NINETEEN

Mufty walked slowly but he felt as if he was just being dragged on a rough floor. Each step came with a pain and discomfort. He could feel something drifting out him, and the sun seemed to be losing its light, the clear weather looked foggy and nothing seemed to be right.
He could literarily feel the increased distance between his heart and hers.
He wanted to think straight but nothing seemed straight. He did what he felt was right but he knew he would need divine intervention to get over this.
He knew he loved Leena but he never knew how much he loved her until this moment. He just lost her and she was everything. That meant he just lost everything.
This was the girl Allah used to pull him out of darkness. A girl who made him felt life again. A girl he knew he would never forget.
What was left? Should he go back to the camp?
No!
He could not let this make him derail. This was a test from Allah. He was done with that life and that was forever.
But the truth was he was lost. He did not know where to go or what to do. With her, ha began to make plans for a better future. He wanted to be normal again. She was a driving force behind that. Now he was completely shattered.
He was going away forever. He may never come to Maiduguri again. He just wanted to be far.

But he was glad she had a nice guy. He saw that Adam was capable of keeping her happy. He just wanted the best for her because that was what she deserved.

“What is wrong with you?” Someone shouted. It was only then Mufty realised that he had bumped into a girl.

“I am sorry. Please forgive me.” He apologised.

“Get out, idiot! Pervert! That is how they behave.” She hissed and walked away hissing.

Only if she knew who she was insulting. If it was a few months ago she had done this, she would have known what it meant to mess with him. But Mufty did not see to hear her insults.
Instead, he found himself crying. He could not believe it. He could not stop himself. He began to use his handkerchief to wipe off his tears.


Leena was watching all of these. When she saw him crying, she turned and immediately stopped looking at him, her eyes filled with tears.
Adam was behind her.

“Please don’t be angry.” She said. “I am human. I must feel emotional.”

“I understand Leena. He said he put himself in my shoes. I also did the same. I can imagine what he is going through. If I meet a girl, who tells me she has no one, and I begin to plan a life with her, and this comes up, I would feel sad. He will get over it insha Allah. You will do the same and we will all be fine. He is a nice guy and I know Allah will be with him. I think we have to leave.”





Mufty arrived his apartment a few minutes later. He packed his few clothes into a bag, went and opened the backyard and removed from the trashcan a thick polyethylene bag. That was where he hid his money.
He looked round and felt he did not need to move anything else. He thought of the guns he buried ad shrugged.
He was not going to bother about that now. All he wanted was to leave at this very moment.
He was not even going to tell the landlord he was leaving. He paid for a year. He may call him later.
He was in tears as he packed up. When he finished and locked the door, he wiped off his tears and began to pray.
He walked briskly to the main road. There was a new law banning bikes in the town due to insurgency. He had to want for a cab.

As a cab stopped, he got in and the cab left. He could imagine Leena sitting beside him, as they talked and laughed. Her voice filled his head, and the image of her beautiful face was all over the city.
He saw her on billboards, signposts, houses, streets and everywhere.
Oh no!
He could not handle this. He had to pray about it. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down.
He got to the car park and bought a ticket. He was going back to Kano.
He still had no plan on what to do with his life now. All he wanted was to leave Maiduguri.
After a short wait, the car was finally set. He got into the car and closed his eyes while his head rested on the headrest.
That was it.

“I hope everyone is set?” The driver asked.

“There is a man who went to buy recharge card…okay, here he comes.”

The man came and the driver got under the wheel. He started the car engine, and the car began to move.

It was at that time someone came running and knocking at the car window.

“Who is that?” The driver asked angrily.

Mufty opened his eyes to see the person knocking. He was shocked to see Adam.

What was going on?

“Please stop!” Mufty said.

“What? I am going to Kano and coming back today. What is it now?” The driver shouted.

Mufty was just trying to calm down and integrate. He was not used to people talking to him like that.

“Please alight.” Adam said. “I need to talk to you.”

“What? Who would wait for you?” Another passenger said.

Two other passengers began to complain.

“I will alight.” Mufty said. “You guys can leave.”

“Enhhh! I swear to God! I swear to the Almighty God, If I refund your money, let thunder strike me. Let my car crash on the way. May God punish me if I give you a naira! Haba! I am not a bastard. After waiting for …..”

Mufty smiled and alighted.

“Oya, let us go, driver.” A passenger said.

“There is one more person. Let me see If they will give me…..”

“Give you what?” A passenger said. “Did you refund his money? I beg move the car. The car is filled jooh!”

“I was just kidding.” The driver said.

“Tell that to the birds.” Another man said.




Mufty could not understand what was going on. Adam kept walking towards his car.

“I am sorry.” Adam said. “My car is over there. I need you to do me a favour.”

“Okay. It’s nothing. I just hope it is not beyond my power.”

“I hope so too.”

They walk to his car and they got in. Mufty saw Adam looking around. It was at that time Mufty saw Leena coming out of a shop. It seemed she went to buy recharge card.

What was going on?

She came back and sat behind them without a word to Mufty.

“I am sorry for delaying you.” Adam began. “There was something else I did not tell you. But you had gone before I decide to tell you. Leena does not know what I wanted to say. I just said there is one more thing. We went to your house but you were not around.
I don’t know how she knew you were leaving town but she said we should come to this park where cars that go to kano are easily gotten.
Your phone was switched off. Let me not talk too much and go straight to the point. Our wedding is around the corner.
I feel bad that you want to leave. But that is not the point now.
After everything, I forgave her and understood it better. I also made a lot of observation during our short conversation.
You have a good and strong heart. I give that to you. Leena apologised and agree to marry me. She kept to her promise. I was able to get her back to me and make you leave but…will I be able to make her forget you?
Did you know that she begged me to let her look at you for the last time? Did you know that she agreed to marry me because you asked her to? She even asked me to forgive her and I knew she was only obeying you. Leena will never cheat on me when I marry her and you will never cheat me with her but guess what, I will always live with it that my wife is thinking of another man or missing him even when she hides it.
I have self-pride and when I discover that my girl is in love with someone else, I let her go. Leena told me that she loves you. I saw you crying bro. I think you guys are made for each other. I think there is that chemistry between you that is from above.
All these summed up to make me fall out of love with her. The good thing is that she did not break her promise, she did not refuse to marry me and you did not try to take her away from me. No one to blame. If there is anything to blame, it is your hearts and that is not your fault.
I know what love is. I decided to stop the marriage and look make sure you don’t go. I leave her for you.”

Leena broke into tears. She could not believe this. Adam was something else. She least expected this. Did he just say she could be with the love of her life? Did he just bring her back to life? Was this for real?

Mufty was too shock to talk. He just sat still.

“But there is a problem.” Adam said. “This remains our secret. It is not going to be easy announcing the break-up and no one would like to take the blame. So we got our parents to reckon with. We have to wait to figure out something.”

Mufty still said nothing. He was just speechless. He was even feeling ashamed to look at Leena or talk to her in presence of Adam.

“And one more thing…”He turned at Leena. “I hope it not too early to say this, sis….”He smiled, “I call you sis because that is what you are now to me and you are going to play that role. Do you know this part where your elder brother calls you and start asking about your friend? And he buys you something, or agree to your demands because he likes your friend?
Okay, I still want to get married and I want to ask Haneefa out. If it fails, which will definitely happen, because she would think I am crazy, you will have to come in. I promise you ice-cream.”

She forced a smile. That would be nice. Haneefa was a nice girl and she wanted Adam to get the best too. The problem was how to get Haneefa to agree.

“You made the right choice.”

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Adnan just received a call and the message was short and straight.

“ Baanah is on her way. She just boarded the flight. You will be the one to pick her.” Aadila said. “ I love you, son.”

Adnan squeezed the phone.

Naairah forced a smile but her heart was racing. Someone was coming to share her husband with her just months after their wedding.

“It is alright.” She said but could not stop the tears. “ Just know that I love you.”

Adnan closed his eyes and drew her close to him.







Mama walked out of Ward 5, where Jamil was resting. She had been shocked to hear what happened. Jamil told her that Nadia was getting married that day only to be told that he passed out in a hospital.

This was their third day at hospital. He had recuperated but he was advised to rest and was to be discharged the next day.
Jamil received the good news of what happened in the masjid. He could scarcely believe that Lawal had been finally put to his place.
He had not seen Nadia since then but they have been talking on phone.

Mama found her ward and went in.
Nadia opened her eyes and saw her. Mama was with Hafsat.

“How are you feeling?”

“Alhamdulillah.” Nadia replied.

“ I am Jamil’s mother. I need to talk to you.”

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Mallam Zakari had just finished his dinner: tuwon masara, miyan kuka, naman rago, farfesu and Maltina. He was elegantly dressed in new clothes which was sawn short, with designs. This was the style in vogue and mostly worn by young boys. The sixty one year old had a reason for sawing that style.
He went out and got into his newly acquired Honda Accord Hennessy which he just bought at the rate of five hundred thousand naira. He drove out, and headed straight to Kuje, which was about 40kilometer from Abuja. Mallam Zakari lived in Nyanya.
He could not believe his dream was coming true. He arrived his destination; A house along Jurima street. He pulled up the car, alighted and posed. He saw a little boy and called him.

“Please come.”

The boy who was around twelve years old came to him.

“Please I need you to call Talatu from this house.” He pointed at the house.

“ Farar budurwa, naira hamsin; bakar buduruwa, naira arbai’in; farar bazawara, naira talatin, bakar bazawara, naira ashirin, (fair complexioned virgin, fifty naira; dark complexioned virgin, forty naira; fair complexioned divorcee, thirty naira, dark complexioned divorcee, twenty naira).”

Mallam Zakari was shocked.

“I don’t understand.”

“That is the price rate for calling them. Talatu mai waina will cost thirty naira.”

What a world!

“If you don’t hurry, someone else will send for her and you have to join the queue Baba.”

Okay, that made sense to him. He gave the boy one hundred naira because he had no change. The boy collected it and left in a hurry. He went into the house and met her getting ready. She considered herself very hot, exposed and sophisticated.
Her men included bus drivers, commercial motor-bike riders, and some of her customers.

“ Aunty Talatu,”the boy said, “Lambanki ta fito ( Your number is out)”

She laughed.

“ Small, you will never seize to amaze me. Who is he? A kas, ko a mash, ko a mot? ?”

The boy understood her slangs.

A kas( on foot).
A mash (On motor-bike).
A mot ( in a car)

Small opened his eyes.

“ Mot mai zafi ( A posh car)!” He said.

A five hundred thousand naira Honda accord (Hennessy) was a hot car for her because most of those who came in cars used commercial cars like Golf, Bus, etcetera. Here was someone in a private car. Honda Accord!

“ Okay, tell him I will be right outside with him.”

