Kalma, now 53, was reduced to tears while narrating to her family members how she had gone missing some 45 years ago from her birthplace, Sylhet's Companiganj.
Even her relatives could not believe she would ever return – yet it has happened, leaving all of them surprised and excited as never before.
Little did they think of finding her since she was last seen at the age of just 8.
But in a cinematic turn of events, it eventually came true: they reunited with her, thanks to Facebook.
Interestingly, the once minor Kalma, as she is called by her relatives, is no longer alone and has a family of her own.
This reunion took place at the upazila's Shilerbhanga village recently, when Kalma went back to her ancestral homestead along with her only daughter and two granddaughters.
However, Kalma is not her real name. After her birth, Kalma's parents had named her Gulzar Banu, but her elder brother Quashem Ali started calling her “Kalar Maa” (a racist term; mother of black) owing to her skin tone.
And the name was finally converted into "Kalma." Because of acute poverty, the then little girl was adopted by a policeman stationed in Comilla before finally moving to Chittagong city, from where she went missing.
Kalma could not remember how old she was at that time, but said she got married several years later.
She gave birth to a daughter named Mukta, who is now the mother of twin daughters.
At one stage, Mukta began to seek out the original address of her mother and thus started posting on Facebook.
Through several posts on the social media site, she kept on seeking help in this regard.
Eventually came to their rescue a Bangladeshi expatriate named Shafiqur Rahman Jaglu, who engaged himself in the "search" mission.
Their joint efforts finally paid off as they managed to track down the relatives of Kalma, after days of agony, frustration and hope.
Mukta said: "As I grew up, one thing I was always deprived of: the love of maternal grandparents, uncles and aunts.
"But my mother could never remember where she was originally from. So we took up the challenge to find out her ancestral address. Now, we have made it," said a relieved Mukta.
In his reaction, Kalma’s brother, Quashem Ali said he was at a loss for words.
With tears of joy in his eyes, he said: "I can't just believe this. Never did I imagine that we'd be reunited after so long."
