympathise with the families who have lost their loved ones, feeling deeply what they feel.’’ She lets her words trail.

The nights are when the pain comes flooding in. ‘‘I wake up with butterflies in my stomach,’’ she shakes her head, ‘‘wishing this is all a dream’’. The Rodrigues — with roots in South Goa — were a jovial bunch of three siblings. Father Manuel, who died in 1994, worked at the Ordinance Factory.

Getting off a conversation with Clifford, based in Australia, Cheryl smiles at her brother’s parting wish. ‘‘He hates that he wasn’t able to speak to Celson on Christmas Day,’’ she says, ‘‘he’s wishing me in advance just to be sure he doesn’t miss that chance again.’’