Nilufar Nizam's remarkable tale has been watched more than 4,000,000 times.
A woman texting her dead dad came in for a shock when someone suddenly replied five months after he died.
Nilufar Nizam’s life was sent into turmoil when her ‘perfectly healthy’ father Murad died in his sleep two weeks before his 51st birthday in January last year.
Murad’s heart had suddenly stopped for no apparent reason, according to medical examiners.
‘I lost my mind when it first happened, especially that first month I was just in shock’, 26-year-old Nilufar, who’s originally from Uzbekistan and now lives in New York, said.
Describing her dad, she told Newsweek: ‘He always gave the best advice. It was like he had a gift for reading people, and every time I had a problem with anyone or anything, his advice, opinion or judgment would always be true.’
Soon, Nilufar was to have her own heart stopping moment when someone replied to the messages and life updates she’s been sending his number after his death.
‘I started texting him about a month after he died, because that’s what I would usually do when he was alive’, she said.
‘The messages brought me a lot of comfort.’
She added: ‘I would just talk about regular stuff in my life and update him on stuff from by brother as well.
‘My brother, who is 19, was the apple of my dad’s eye so I know it would mean a lot to hear how he’s doing.
‘I’d also text him on the 17th of every month to signify the day of his death.’
After several months, her ‘heart dropped’ when the unexpected happened, she recently revealed.
In May 2023, Nilufar sent a message saying: ‘Hi Dad. It’s been 5 months since you’re gone. I miss you so much. I wish you were here next to me.
‘The pain of losing you has been the hardest thing I ever went through. I love you so much. I’m so upset you’re no longer here.
‘But I will always keep our memories alive. I can’t fathom the thought of you not every being with me anymore. But I will always love and miss you dad.’
Nilufar’s messages had always stayed green, indicating they had been sent but not delivered.
This time, however, it turned blue.
She said: ‘I had just finished therapy and was sitting in my car typing out a text. As soon as I hit send and saw the bubble, I realised what had happened.’
Then someone replied: ‘Oh my I’m so sorry.’
It turns out Murad’s number had been given to someone new, a total stranger to Nilufar.
She apologised, saying: ‘Sorry to disturb you. I used to always text my dad to this number.’
Explaining the decision to text back right away, Nilufar said: ‘I didn’t want to concern them too much or freak them out but luckily they understood.’
But the sudden response sparked mixed emotions in Nilufar, who had lost her outlet for grief with just one reply.
Nilufar said: ‘It felt like I had lost him all over again. I felt betrayed in a way because it was the only thing I had left of him.
‘It sounds so simple but these things really matter when you’re going through loss like this.
‘I became really upset and depressed after not being able to text him anymore.’
She did try to find an alternative, saying: ‘I tried using WhatsApp or Facebook messenger, which brought me a bit of closure.
‘In the end, it always felt different and I felt really guilty that I didn’t do something to keep the number.’
Sharing her story on TikTok last month, Nilufar said: ‘I can’t even text him anymore, even that’s taken away from me.’
The video has received more than 4million views and 166,000 likes on her @nellyscous TikTok account.
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