“Okay.” He said and left but he did not go back to Mallam Zakari. He could not afford giving him back his change. Talatu came out and walked coquettishly, feeling as if she was on top of the world. She saw Mallam Zakari but couldn't recognized him. She could not recall ever seeing him. He had been crushing on her for long.

“ Assalamu alaikum.”

“Ameen wa alaikum salam.”

“Good evening.”

“ Good evening.” He replied, making sure his hand was on his chin and his wristwatch glittered. He was leaning on the car. He turned and went under the wheel then opened the offside side for her.

This was what she loved. Sitting inside a car with her lover while other divorcees round stood with men on bikes.

“ My name is Zaks.” He said. He had known that she loved young men, and the modern setting of things. She was forty two years old, chubby and light complexioned. She was not too beautiful facially but her body structure got men mesmerized.

“ Zaks?”

“Yeah. My real name is Zakari. But my friends call me Zaks.”

“Hmmm.”

“You see, I have been seeing you for along time. And I felt something in you that got me chocked.”

“I must be dangerous.”

“You are a poison.” He said. “ So, I decided to come and talk to you. I really want to marry you.”

She expertly assessed him. He looked well dressed, the clean car ,and he seemed to be fashionable. She guessed he should have a gidan taliya (Spaghetti home) and not gidan kuka ( Baobab sauce home).

"Well, you are welcome but we have to know each other better. How many wives do you have?”

“I have just one and seven children.”

“I will not share a house with any woman. You will get me my house and I don’t want ciki da falo (room and palour). I want two bedroom plat (two bedroom flat).”

“ That is no problem, Talatu.”

“ Are you coming tomorrow?”

“Yes. Yes.”

“Okay, I want you to buy me Andrew.”

“What?”

“Andrew mana.”

“Andrew? Andrew is a name. How do I buy you a human being?”

She laughed at him.

“But you look exposed. So you don’t know Andrew phone?”

It was his turn to laugh now.

“ Android phone?”

“Yes, Andrew phone. The one you use your finger to do like this…Kai, don’t worry, I will teach you may things , even modern styles.”

“ Modern styles?”

“ Yes. Do you listen to music?”

“Yes.”

“Like which?”

“I love Dan kwairo, Mamman shata, Ali makaho,…..”

“Don’t you listen to modern music? Do you know Rahine?”

“ Rahine? No.”

“ Have you heard this song; Kwe kwe kwe kwe kwe kwe ( work work work work work work ) simi simi (he said me have to) Kwe kwe kwe kwe kwe kwe ( work work work work work work ) Isimuma ( he see me do my) da da da da da da (dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt,dirt).”

“ Bala’i!” He exclaimed. “ I think I love the song.”

“That is Rahine and Direk. You see I am not a local woman that you will just treat anyhow. If you want to marry me, you have to step up and be younger.”

“No problem.”

“Okay, so I am expecting someone. Until you come tomorrow.”

“ Expecting someone?”

“ Yes.”

“ But I want to marry you and I would like you to ….”

"You just came today . I am not even sure if you are real, or you borrowed the car. You have not even bought the Andrew. You have to prove to me that you are real.”

“Okay.” He said. “ How much is the Android phone?”

“I want Takano.”

"What?”

“Takano.”

“Okay, Techno. How much?”

“Thirty thousand naira.”

He removed some amount of money, counted and gave it to her.

“ This is fifty thousand naira. Buy the phone, and credit card.”

What!

She smiled.

“ Zaks, I love you wujiga wujiga. You are my half of life, my loving lover, the spirit that is flying in the night of love, you are sweatheart( sweetheart).”

Mallam Zaks was just smiling like a loon. He needed money. He had to rent a flat for her and make sure he got married to her within one month.

Unknown to him, sitting in an SUV was Lawal and one of his friends watching him.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Lawal left the hospital and got into his car. He could not believe what was happening. What was wrong with Prof.? How could he just call him and tell him that he was no longer letting him marry her?
To exacerbate the issue, he gave Jamil permission to seek for her hand in marriage. He shook his head. . He wanted Nadia and she had to be his wife. Why did he do this to himself? Why did he have to lose her to know what she was worth?
Nadia was obedient, diligent, loyal ,cute and just a darling. Those smiles she flashed, the rolling of her eyes, the sweet voice and model like steps.
Jamil was not going to have her. He had to beat them. Hope it was not too late. What was the issue about divorce paper for? Why?
He called Nazeer.

“ Maza, how far?”

“The issue of divorce paper has been cleared.” He said. “ It was established that you were her husband so there will be no cause for alarm. You know there have been cases where a lady will leave her husband’s house and claim he divorced her and try to remarry. The husband would now come up and say she was still his wife….”

“Okay, Naz man.” Lawal cut in .” What is the situation on ground?”

“ They have reached a consensus to continue.”

“Alhamdulillah.”

“What is going on?”

“Nothing.”

“How is she doing?”

“She will be fine. I am not getting married to a corpse, am I ?”

“ Why should you do that?”

“Good. I am on my way to the masjid.”

“Ango!”

“ Yeah.”

He smiled at himself.

Jamil was in for a surprise.






Jamil went back to the ward and sat close to her. He felt as if he should hold her hand, let her know he was close by but remembered she was his non mahram.
He was happy Lawal was out of the way. He had never felt anything close to this for any girl before. The thought of Nadia leaving his life was unbearable. He loved her unconditionally. And she loved him too.
Everything had happened so swift. Just about two hours ago, he was sitting dejected on the top of a hill, feeling as if it was the hill that was on top of him. Now he was sitting close to her, waiting for her as she becomes his wife.

“ Jamil.” She said. He did not know that she had opened her eyes.

“ Nadia!” He said . She looked weak but her eyes were brighter.

“ I felt you close.” She said. “ I don’t know how but I did.”

“ I am around dear. Just relax.”

“How did you make it here? Were you not chased away by father?”

“No.” He said, pressing the urge to hold her.

She moved her hand and placed it on his. He wanted to withdraw but stopped. She was psychologically fragile so he had to be cautious.“ I am sorry I passed out on you. I could not take it anymore. You were suffering and I was losing you. I can’t get you off my mind.”

“ I know. But it’s okay now.”

“ What is okay? The only thing that will be okay is if you are. I can never be okay in my life. I am getting married to him again. I am a condemned.”

“Shhhh…you are not getting married to him any longer.”

“You don’t know my dad. He may postpone it due to my illness but he will never change his mind. Where are they? Did they come to the hospital?”

“ Yes. Your dad, mum, Naairah, and some of your siblings were here. Even Lawal was ….”

“Please don’t mention that name again.”

“ The name should mean nothing to you now. Just remember Sheikh Lawal Abubakar and you will feel happy.”

“ Where are the rest?”

“ Naairah just left for home. She said she would come back. Your parents also left to attend to somethings. Lawal drove off but I doubt if he would come back.”

“Why? He is coming back. He is obsessed.”

“ It is complicated but you had an attack and it became clear that you and I are so much in love. Your dad told Lawal that the wedding was cancelled and gave me permission to seek your hand in marriage. Now he plans to check on me, know who I am before his final decision. I am your fiancé now bae.”

Was he serious?

“You must be kidding me. Do not say this just to make me happy. It will be worse if I find out that it is a lie.”

“ Wallahi,” he said with a smile,” I guess you noticed that I did not see you when you opened your eyes. Was in a reverie. Thinking of the furnishing of our home….”

She was feeling stronger and as if a heavy object was been lifted from her head.

“We were all here when Dr Jamila was talking to you. We heard and your dad was scared. He realised how dangerous it was to let the wedding go on. He took a decision there and then and broke the news to us both. But I was surprised Lawal did not look worried.”

“ He did not?”

“No. He was just smiling.”

“ I hope he has no hidden agenda.”

“ Allah will see us through.”

“ Ameen.”

“ Let us forget about Lawal and talk about you getting well and leaving this place. We got wedding planning to do.”

It was as if she just realized her hand was on his. She withdrew it.

“ Nadia, I want to be by your side, inside, outside, and every other side. I want to be in your life…”

“You should go back to school and learn tenses because you are already in my life. I feel your soul in mine, and mine in yours. You are love, and I you you.”
You you?

“ Oh, I am love so you love me.” He giggled. “ You are need and I you you.” He smiled. “ I you you in my life.”

While they ‘you you’, they did not know that the solemnization was going on in the mosque.






“ I Mallam Zakari Namadi,” Mallam Zakari continued after a short deliberation in the masjid.
He continued and said he had giving the hand of Nadia in marriage to Lawal. It was at that point Lawal arrived and went into the masjid. He heard the solemnization from the speakers and felt a soothing sensation crawling inside of him.

The did has been done.
Nadia was his wife again.
Alhamdullillah.

The imam was now saying his part, completing the rite, and then he began to pray.

Lawal wished Jamil was here to see what was happening. He outsmarted them. What would professor do now? Would he tell him to divorce her? Would he tell her not to move in with him? She was his wife now and he knew that he had the supreme power over her.
He smirked.
He would make sure Jamil never got near her again. Wait, hope he was not in hospital. He looked and found his number. He got it from Nadia’s phone.




Jamil saw a strange number calling him. He picked it and heard Lawal’s voice.

“ This is Lawal. How is she doing?”

“Alhamdulillah.”

“Is she still sleeping?”

“ No. She is awake.” Jamil replied wondering why he sounded so happy.

“ Alhamdulillah. I guess you are with her right now.”

“ Yes, I am.”

“Okay, you are a Muslim and I guess you are a good one. Please leave her now. I don’t want you close to her again. I will be coming to pick her if he is okay.”

Was this guy crazy? What was he talking about?

“ Lawal, I understand how you feel but you were here when he talked to us both. Your proposed marriage with her has been cancelled. And he just gave me the right to see her. They left her in my care to attend to some things.You heard the things she said herself. Why do choose to kill yourself over a woman who said she does not want you but someone else? You keep saying it is anger. She said no. It is not about the past. She fell out of love with you and fell in love with me. What is your problem?”

“ My problem is that there a kato ( matured man) with my wife right now and it is disturbing me.”

“Your ex wife.”

“No. We just got married. The marriage has just been knotted.”

“How? Her father said ….”

“Forget what her father said. Did you not see it on my face that I was not worried? His problem is too much English. He has already chosen a waliy and he did not tell him otherwise. The did has been done. I need you to leave her side, pronto! And thank you for congratulating me.
I pray you get another lady before next fasting period before children start singing gwaro tashi kayi sahur…( Bachelor wake up and eat)hehehehe! Please get out of that place now. Nadia is now my wife.”

Jamil felt his head swinging, and the neck doing a 360 degree spin. What was this?

“ What did they do?” Nadia who was hearing the conversation asked. “ How did they do that?”

Before she could say another word, she gasped and fainted.

