?I can take anything now?

Afzal Mohammed Memon (16) has a stoic look. He doesn?t want to talk about 26/7, the day that changed his life forever.

Afzal Mohammed Memon (16) has a stoic look. He doesn’t want to talk about 26/7, the day that changed his life forever.

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Afzal lost nine family members in a landslide that crushed his Saki Naka home that day. His was one of the 138 houses that were wiped out in the rockfall.

The teenager now lives with his uncle — and, he says, with memories of his family.

On Tuesday morning, Afzal quietly placed flowers at the spot where his house — filled with his near and dear ones — once stood. The spot is now a computer scrap dump, scattered with laser-printer ribbons.

“On July 26 last year, I was sitting with my friends at our colony’s naka, talking about the deluge. At 3 pm, I heard a loud noise followed by cries of people,” said Memon, the eldest child of the family. Where his house was, he could just see boulders and debris. “Initially, there was a curtain of dust, but the rain settled it quickly. My entire family perished,” he says quietly. He was the only one who survived.

“The year’s gone by too quickly. I’m taking a fresh look at life and am working to keep myself busy — and my mind off the tragedy,” says Afzal, staring at the erstwhile site of his home. “I am a hardened person now. I can take anything that comes.”

When he gets lonely, he seeks out his friends. “I come here with my friends and talk about everything — except that day.”