“ Doctor!” Jamil shouted, took two steps and felt something drift out of his body, his eyes were blurring and he found it hard to move.

He dropped on the floor and passed out.






“Assalamu alaikum! Please wait.” Professor Abubakar said as he rushed into the masjid. “

There was absolute silence. They had never seen him look like that. He was breathing hard, as if he had been running. His glasses sat precariously on his nose.

Lawal was in the masjid, completely unperturbed.

“ I am told the wedding has just been knotted.”

“ Na’am.” Replied the imam.

“ The wedding is null and void.” He said assertively.

“ That is not possible.” A man said from behind. “ You gave the waliy the power and it cannot be reversed except if the bridegroom will divorce her if he wishes, sir.”

“ I love my wife.” Lawal said.

“ I will not accept this!” Professor Abubakar said and glared at Mallam Zakari. “ This wedding is invalid……”

“ Inaaaa” Said another man. “ Abamu aya ( Give us a verse)”

“ It is invalid!” Professor argued.



“ How can someone give out the hand of my daughter in marriage without my consent?” Professor Abubakar asked. “ I am alive and only I can give that permission which I did not give.
The only thing that will make this marriage valid is if this place is a court which I know is not. I only asked Mallam Zakari to come to my house that I may give him the permission to represent me . ‘I will give’ is different from ‘I give’. This rite is fallacious and packed with hocus-pocus. I called Mallam Zakari to tell him that The that there is a change of plan but he acted like he did not hear me.
How can you tie the knot of a valetudinarian when we are in the hospital fighting for her survival? I, Professor Abubakar did not give anyone the hand of my daughter in marriage and I do not concur to whatever was done here. My daughter still remains unmarried and anything contrary to this will be tantamount to violation of rights, attempt to kidnap my daughter, and subject her to rape and I will not let this happen.

Where is Mallam Zakari? Where is the nincompoop? When did I give you the permission to do this?”

“ I saw him with a kettle as if going into the restroom.” A man said.
Mallam Zakari had silently left the mosque.

“ Alhamdullilah.” The imam said. “ We are glad this happened before we dispersed. We were all gathered here for the solemnization of the marriage between Lawal and Nadia but as we can here from the father of the girl, he did not give out his daughter out for marriage to anyone.
The prophet SAW said there should not be nikaah(marriage contract) except with a wali. This was narrated by by al-tirmidhi,1101, Abu Dawood,2085; ibn Majajah, 1881. Albaani, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that it is saheeh.
Another hadith says any woman who gets married without the permission of her waliy, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid, her marriage is invalid. If her husband has consummated the marriage with her, then the mahr belongs to her in return for that. If she does have a waliy, then the Muslim ruler is the waliy of anyone who does not have a waliy.
Nadia’s father is alive and he said he did not give his daughter out in marriage. I therefore tell everyone that witnessed the marriage rites that it null and void. Lawal is not married to Nadia. She is still unmarried and he has no right over her and she has no right over him except what islam permits. This is an unfortunate event. May Allah guide us unto the right part but if Lawal has paid anything, it should be returned to him.”

“I will do that, pronto! Everything he brought is intact and I will appreciate it if he comes to pick them now.”

Lawal felt as if the ground should split and swallow him up. He felt all eyes on him. What a disgrace!

Mallam Zakari had just finished having his bath when he heard an alert. He rushed out of the bathroom and checked his phone.
Five million naira!
Was this boy serious? Just because he could not wait for a few more days when the girl was fully recovered? Well, this was his luck. The professor was not going to give him more than five thousand naira plus big words .
He would go ahead with the marriage and let the heaven fall for all he cared. He quickly dressed up, called his wife and said, “ I am going to represent Professor’s daughter like I told you.”

“ Mallam, I thought you said she was hospitalized?”

“Yes, but we are sure she would come out of it, insha Allah. The invitation has been made and we can’t afford to disappoint people.”

“They would understand. Is the professor aware of this?”

“Who gave me the permission to represent her?”

“I know about that. I mean is he aware that the marriage is going on even when his daughter is in the hospital?”

Mallam did not reply. He was signing a cheque.

“ Give it to Nazir to cash. He would withdraw one hundred thousand naira and give it to you. Buy five chickens, and fry it. But five kilograms of fresh fish- cafish. Then garin Tuwon dawa , and make correct miyan kuka for me. I know your children prefer rice. Let your daughters do that.”

Okay, she was going to have at least twenty thousand cut and that would settle her ‘adashi ’. Where did Mallam get such an amount suddenly?

“ To Mallam. I think there is no need to waste time.” She said going for her veil. “ I will go with him to the MTN, so I will collect the money and go straight to market. I will make you lick your fingers today.”

He laughed.

“Wait, which MTN?”

“ To collect the money .”

“MTN? What is their business with my money?”

“That is what I hear them say now: I don’t have money on me, let me go to MTN. I am on an MTN queue.”

“Oh, ATM. No, this is not for ATM. This is a cheque. I can’t give Nazir my pin number.”

“ Mallam, do not take me for a fool. When did pins start having numbers? Ohhhh. I am sorry, you are right. Pins have numbers. There is size 16,17, and 18 . They even have smaller ones.”

“ Falmata , just give it to Nazir and go with him.”

“I am on my way. Until you come back.”

And she went out.
No more questions asked.

Mallam remembered Talatu mai waina, the divorcee he was crushing on. This was the best time to have another wife. Five million naira!
He dashed out of the house.




‘Jamil’ was the first word Nadia mentioned as she came out of unconsciousness.
Attention fell on her and they got up. Dr Jamila went to her. She had opened her eyes and seemed to have stabilized.

“ Hello, my dear. I am Dr Jamila. May I know who you are.” She said and gesticulated to the rest of the people to stay out of sight.

“ I am Nadia. Why am I here?”

“ You fell ill. How are you?”

She was silent for a few seconds, as if trying to recall what happened.

“ How is Jamil doing?”

“Jamil? Who is Jamil?”

“ He was in a bad state. I am scared something bad would happen to him. Please help him.”

“Does he need help? You are the one who needs help now. You are in a hospital bed. Jamil may be having fun somewhere.”

“ No, Doctor. Jamil and I were on the phone when I passed out. I don’t need help. I am a condemned soul already…”

Naairah was in tears as she said that.

“ I have given up on happiness. I will live in the abyss my parents are sending me to. I just don’t want Jamil to keep suffering.”

“ I thought you are supposed to get married……” Dr Jamila stopped. The statement changed Nadia’s mood. Her breath went higher and her eyes rolled. “ But I hear that the wedding has been suspended.” She added quickly.

“Thank God.” Nadia said.

“ But Your husband has changed . He will be nice to you.”

“It is not about that. I don’t love him anymore. But I will obey my parents and go back. I just want you to help Jamil. You have psychologist here, don’t you?”

“I am one.”

“Good. Please help him. He can’t eat and he is broken. He was trying to hide it from me but I knew he was down. Who cancelled the weeding?”

“ I don’t know. Let us not talk about the wedding for now. We just want you to feel better.”

Nadia closed her eyes.

“ I don’t want to feel better. I want to be here. I hate the outside world.”

“ No my dear. You have a life outside. This is just a temporary setback.”

“I know what I feel. There is no life for me out there.”

“ Even when the life is going to be spent with Jamil?”

A bright flash appeared on her expression and she smiled.

“ That is a dream. I can never have that. I better accept the fact.”

“So you don’t want to get married to ……..”

Nadia fell into unconsciousness again.






Lawal twitched his lips.
What the hell was this doctor doing? She was in cahoots with Jamil or what? She is just a doctor and she should not interfere with this. Her questions were influencing and intimidating.

“ I think she is going through psychological stress because she told me she had problems with him.” Lawal said to Dr Jamila. “ She would not say such things in a balanced state of mind.”

“ I know my job and I know what I was trying to figure out.” Dr Jamil said. “ There is nothing personal. I never met you or the other guy before. My duty is to diagnose and treat and that has to do with trying to know about the events or things that affect her emotions.
I don’t know what has been happening between you but you seem to be the cause of her depression and he seems to lift her out of it. I advise that she should not be told about the wedding now. If she leaves here, you can see how you can talk her into the marriage but it's medically not advisable. There is no need for alarm. She would be okay insha Allah.”

“But she just passed out again.” Her mother said.

“It is an effect of one of the drugs. She needs rest. She is just sleeping. A deep sleep.I think that is it for now. Her blood sample has been collected for some tests. The results would be out soon. She would rest for now. I have to see another patient.” “Thank you very much Doctor.” Said her father.

“You are welcome. Sir.” She said and left them.

“I think she can be left alone now.” A nurse said gently. They went out.

“ I need to speak with you, Lawal.” Professor said and then looked at Jamil. “ and you too when I am through with him. We should go and pray. It is time for Zuhr.
Lawal looked at the time. Good! He hoped the plan worked out. What did the old man want to discuss with them?





“Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah” The imam said turning to the right, “ assalamu alaikum warahmatullah,” he concluded turning to the left.
The followers did the same and then zhur prayers was concluded.
Azkar followed.

The adhan collected the microphone.

“Assalamu alaikum brothers in Islam. Please we urge you to stay behind to witness the solemnization of a marriage. It was announced earlier that Professor Abubakar is giving out the hand of his daughter this afternoon. We should stay behind and witness this and we would be rewarded by Allah insha Allah. Please the waliy and the wakil should come forward so we can and let the people go.”

Mallam Zakari was first to stand up and move forward. He was very happy.

“Please let the Wakil come forward.”









“ Lawal.” Professor Abubakar called.

“ Sir.”

“ I am sure you have ocular evidence to what has been going on. I played my part and stuck to the guns. It is obvious that the lady you canonized as your inamorata has a diffracted beam of affection which is being absorbed by another swain.
Her repugnancy is an epitome of intense revulsion. You are a bugaboo and a causative element of her bugbear. I am having a serious cogency to abort the connubial knot and not just postpone it….”

Lawal’s phone beeped. It was Bala.

“I am sorry sir, my mum.” He lied. He moved aside and picked the call.

“There is a problem.” Bala said. “ Mallam Kalla did not come. I called him, he said he thought it won’t take place since she was said to have collapsed.”

“ What? Bally, go and collect it for me. Be my wakil.”

“Done. Then learn to start calling papa.”

“I will call you grandfather. Go dude, get that thing for me like now!”

He ended the call and walked back to Professor. The marriage must go on. Once that was done, they would be forced to calm down . After all Nadia was not acting all stubborn. She had capitulated. He knew she would calm down. They had been in love once and there will surely be a second time. It was Sa'ima who came to spoil things. Sa'ima! Used her big butt to lure him.

“ I am done, sir.”

“ Good. I was trying to make you understand…..”








“ Where is the wakil?” The adhan asked again. “ We are running out of time.”

“ I am here.” Bala said and walked into the mosque. “ The wakil just called me that he was involved in a minor accident on his way here so I have been directed to receive it on his behalf.”

“Alhamdulillah . Please move forward.”

Bala moved towards the imam where Mallam Zakari was waiting.
They shook hands before the microphone was given to the imam.

“ Innal hamdulillah nahmaduhu wa nasta inuhu wan as tagfirihu wanna uzubillahi min shururi anfusina wa min sayyi ati a’amalina ya dilla fala hadi yalah. Ashadu an la’ilaha illallah wa ash shadu anna Muhammadan rasulillah. Amma ba’ad, Assalamu alikum warahmatullah wa barakatuhu.” The imam began.

They replied.







“ I don’t know much about you young man.” Professor said to Jamil. Lawal was sitting with his hands on his
knees. This was balderdash. He just called one of his friends who told him that Bala was there before the imam already.
He could not wait to have her back. He could not let that guy take her away. Nadia had to be his again.

“ But I will find out more about you. I have given you permission to seek for her hand in marriage……”






“ My name is Alhaji Bala Danjuma, I am here to seek for the hand of Nadia Abubakar in marriage on behalf of Alhaji Lawal …….” Bala began to say what he was told to say.

The people all waited in silence.







“ Go and tell your people and if you come to terms with them, then send them to us. But that depends on the outcome of what I find out about you.” Professor told Jamil.

Jamil felt as if it was a dream. He could hardly believe this. He did not forget that he had his mother to reckon with . That was something he did not want to think of now. The fact was he was not losing her today. Lawal was out of the picture. He was now officially her fiancé.

“ Thank you very much, sir. You will not be disappointed insha Allah.”






“ My name is Mallam Zakari Namadi. I have given you the hand of……..” Mallam Zakari began……..

“ I am Mallam Zakari Namadi. I give you the hand of……”

“ Assalamu alaikum.” A voice interrupted and Mallam Zakari stopped. It was the adhan.

“ Na’am?” Mallam Zakari said.

“ I am sorry I forgot to ask. It is our rule here to ask some questions and follow some rules. Is she a spinster or do I say bachelorette ?”

“ Of course. Married women don’t get married again.” Mallam Zakari replied.

“I know she is not married right now. Has she ever been married?”

“ Yes. She is a divorcee.”

“That is what I meant. Okay, we have a rule here to be shown the paper of divorce from her previous marriage. We have had some controversial cases before so we took to this measure.”

Mallam Zakari smirked.

“ You all know Professor Abubakar. He lives just two streets away from this masjid.”

“ That is not the point. Just present it and we are done, Mallam Zakari.”

Nazeer quickly dialled Lawal’s number .

“There is a hitch boy. Just as the process was on, they stopped to ask of divorce paper.”

“What? I don’t know where that is. I gave it to her. It should be with her or her father. What kind of bad luck is this?

“ Assalamu alaikum.” Bala said. “ She is not getting married to a new person. Her iddah elapsed before they settled, so there will be no problem. She is going back to her husband.”

“ Is that so?” Asked the imam.

“Yes, it is true. She is getting married to her former husband.” Some people confirmed.

“ I think that is okay.” Said the imam. “ We can go on then. If she is going back to her former husband, then we don’t have a problem. We will continue with the rites.”

Someone called Mallam Zakari on phone. It was Professor Abubakar.

“Mallam Zakari.”

“Na’am.”

“ The wedding has been cancelled…..”

“Hello, hello, hello….I can’t here you. Hello.” He ended the call and put it in flight mode.

“ I can’t hear him.” He said with a shrug. “ Bismillah Mallam. I think we can go on.”

TWENTY-SIX

It was Friday and the week had been one of the worse for Nadia. She had received the bad news of Naairah’s uncle, Addy’s father a few days ago. She had also received the news of Hayat getting married to a second wife.
She could understand why Hayat’s mother would take such a decision within a short period of time. Nadia did not know that Hayat was Adnan.
Naairah never revealed such sensitive parts of Adnan’s secrets to her. She let him remain as Hayat.
Aminu’s body was shattered so they picked what they could from the debris and buried him. Adnan became suspicious. He wondered where Addy was because it seemed no one could reach him. What happened after they left California?
Who killed Aminu and why?

Nadia was just trying to get over all that when she was reminded of her wedding. And she saw preparations. Jamil had not called her since that day. He was trying to stay away, avoid causing trouble.
This was the worst period of her life. She had been crying and they kept telling her that she would get over it. They felt because it was not an arranged marriage from the first time, and she loved Lawal, things would change if Lawal changed.

No!

She was in love with someone else. She was not angry at Lawal, or scared of going back. She did not love him anymore. No matter how good he was with her, her heart was with Jamil.
The wedding preparation was meant to be quiet but somehow it leaked. Her father decided to buy a new set of furniture, kitchen appliances, electronics, bed and other things for her. He wanted to make her happy.

Lawal brought twenty boxes of ‘lefe’, trying to impress her.
She watched in dismay as women filled the house, happily preparing food, frying meat, cooking varieties of food. Naairah was there with her all through. She too was going through a time but she tried to hide her pains.
It was painful for a woman to be told that she could not give birth to a child and to make it worse…a second wife was coming. This was the time faith was needed most.
It was just a few hours to the wedding. She sat in her room with Naairah. Then she felt she had to talk to Jamil…..even if it was for the last time. She had resisted that for long. She could not hold it any longer.







He sat alone on a hill watching the city of Abuja from the top. He had a bottle of water which he needed after the climb. He was sequestered yet he felt too close for comfort.
It was Friday!
Nadia was being taken away.
He never thought he could cry over a girl until he met Nadia. He never knew he could lose appetite, become so withdrawn and found it difficult to relate. He would stay in his room, go to work, come back, stay in his room, or come here to sit down.
He just dated Nadia for one week but it became a part of his life. He could not believe she was going.
Tears.
Be a man!
He could not.
He could not !
Something big was leaving him.

Then he heard a phone call. He saw her number and hesitated.
Should he pick it? It was Nadia.






Nadia was perturbed. She had called him eleven times but he did not pick. Why? She wanted to hear his voice for the last time. Okay, she knew it was wrong and maybe he was trying to avoid a situation.
Please pick it……
He picked.
She felt her blood pressure increasing, her heart beating more rapidly and her hands shook.
They were both silent for a few seconds. No one spoke. Each of them seemed to be afraid of talking.

“ This will make it worse for me.” He broke the silence. “ Peace be unto you, from the day you were born to the day you will leave this world.”

“Ameen and same to you.” She said in a little above whisper. “ I am sorry I called. I could not resist it anymore. I am just a few hours away…..I had to hear your voice. How are you?”

“I am fine.” He said but she knew he was not. She heard the voice of a broken man.

“Where are you right now?”

“ I am on a hill top at Garki.”

“What? why?”

“Nothing.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes.”

“I ask you to tell me the truth between you and Allah.”

He paused.


“No.”

“No? When last did you eat?”

“ I had dinner last night: cornflakes and I have been taken water.”

“Oh my God! Jamil!”

“ Nadia I have no appetite. I pray I should get over this. I am just so vague, so blank and shattered. Hearing your voice just makes it worse. But I am still praying. I just hope you will be alright. That would be a consoling factor. You don’t deserve to be treated badly by anyone. May Allah bless your union…..”

He heard a crashing sound, as if the phone dropped and he heard someone shout,”Inna lillahi wa’inna ilaihi raji’un!”

The phone was still on when he heard people screaming.

“Nadia! Nadia!” Jamil screamed, knowing he was not going to get an answer, he began to jump down like a man chased by mountain lion.






Lawal was dressed in a very expensive babanriga, wore a black cap and admired himself before the mirror. Three of his friends were waiting for him in the living room. The types women called munafikai ( Hypocrites).
When a man tried to get a second wife, all of his friends become munafukai.

Sa'ima came out of her new room, passed by to the kitchen without a word to them. She went and put on her Ayatul khursiyu. It seemed there were many devils around. No evil shall conquer her. She would chase all of them away.

" Good afternoon, Aunty Sa'ima." Umar, one of Lawal's friends greeted.

" Yauwa," was all she said.

" Is it afternoon already?" Bala, another friend said.

"It is two minutes past eleven." Hameed replied.

" It will soon be time for Zuhr." Umar said, "you know it is immediately after zuhr."

"Bastards! I know you never liked me!" Sa'ima burst. " You will all die by zhur . My Ayatul khursiyu will always be with me, you will die by Zuhr. Keep instigating him. Look at them, like those cast for comedy auditioning."

"Haba Aunty Sa'ima." Umar said . " You are his number one. It was fate..."

" I know I am his number one. But you people would not mind your business. Why did you not stop him from getting married if you are good friends?"

" Because we did not stop him from getting married to you." Bala said. "And we all looked like those been cast for comedy that day but you kept smiling at us, saying we tried."

" That is your business!" She said angrily. " I don't care! I don't ...."she began to cry.

It was at that moment Lawal came out.

"May God protect the bride!" Umar said.

Lawal was beaming with smiles. He felt more excited than the first time he got married to her. He was not at the verge of losing her then.
Then he received the call that changed the mood.

" What? When ? Now?....which hospital are they taking her to?......Okay."

Lawal began to shiver.

" Nadia just collapsed. She is being rushed to hospital as I speak."

"Inna lillahi!" Bala exclaimed. " We have to leave then."

They rushed out.

" My Ayatul khursiyu will never fail me, munafikai!" Sa'ima said after them. " Lawal that marriage will never take place. You are stuck with me for life, dan kutumar uba!"





Lawal and his friends arrived the hospital to meet her father, mother, Naairah and some of the family members all looking agitated. Lawal was looking very confused, almost in tears. He began to ask what happened.
Rukayya, one of Nadia's cousins offered him an explanation.

"She was in the room with her friend, Aunty Naairah. They said she was making a call when she just dropped and collapsed, gasping for breath. We were giving up on her. It was then I rushed in as Aunty Naairah was screaming, calling for help. Then she was rushed out. I picked up the phone."

"Ya Salam! What is the situation now?"

"They said she has fallen into a state of coma."

"What?"

'" She is not responding to stimulus. What kind of bad luck is this? She has never had this type of attack."

Lawal grimaced.

" Let me see the phone. I hope it is not one criminal she told me was threatening her."

"What? Take the phone."

Lawal collected the phone. Thank God it was not locked. He checked her call history and saw her last call.

He felt a sudden flow of anger in him.
She saved it as 'soul mate'.

He dialled the number and a man picked. He recognized Jamil's voice. He switched off the phone in anger.

The doctor came out, looking not too radiant.

" What really happened? She was obviously traumatized. Psychological affected and it affected her blood pressure. She is lucky to be breathing at this point. She had a heart failure." he asked. Before Naairah could explain, Lawal said, " she was on a call. Someone may have triggered the heart attack. She is less than twenty-five. Why does he want to end her life so soon?" He said and his eyes became filled with tears.

"Who?" Professor Abubakar asked.

" She was on a call with Jamil when it happened. She complained that he was threatening her."

Naairah grimaced. Was Lawal this low? Was he so desperate?

" What do you mean by that? She Called him. He refused to pick until after about twelve calls."

"Yes, she wanted to beg him to leave her alone."

" What? I was right there...."

"Yes, we know Jamil is with you. He meets her in your house. You know what is going on. We are talking about her health here. She does not have a record of high blood pressure. How come she got an attack while talking to him?"

" Who is more qualified to give her a high blood pressure than you who subjected her to the most inhumane treatment in your house? If Nadia has any problem in this world it's you. If there is anything that sooths her, it's Jamil. He will be the last person to give her a heart attack. He saved her when you divorced her and led her to an accident. He thought her how to smile again...."

" I am sorry, this is the wrong place for this." The doctor said, feeling uncomfortable. " I sent for a specialist. A psychologist to be precise. I hope she comes out of the unconsciousness real quick."

It was at that time Jamil rushed into the hospital. He had gone to the house before he was directed here. Professor Abubakar who had been silent saw the agitated young man come in, looking lugubrious.
He was standing with his wife, Habibat who just stood watching without a word. The professor saw that Jamil was not concerned about his presence, or the earlier warning of staying away completely from his daughter.
He seemed not to even take notice of them. The only person he seemed to see was Naairah.

" Mallama Naairah, what happened?"

Lawal saw him and felt apoplectic. His eyes went murderous, but seething. He stood with folded hands and felt like having a chance to strangle him.

" She just passed out."

Jamil knew why. It was what they were discussing. He was telling her what he was going through and given her a farewell speech. It seemed parting with him was unbearable.

" How is she doing?"

"She is unconscious."

"I need to see her."

"Who are you? You can't see my wife." Lawal said.

It seemed it was the first time Jamil noticed Lawal.

" We are talking about her life here and leave the drama out of this." Jamil replied.

Professor Abubakar moved closer.

" I need you boys to avoid any faux pas here." He said. " I thought I told you to stay away young man?"

"Good afternoon, sir. You did and I stayed away. She called me this morning and while we were talking this happened. It is only natural I came to see her."

" Why do you want to see her? She is unconscious." Professor asked.

"I don't know. I just need to see Nadia. Even if it means the for the last time. I am not here to seek for her hand in marriage. That has been settled and we never spoke since that day until today. It is not even allowed for me to do that but I want her out of here alive. I want her to stand on her feet. I don't know what I can do but I want to be here until she is okay."

" But, Baba I am here." Lawal said. " I do not think we need him. He was the cause of it in the first place."

"Lawal let me handle this." Professor Abubakar said. " Jamil, right?"

"Yes, sir."

" I think you need to leave this hospital right now....."

"He should be let in." A new voice emerged.

"I am Dr Jamila." A lady said. " I am the psychologist. I got a briefing and have been here for a few minutes. " I need to talk to you young man.
Come with me. And I suggest one of the parents should come along too."

Lawal frowned. What was this woman trying to do? Whatever she was planning was going to fail.

" Can I come in with my wife?" Professor Abubakar asked.." Her mother."

Dr Jamila smiled.

"That is okay. I would love the friend of hers who was there and her fiancé to come with me. I think those are the people I need."

They followed her into the spacious ward where Nadia was lying. Immediately they got in, Jamil felt tears in his eyes. She was lying unconscious, yet looked serene and beautiful. He was touched seeing her in such a state. He felt like going to hug her, tell her to wake up because he had a story to tell her, and he had made some lemonade for her.

" I am Dr Jamila Jalingo, a psychologist and we have a very fast way or relating among specialist in this hospital. Immediately she was brought in and the doctor was briefed, he contacted me while he did his part.
Miss Nadia suffered heart attack. We cannot tell exactly what caused it for now, but from the briefing we got, it is obviously depression can be a major cause. Other physiological things are happening in the body, including increased stress hormones, higher levels of cortisol and higher glucose levels.
She has calmed and there is no cause for alarm now but we need her to gain consciousness and undergo psychotherapy. We must have an idea of what is going on. I am told she is about to get married today, and she was speaking with her ex-boyfriend when this happened.
I need to know what is happening and I am happy you are all here. You were there when she fell down, what happened?"

Naairah looked at Jamil.

"She was talking with him." She said. " I guess it has to do with what they were discussing."

Lawal nodded.

" I knew it." He whispered.

The doctor turned at Jamil.

"What did you tell her on phone?"

Jamil felt uneasy. He was been made to feel like the cause of her plights.

" I was giving her a farewell speech." He said and just a word out of him, Nadia moved. Dr Jamila looked at her then nodded. " We fell in love, and I discovered that she was a divorcee. I met her one night when she ran her car into mine. I thought she was on drugs or something. She was alone around 11:00 pm......" He told them about their encounter, how they fell in love, and up till the point at which he was told to stay away from her, how she called him and the things he was telling her when she fell unconscious.

Naairah quickly told her the things she went through in the hands of Lawal.

" She does not want to go back to her husband." The doctor said. " I am not a marriage counselor and this is not my business but if she has to go back to her husband, then she must accept him and let this off her mind. She must have gotten the attack because of the fear of parting with him and going back to her husband.
I understand you said the husband has changed and you, the parents feel it is best she goes back. I think she needs to be ready for this. I just hope she gets out of unconsciousness. Did you notice that she moved when she heard his voice? But I am sure she is going to be alright. I have checked on her. She will get out this but we have to work on preventing a subsequent attack."

Lawal noticed the looks on Nadia's parents' faces and excused himself.

He went out, moved to a quiet place and dialled a number.

" Aasalamu alikum..."He greeted. " Alhamdulillah. Yes, she is just sleeping. Baba, I think we can go ahead and solemnise the marriage."

"What? Where is professor?"

"He mentioned you as the waliy of the girl."

"Yes and that is because of our relationship."

" Yes, Sir. He is in hospital and it would not be right to discuss that with him now. We are all here. He has given you the permission to do that and it would be soon be time for zhur. I will send my wakil down and he would collect her. There is no need of postponing it. We have invited people already. We do not need his consent now. You are aware that I have paid the dowry, and he has given her to me...for the second time .
He would not like this to stop it. This will even make the girl happier and help her health."

"I don't think I can do this."

"Mallam Zakari, please do it for us."

"I can't. I want him to be around or talk to me first."

"Why?"

"I don't want what will cause him to ....."

"But you know the marriage was scheduled for today and the only reason for not being there is her sickness which we have just being assured that she would be alright. He can't speak with you now. We are with a doctor and there is no time. Zhur is just twenty minutes away and the people are already there."

"Hmmmm.."

" I will send five million naira into your account now. Send me your account number. Just make sure the marriage is solemnised after Sallah as planned."

He heard Mallam Zakari breathing harder. He was a an old pensioner who worked in the university the Professor worked .

" Hmmmm....well, since it is something towards sunnah, I will not say no. I would explain to him. Let me send the account numbe...ango."

"Thank you very much." Lawal said with a grin.

He was having her as his wife. No one was going to stop that. The number was sent and he transfered the money.

" Go to the masjid." He told his friends. "And witness my marriage. I will be here with them."

EIGHTEEN

“Mufty is alive.” A man said as he stood before Jahl in his new palace. They had relocated and moved the camp to another part of the Kabari forest. This time, the place was more secured.
Some experts were brought in to fix cameras and detectors around the camp.

“What?”

“The attack was not a military attack. We combed the place today Ya Amir. There was no single sign of any military invasion. It was an inside work. The shattered cabin had the dead bodies of the men that were with you, and three other unidentified me.
I suspect they were the men you sent to kill him. There was no body of a woman in there and……Mufty had a secret safe in the room. It was empty.”

“Hmmm….Are you suggesting that he escaped?”

“Yes, and he was the one who detonated the bombs and killed our men. Mufty may be the man in the mask.”

Jahl got on his feet. This was not good!

“I hope he is not going to talk.”

“No. He is as guilty as us.”

“What if they offer him amnesty? What if they strike a deal with him?”

“That is a possibility.”

“We must find him and kill him. Mufty knows too much! Ya Allah, Mufty is your enemy. Show him to us.”

“I am very interested in the girl.”

“Which girl?”

“His wife. I think we should find out more about her. The press have said little or nothing about her. They are hiding her. She may be with him.”

“Why?”

“We saw a lot of drugs on the ground. Mufty never used to consume the retroviral drugs. I think he was not HIV positive. What do you know about him before he saw the light.”

“He is out of the light and don’t connect him with the light again. Mufty is in darkness. It was Alarama Saheed who recommended him. I don’t know much about his past. He is from Kano.”

The man, Aloma, smiled. He was the leader of the intelligence squad. He was a dismissed police detective.

“We must dig into his past. I think he had the girl fell in love and she stuck to him. She came back for him. Let us find her. It may be difficult.”

“Allah will help us.”







“Ameen wa alaikum salam.” Leena said with a shaky voice. She was trying to look calm, but her eyes, shaky lips and fake smile gave her away.

“I did not say the salama, Leena. I asked a question.”

“I did not get the question.”

“You told me that you were going to visit Rabi’at. Now, I followed you and Rabi’at happens to be a guy you met at Maidaribe Junction, and went to have lunch with before coming down here. Maybe I did not hear you properly. Did you say Rabi’at or Rabi’u?”

“Adam…”

“I asked a question.”

“It is not what you think. I actually said Rabi’at but I …..okay, I actually lied to you.”

Adam felt his head ringing. His hands still in his pockets but they trembled in anger.

“Why Leena?”

“I was actually going to meet him.”

“That brings us back to the first question I asked. Who is he?”

“He is a friend.” She said.

“You have such a close friend I never knew about?”

“I never said a close friend.”

“You did not have to say that. It is obvious. You are betrothed and you lie to me to meet him, have lunch with him, and come here to sit down. If there was nothing fishy, why did you have to lie to me?”

“Because you will not understand.”

“No. There is nothing complex to understand here. You have been lying to me.”

“But I did not go to his house to meet him. I met him at an open place and it seems you have been stalking me so that substantiates that we did nothing wrong.”

“Following and not stalking.” He said. “I have the right to do that because I have paid your dowry. I have passed the level of introduction and reached the level of a fixed wedding date. From the moment I sought for your hand formally in marriage, it became disallowed for you to engage in another relationship. Yes, I did not see you guys do anything that is haram, or see you in seclusion but you know it is not right.
You can’t tell me that there is nothing going on between you and that guy. I see how you guys talk, smile and the way you look at him.
I think this explains the root of your newly found tauheed.
I am disappointed in you, Leena. Tell me what I did wrong to deserve this.”

“Absolutely nothing Adam.” She said amid tears. “You don’t deserve this and if there is anyone to be blamed, it is me. but Allah knows I never intended to do this. I will never hurt you on purpose.”

“Who is he?”

She paused, crying and her lips shook.

“Manga.”

“Who is Manga? I mean what is he to you?”

“Adam, I am sorry but I don’t want to hurt you…..”

“Could there be anything worse than what you have done already?”

“Okay, Manga is the guy I- I fell in love with.”

Boom!

Even though he saw it, or suspected it, this confirmation from her broke his heart. He stood still and felt as if the ground was vibrating and about to crack. It seemed he was losing friction.

“That is why you have been acting strangely. But I asked you if you had fallen in love with someone else and yopu lied to me.”

“I could not admit it. I did not want you make a scene. I am sorry Adam. I am such a terrible person.”

“How could you? After everything. Since when has this been going on?”

“We met a few months ago but fell in love not so long ago.”

“Was that when you said you were abducted. Were you even abducted the first time?”

“Adam!”

“Do not Adam me. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Yes, I was abducted and there are proves.”

“So you met him there.”

“No. It was after I escaped.”

“What does he do for a living.”

“Adam you can’t keep asking me questions like that. I said I am sorry.”

“Sorry? Define sorry. Explain what you mean by you are sorry. Sorry for what you did and plan to go ahead and ,marry him? Or sorry for your goof and you are letting him go at this very moment and we forget none of this ever happened?”

She wiped off tears from her eyes.

“I am wrong in every aspect and have no reason to do this to you. If you say I should send him away now, I will do it and get married to you but I want you to know this….I did not plan to date him. I fell in love with him and could not get him out of my mind. I love him Adam but I can send him away if you insist. You have paid the dowry and I promised to marry you.
I know I can’t forget him but I also lied to him. It is not his fault. He asked me if I had a formal knot with you and I said no.”

“You said no?”

“Yes. If I had said yes, he would have gone and I love him Adam. I could not stop loving him. But I pray I forget him. I will go and talk to him right away and never see him again. I am terrible because I am going to hurt him. I should have let him go. Now I am going to destroy him.”

She began to cry.

“Go and talk to him. I am not letting you go!”

“She does not have to come and talk to me.” Mufty said and appeared from a corner. “Peace be upon you. I am Muhammad Manga.”

The two men looked at each other. Leena covered her face in tears.

“Peace be upon you too. I am Adam Abdulsalam.”


There was a three second silence before Mufty said, “ I must apologise for interrupting you. I also apologise for eavesdropping.”

Adam said nothing. He still had his hands in his pocket, and trying to calm down. He could not stop the anger in him as he looked at Mufty. This was the guy who came to put a veil on his bliss. The guy who got into Leena’s head and made her derail. But he would calm down and listen to him. He wondered what he had to say.

“I regret been involved in this saga. Leena is in a hot spot right now. If this story leaks, she would be the one to suffer from blames. She would be seen as a player, toiling with the hearts of two men. She will be called a liar because she lied to you.
You asked her if there was someone else in her life and she said there was no one. I can imagine how disappointed you are right now, how hurtful it is to find out that the girl you have paid her dowry is in a relationship with another man.
I also stand in a position of being called a devil because I fell in love with a girl who has just a few days to stay in her parent’s house. Two muslims cannot court a girl at the same time. You have formalised the relationship so I am the wrong guy here.
Please forgive me. She told me she had someone in her life. Having someone in her life did not stop me. I asked if there was any formal arrangement. That is what can stop me. She said there was no one.
She made a great mistake here. She is wrong but I still do not see her as a player or a girl just toiling with our hearts.
She lied to you because she could not tell you. You have a history and she never said a single thing wrong about you.
She did not know how you would react if she had told you.
I am not justifying her actions. I am only trying to see things from her angle of view. We are not impeccable but we do bad things for various reasons. Hers was not with a bad intention irrespective of the consequences.
She lied to me because she knew I was going to leave immediately. I have made a lot of goofs in my life. I will never go close to a girl who has been betrothed to another man no matter how I love her.
Leena is a girl with heart and soul. A mere mortal who is prone to goof. I can imagine how confused and uncomfortable she must have been.
Please don’t judge her. I don’t know and I am not a clairvoyant but from what I see of you, you are a nice guy. From what I heard from you, you do not deserve to get hurt.
I placed myself in your shoes. How will I feel if a girl whom I am supposed to get married to gets abducted just three weeks to our wedding, comes back and another date is fixed only for me to find out that she is seeing someone else?
The pain is unimaginable. I do not wish this for myself and would never wish it for anyone. Firstly, I need you to forgive her and never hold this against her. Secondly, I need you to forgive me for coming into the picture. Thirdly, I implore with gusto, for the sake of Allah to keep this as a secret.
If I say I do not feel anything for her, I am a liar but if I really like her, then I should set her onto the right part. That calls for the word sacrifice. I have to suppress my feelings, wishes and wants for the right thing.
The right thing here is to keep to her promise. Like I said in retrospect, I don’t know you but I feel you will never hurt her. I feel you will give her all the love and joy she needs.
That is my consolation. I just want her to be happy and be with the right person. I want you to take this event as just a hitch to a better life with her. I promise you that neither you nor she will ever see me again.
I will be just a part of history, a mistake and forgotten issue…..” He turned at Leena. “This is your man. I may not be privileged to attend the wedding, or know what happens after the wedding but I have this to say to you: never let him feel bad. Get married to him and fulfil all of your duties. This world is just a small temporary home. Besides, it will all come to pass.”

Amid tears, she nodded.

Mufty smiled, moved forward and offered a handshake to Adam.

They shook hands.

“Thank you very much.” Adam said. “You have said things that got me weakened. You just calmed me down and I must say you are a rare guy. I promise to keep this to myself till I die and I will not hold it against her.”

“You just made my century. May Allah bless the union, give you blessed offspring and make her your wife both here and hereafter.”

“Amen.”

“I think I will have to take my leave. This is her phone, she left it with me.”

Without another word, he turned and left.

Adam looked at Leena. She wiped off tears off her face.

“Please forgive me.”

Adam smiled.

“It is over my dear. Do you still want to marry me?”

She nodded.

“Yes.”

“Thank God.”

“Please I need something from you.”

“What?”

“I did not say goodbye to him neither did he say goodbye to me. For the last time, just let me see him go…”

“You want to talk to him?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk to him. I just want to see him one more time and I promise you will never hear anything about him again. That is the last request I need from you about this. It is over between him and me.”

He shrugged.

“Okay.”

She walked to the edge of the building close to them and peeped.

“ Miss Sunshine,” Adnan said, pressing her to his body, “ what is it again? I thought we were over this?”

“ I know.”

“Then why are you crying? Why are you breaking my heart? You know it hurts to see you cry.”

“ I did not mean to cry.” She said.

They were standing, her head leaned on his chest, his arms around her, and she held him. He was using his hand to rub her hair, the fingers going to though the rows of her plaited hair.

“ Then what made you do it?”

“Mama was around.” She said, “ she said…..she said she was sent to tell me something. She was straight forward. They want what I can’t give you: a child. So you are getting married to her niece who was in Yemen.”

Adnan stopped moving for a moment, and she felt as if he had stopped breathing. She had to raise her face to look at him.

“ What are you talking about? How can they dictate what I do with my life?”

“They are your parents.”

“Yes, they are but it is not fair and it is not just about them. She said she was sent. I don’t get this. I do not intend to get married. I am not going to do that.”

“I am afraid they are bent on making you do it.”

“What if I say no?”

“ I don’t know. I just don’t want you to have problems with them for my sake. If that is what they want, then let it be….”

“Shhhhh…we will sort it out. I will talk to her.”

“It seems it is not just about her.”

“Let her tell them. I am not getting married. Did I complain to anyone ?” Adnan said while he brought out his phone. He did not expect this.

He called Aadila.

“ Assalamu alaikum.” He greeted. “ Good evening ma.”

“ Ameen alaikum salam. I know why you called.”

“ I just heard.”

“ I told Pappy about the result of your wife’s test. He told the Elders and they refused to accept. They said you should have a mistress and get a child. We told them that as Muslims we cannot do that. They said since a muslim can marry up to four wives, you should get a second wife.
I did not like the idea but we have no option . So I thought of the best girl who would not give you or your wife a problem. I remembered Baanah, my niece. She will fit in perfectly.”

“ You made such a decision without my consent. You even told my wife before me.”

“It does not matter who hears it first. You will all come to know about it. Your wife is understanding. She took it with good faith.”

“What did you expect mum? She is not the type that would flare up. She accepted but I do not accept it. I don’t want to get married now. I think the elders should understand that I have a personal life and this is an example of that.”

“No, my son. Your personal life would not influence your mission.” She said. “ They influence your personal life. You were giving fifty million Adnan, in Pounds and you got the chance of establishing your companies which fetch you a money. It is for a reason.”

“ Do not they expect something in return. Did I not build an elliptical planetarium for the London Lodge. Is that not helping the space exploration? Did I not hack into six unbreakable accounts? I made three projects for them. These projects are worth more than fifty million pounds. It is not all about money. I think they are the bastions and I want to give back to the planet.
I do not have a problem with them if my personal life is left alone. I love my wife, with or without a child and happiness will always be there. You don’t even know what Baanah wants. Do you know if she is in love with someone else?”

“ Adnan, the fifty million pounds was not a payment for your jobs. It was start up allowance. Remember, you forfeited your previous allowances by helping Addy pass the test. That money should have been paid back. You allowed sentiments play in. You will get paid if you wish…”

“I am okay with what I have .The two companies are enough for me. With ikhlas, my jobs for them are been paid for by Allah insha Allah. I just want to be left alone. What do they need my child for?”

“Continuity. Can’t you see that your lineage is endowed with exceptional smartness ? They studied six generations of yours and they were all geniuses. Your paternity genes are very strong and tend to pass the intelligence on. You have the greatest IQ and intelligence so far. You can't let it just go.”

“I have a younger sister who has a great brain. Aaliyah made distinctions, graduated before she was seventeen, why can’t we wait for her child?”

“I said paternity. She is a woman and not a man. Baanah has no problem. I have already talked to her, she knows you and is hyper. She will be flying down any moment from now. You have to do this. We are into a pact already….”
‘A pact? “

“Yes. We promised to serve the movement with our body and souls…”

“This is beginning to sound spooky.”

“ That is when it is not out of our religious confinement. Asking you to marry another wife is not haram. We do not serve the movement as an act of worship. I know shirk, Adnan. I am an Arabian and my parents migrated from Mecca to Yemen. Tell me a single thing you have been told to do that is out of Islamic rules. We are just doing this to make the world a better place.”

“ What will happen if I refuse to get married to a second wife?”

There was a brief silence.

“ It will not be good. That is a great disobedience and they do not take it easy.”

“ My father is a Pappy. He should talk to them.”

“There are three other Pappies and a Grandpappe .There is a council of Elders, they act like the Senate. It is beyond your father.”

“ I am not getting married now.”

“I give you two days to think about it. Think carefully my son. I lost you once. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“Is that a threat ma?”

‘No. A fact. I am not a decision maker. I am just part of them.”

“ I will talk to you, Mum.”

“Please be positive. I love you.”

“I love you, Mum. Please give me more time.”

“ Two days, my boy.”

She ended the call.
Naairah looked at him. She moved closer to him, held him and kissed him.

“ Hayati, I love you and I know you love me. What we need is happiness and peace. I do not want anything to harm you. I better have you with a second wife than lose you. I do not want a rift between you and your parent. I know you will never treat me bad, and I will not want you to treat her bad. I still want us to be together in aljanna insha Allah. Please get married to her. Just oblige.”

Adnan said nothing, his mind was wandering.

Naairah picked a call after her phone chimed.

“Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un!” She exclaimed and broke into tears.

“What is wrong?” Adnan asked.

“When?” Naairah asked. “How? Bomb?”

Adnan stood patiently waiting for her.

She ended the call and looked at him.

“ Uncle Abbas has just been reportedly killed. He was said to have been killed in his car. Bomb blast.”

Adnan frowned.

Aminu bombed?

He had to ask questions. Something was coming up.

Where was Addy?






A few hours back

Aminu had gone to the secret Lodge to contact Mason. He wanted to tell him that Addy was not Adnan. He was ready to expose Adnan’s identity.
He could not reach Mason on phone. Mason only reached him when he wanted to talk to him. The only place he could reach Mason was through the Lodge. He had gone there that afternoon. The lodge was a clearing office but that was only a charade. It belonged to the Mason’s faction of BOE.

He was not allowed to speak to Mason. Mason felt he was no more important to him. So Aminu wanted to get to him by all means. He thought of a way to get to him. Then he remembered Dr Hilock. Yes!
He left the lodge and got into his car. He had only gone for six minutes when he heard the beeping sound of a time bomb. He knew he was trapped. He tried to open his car door when the bomb exploded.
Aminu was shred into pieces.

Sa'ima frowned, used her hands to wipe her face, making sure she was not hallucinating. What happened? Was she still in her sleep dreaming?
She just woke up to an empty room. She was lying on a mat, she sat up and kept looking round.
She got up, walked out and saw Lawal giving some people money and thanking them. They were two men and they left.

“ Lawal, what is happening?” she asked.

“Are you awake?”

“No, I am still sleeping. I said what is happening? I woke up and found the room empty. Where are my things?”

Lawal pointed at a room.

“You were sleeping and I did not want to disturb you. I moved them to the other room.’

“Why? What do you mean?”

He shrugged.

“ Remember when you came, you demanded for the room and asked me to move Nadia’s things to the other room. I asked why, you said you were the amarya (new bride) and she was the uwargida so she ought to be more understanding . So I took it that the amarya always had this liberty.”

“So?”

“You have been elated to be the Uwargida now. “ He said. “ I am getting married to Nadia on Friday which is tomorrow insha Allah. She will need the room. I have also moved your kitchen to the one outside. You don’t even need a kitchen. She does. She cooks….i used to enjoy her meal before you came and ruined it. Don’t even think about it because this matter will not end in bed.”

Sa'ima could not believe it. She felt her hangover clearing and she became very sober.

“ Lawal! What did you say?”

“What you heard.”

“So you married me to come and humiliate me, huh?”

“A’a.. what is humiliating about this? Was that not what we did t Nadia? Was that humiliation? I thought it the privilege of amarya you were using. It is the same. There is no issue of humiliation here. I will be living with her but I will stay with you up till 10:00 pm when it is your turn.”

She laughed.

“Lawal ….Lawal…..you don’t know what you are playing with. You cannot compare me to her. You and I started our relationship right from childhood.”

"I know. I never told you this. Nadia was my neighbour.” He lied. “ We used to play together in primary school days. I told her I loved her and she said the same. She was my first girlfriend. I was in SS 1 when I met you.”

Sa'ima wanted to start a fight but thought twice and stopped.
She had to consult her friends. She went into her new room and jumped on the bed and started crying. How could he do this to her? He was just telling her a day to the wedding. It was not fair. Lawal was not just! This was injustice!
Allah was with her. She went to play Ayatul khursiyu. Getting ready for the devils.






Naairah had just received a call from Nadia, breaking the bad news to her. Naairah now felt worse. Worse? Yes. Life was not a fairy tale.
Some months ago she had been ill and she had gone to hospital with Adnan. The doctor had checked
on her and said it was just malaria. She was disappointed. They have been married for about ten months, consummated the marriage four months ago but she had not seen any sign. It was not too late, not all women took in immediately but she was eager to have Adnan’s child.

Adnan had never mentioned anything about it. He never acted as if he wanted a child. But she knew he did. Then his mother came back from the States and asked Adnan what was going on. He told her that God had not given them yet, that it was just the fourth month.

Aadila was not convinced. She advised Naairah to see a gynaecologist. She saw one; Hannat Magaji, a clinical professor of obstetrics , gynaecology, and reproductive science. It was confirmed that her follicle released bad eggs. It was not a corpus luteum cyst, or follicle cyst.
They went through series of test and last week, the final result was out. Naairah had gone for it and Aadila decided to go with her since she was a medical doctor.

They were afraid she could never have a baby of her own.
IVF, surrogate mother or other means would not work for her. She could not produce eggs that could reproduce. It was one of the worst news she had ever received. Adnan was there for her, he consoled her and was very nice to her.

Then the mother visited her this morning. She just left before Nadia called. Aadila had acted nice, supportive and understanding.

“ I was asked to tell you something. “She had told Nadia. “ I will be straight. I love you and you make my son happy. We had asked him to get married in USA but he said there was someone waiting for him. The only one he loves. We were scared because of his hidden identity but he convinced us and we supported him.
And after some months, he revealed himself to you. You are trustworthy. He even revealed some secrets to you. We did not like the idea but that was how his father revealed it to me and made me join them. I guess this will make you understand what I am about to tell you.

Adnan is not just an ordinary person, you know this. And one thing the organization does not joke with is continuity. I know you will understand. I hate to say this but Adnan has to get married to another wife. It is not our wish, but the result of the outcome. I will make sure she is a good girl. I have a niece in Yemen. I chose her for him. She is a nice girl. I hope you understand?”

Aadila tried to console and pacify her before she left. It was while she was crying, Nadia called with the break of her bad news. Life was not a fiary tale.

“ What is wrong with you?” Adnan who had come in without her notice asked. He did not know what was happening.

She jumped into his hands and cried.

On that day, Leena had called Mufty. He asked her to meet him at Maidaribe Junction because he did not like her coming to his place.
She had met him waiting for her. He had produced that smile that lightened her up.
She noticed that he was changing physically. That hard expression was no more even though he seemed a bit nervous when in public.
They had gone to have lunch, and decided to pass some time in a cool spot with beautiful trees and flowers.

“I think I will have to visit Kano one of these days.” He said.

“Why? I hope you are not going away.”

“How could I leave you my love?”

“Then what do you want to do there? I don’t want to go far from me.”

“I have an uncle. They don’t know if I am alive or dead. I need to reconnect with them. There may be need to do that in case I am asked where I come from. Some people have to come to your house.”

“Awwwnn.” She blushed.

“Plus, I want to sell my house. It is not a big house but the land is big. I mean big from a poor man’s perspective. Two plots of land and a small two bedroom bungalow. I may get five out of it because we do not live in a GRA where a plot of land cost about forty million naira.”

“Six million is something.”

He smiled.

“You are being modest. You come from a wealthy home and if it was the guy you were going out with that was going to marry you, that amount would end up in lefe.”

“Shut up. I am no that materialistic. All I want is a decent life full of love, care and peace. I love you and that is what matters.”

“I don’t get it.” he said. “I don’t deserve you. Are you sure this is real?”

“Now you are going back to that self-condemnation of a thing again.”

“I am sorry. I just feel you are something out of a dream: a tantalizer.”

“Leena Idris is live and sitting beside you, Muhammad Manga.”

“God is great.”

“So what is your plan?”

“I want to start an electrical shop. I mean selling of electrical appliances while I also seek for contracts. By contracts , it does not have to big contracts. It could be laying of wires in houses for individuals, fixing of solar panels and inverters. With that, I won’t lack the means of buying bread in the mornings.”

“Yeah and who knows, you may end up not needing a job. If things work out, My father would connect you to contractors or help you with contracts.”

Mufty was lost in reverie. This was what he wanted. A simple decent life with a wife. There was no doubt; Leena was a blessing for him.
She was his dream girl. Nothing compared to Hauwa. Hauwa never had time to plan with him, or advise him. She always impatient and expected him to be ready-made.

“Leena…” He called softly.

“Na’am.”

“I used to think I was strong. I was dauntless and mean. But you made me realise how vulnerable and weak I am. You have the keys and switch to put off…..just leave me and I am off. You are my hope, light, bliss, strength and love. I am scared……”

“You don’t have to be scared. I am here for you. And you don’t know how glad I am to make you feel so. Manga, I think I am more scared of losing you. If I say, it is going to be a smooth ride, I am lying. But I just want you to stand firm, and most importantly , pray about it.”

“Yeah and I always pray….If I am not good for you, May Allah destroy this relationship. Ameen.”

She closed her eyes and pushed back tears. She did not want to part with him. She loved him the way she had never loved any man. This was not by choice. She was not even supposed to fall in love with him.
She felt no woman would understand him like she did. She saw him in his worst, knew his problems and how to treat him.

“Let me get chocolate.” She said. “I will get some for you.”

“I think I will prefer Tom-tom.”

She squeezed her face.

“Are you sick, like you have a cough or….”

“No.” he said and giggled.

“Why should I just start taken Tom-tom when I am not sick?”

“I do enjoy it. The taste is nice.”

“Hmm…me I love sweet things.”

He glanced at her back as she walked away and he quickly took off his eyes. Then he remembered that it was allowed to study the girl you genuinely intend to marry. Then he looked at her again and realised that she more beautiful than he had thought.
Just like Hauwa, she was slim but she had broader hips and more statuesque. Her movement were majestic, with model-like steps that made him swoon.
Why did he feel things were not going to work out? Why was a part of him saying he may not have the dream life? He was not being pessimistic but a chip of reality was pertinent.

She took a bend and went out his view.

That was when Leena saw him standing with his hands in his pocket: Adam!

He looked as if he was going to burst. He handsome face was a mask of horror and it was obvious that he making a big effort to control himself.

“You said you were going to see Rabi’at. I guess the game is up, Leena.”

She felt her as if her heart was going to jump out through her mouth.

“A- Adam.”

“Who is that guy?”

Mufty sat at a table with his face resting on his chin in the living-room of his new two-room apartment. It has a kitchenette and toilet.
It was poorly furnished. The bedroom had just a big mattress on the carpet, while the living-room had just carpet laid on the floor and two plastic chairs.
Jahl was alive and had come out as planned. Mufty was supposed the man behind him. He was lucky they did not start making the videos before he left.

Something else worried him. Captain Kamal reported saving a man who was nearly killed. The man was Alarama Saheed.
Mufty frowed.
Alarama Saheed!
That was the reciter of the slain Sheikh. Now he could see the picture more vividly. Alaramma Saheed was always with the sheikh anytime he was preaching.
The day he was supposed to kill the sheikh. Alaramma Saheed was there.

It added up. He had seen that face before. That face had been to the camp once even though Jahl tried to hide him.
There was double it was him that killed the Sheikh. He was working with the insurgents.
The attempted murder was a charade. Now the ATOF see him as a victim.

Mufty clenched his fist. Jahl has come into the open and that means the grand plan was in place. The insurgents were infiltrating everywhere.
Alaramma Saheed!


Kamall walked into General Dambutu’s office and saluted.

“Captain.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I ordered Colonel Mike to replace the men of TRF Troop with immediate effect. I need you to deploy sixty men from your place.”

“Yes, Sir.” Kamal said but wondering at the back of his mind why this sudden change.

The General studied him.

“The replaced soldiers have been arrested and would be tried in the military court. They absconded their duty post by saying they had no weapons. Imagine scoundrels in the name of soldiers. I am sure they will all be sentenced to death.”

“Yes, sir.”

This kept resonating with Kamal. It was true that the insurgents had more sophisticated weapons than the soldiers. Was this a fair judgement?
But he could not say this allowed. He knew the men would be sentenced to death.




Haneefa had been uncomfortable. She was sitting on a chair in Leena’s room.

“When last did you see Adam?” She asked.

Leena raised her face.

“He was here last night and I guess he would be around today. Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Talk to me baby.”

Haneefa thought about it. If she hid it from Leena and she found out, it may be misunderstood yet she did not want to reveal such a ridiculous thing.

“I think Adam needs help.” Haneefa said.

“How?”

“You said everything is cool between you guys. He said the same thing but….he has been acting strange these days. I have stopped picking his calls.”

“Why ? I mean how strange has he been acting?”

“He- he is crazy. I never knew he could do such a thing. I always saw him as a trustworthy guy…”

“Please tell me what he did.”

“He has been asking me out. Not just asking me out but…he wants to marry me. He said he loves me. Can you imagine that?”

Leena moved her head back and rested on the bed. She was now facing the ceiling.

“Hmmmm….” She sighed.

“What?”

“I knew this day would come.”

“What day?”

“Okay, Haneefa, let me tell you something. It happened last week……”

donsimoniiblog:

The divorce and marriage brouhaha

Let me explain the concept behind this in summary.

Islam regards divorce as abhorrent and reprehensible. The prophet of Islam was reported to have said: Verily, Allah loves a house in which a wedding is held and hates a house in which a divorce is conducted and there is nothing more hateful than divorce.

Iddah is one of those concepts Islam uses to forestall divorce. If a man divorces his wife, she immediately enters a state of iddah for a period of three menstrual circles or approximately three months. If she is pregnant, the iddah period is extended till the end of the pregnancy/delivery. In this state, the divorce is considered temporary and no man is permitted to seek for her hand in marriage. Islam expects the couples to reconcile within this period. If they do, the woman can simply go back to her husbands house without another marriage taking place. Should the iddah period elapse, a new marriage right will have to be performed. Any other man can seek for her hand in marriage i.e, other men can compete with her ex husband for her hand in marriage.

The concept is much more wider than what I just explained, but I think my explanation suffices for what the story covers.



Regards.

“ I don’t get it, Lawal” Nadia said. “Please do not raise your voice and cause a scene here. What do you mean?”

“If you don’t want me to cause a scene, then come out of that car, right now. You were with me and you left to meet a kwarto (adulterer). And he even prayed next to me, not knowing he was here for my wife.”

“ I am not your wife….”

“Get out of that car now!” Another voice emerged. It was Professor Abubakar. He was wearing a white Jallabiya and his medicated glasses.

Nadia quickly jumped out of the car. Jamil also came out.

“ What is happening here?” Professor Abubakar asked.

“ Good evening, Baba.” Lawal greeted.

“ How are you Lawal?”

“Alhamdulillah.”

“ Good evening, sir.” Jamil greeted.

“ I said what is going on here?” Professor asked without replying to Jamil’s greeting.

“ Baba, I was with Nadia when she excused herself. I thought she was going to that kiosk to get something. I waited and did not see her return then I came out of the car only to find her in the car with this man.”

Professor Abubakar gave Jamil an intimidating glare.

“Who are you, young man? I don’t know you.”

“ My name is Jamil, sir.”

“ What are you doing here?”

“I- I came to –to –to see Nadia.”

“You came to see a married woman?”

“She told me she was divorced.”

“But her husband has the right to take her back.”

“I just took her back, Baba.” Lawal said.

“Alhamdulillah. You can hear that young man. She is back to her husband. In that case, she would be going back to her husband’s house tomorrow. That means you must not see her again from this very moment. If you claim ignorance ,now you know. I don’t think this case is complex and do not need much time. Understood?”

Professor Abubakar turned at his daughter.

“ I am disappointed in you. It is all your fault. You should have told the young man the truth if it is true he did not know. Get ready, you are not sleeping in this house tomorrow insha Allah.”

Nadia felt her eyes accumulating tears. She saw the look on Jamil’s face and felt like hugging him.

“ I am not his wife and cannot go back to him.” She said.

“ You ninnyhammer! What buncombe are you bescumbering?” Professor Abubakr retorted angrily “ Nadia, I am disillusioned at your caprice. How dare you stand before your God and try to fiddle with divine laws.
You are jeopardizing your soul and eternal inferno is not an abode of ease you loblolly!”

“ I am not playing with my God. He can’t take me back just like that.”

“Ohhhh, I deserve a reason.” Professor said.

“ I did not accept Jamil’s proposal until I was out of iddah. He did not even propose until I was done. That was the day, Lawal came to meet me at Naairah’s house. That was the day I accepted to marry him. He never even knew I was married before until that day. Jamil is completely innocent and I did not do anything that goes against islamic jurisdiction.”

“ Nadia fear Allah. This is the third month. “ Lawal said. “ If the first circle came the next month after you left, the second circle came at the third month then you still have a month to go.”

“ You are wrong, Lawal and you knew nothing about me at the last month of our stay. I left your house and got my first circle the next day. Got the second the next month and finished the third two days before Jamil proposed to me. You cannot take me back now. You and Jamil are on the same pace….”

“But I asked you the other day….”

“I told you it is my privacy. I only explained the difference between the iddah of a divorcee and that of a widow.”

“ But you led me on, Nadia.” Lawal lamented.

“ I don’t love you anymore Lawal. I don’t want to go back to you.”

“We have been over that.” Professor Abubakar said. “ You will fall back in love with him …and Lawal, you must work hard towards that by treating her well.”

“Insha Allah ,Baba.” Lawal said with a smile. “ I know she is just angry. We got married out of love.” He added to annoy Jamil.

“ Well, it is a simple case.” Professor said. “ Lawal, go and tell your people to come and see me. Tell them to bring twenty thousand naira for dowry, on Friday insha Allah we would quietly knot the tie in the masjid. I don’t think there will be need for any ceremony. All we need is the solemnisation and the witnesses in the masjid, that is all.” He said and left them.

“ Let us go Nadia.” He said. “Please.”

She wiped tears off her eyes.

“ I am not going anywhere with you. I want to talk to Jamil.”

“SubahanAllah! It is not permissible for him to still be with you after your father has accepted my proposal and a date has been fixed for our wedding, dear. It is not my rule but Allah’s.”

“ I am not going with you….”

“Nadia…” Jamil said calmly, “ you have to obey your father. I cannot be with you now. He has decided. He just fixed the dowry and wedding date. I know you love me….”

“Kwal ubanka (Your father)!” Lawal insulted him, “how dare you say that in my presence?”

“I am not your wife Lawal and I have the right to reject your proposal. I cannot be forced. I am only respecting Dad and do not think it is a law.”

“ Nadia, just let him be.” Jamil said. “ I have to go. I promise Nadia, I will pray for you. It shall be well with you. Please pray for me. I need it.”

“ I will always pray for you, Jamil.” She said. “ I will never forget you.”

Lawal felt like bursting as she said that.

Jamil got into his car and looked at Lawal.

“ Fear Allah and take care of her. She is a queen and does not deserve harsh treatment. You don’t know what you have here.”

Lawal smirked.

“ You know this and you don’t have a wife.” He said. “ You are not to tell me how to treat my wife. I am to tell you that.”

“It is a shame you are in a position to tell me that and you sent her away, and she would have died that night.”

“ That is the past. Just go home. Please do not forget to come for the wedding fatiha. It is on Friday, tell your friends and family.”

Jamil ignored him, started the car and gave Nadia a final look.

‘ I love you, Jamil.” She said, started crying again then walked towards the gate, ignoring Lawal.

He followed her. Jamil drove away.

“ Nadia, Nadia.”

“What?”

“ Nadia, please forgive me. I know it is still out of anger and you are doing this just to punish me.”

“ No, Lawal. I am not doing this to punish you. I fell in love with him. I love him and not you. It is not about the past. I have forgiven you. I just don’t love you anymore.”

He smiled, trying to conceal his pain.

“ You will love me, amarya. I will see to that. I will come tomorrow so we can talk about Visas. I want to go to Dubai immediately after the wedding.”

“ Goodnight, Lawal.” She said and walked into the compound.

He shook his head.

Okay, if she was going this to punish him, she was doing a good job of it. He was really hurt. He could not believe that Nadia could say or act like this in his presence. The submissive Nadia.

Nadia was dialling Naairah’s number at that time.

TWENTY-FIVE

Immediately he came of the mosque for Magrib prayer, he got into his car and headed to her house. It was getting dark already. He had to see Nadia. He had not sum up the courage to tell her what he had been going through. The issue had been given him sleepless nights. He only dated her for one week before he told his mother and the hullabaloo began.
He did not know what to tell her, or how to tell her. He had been given excuses for not been able to see her for the past three days. He had been dying to see her, hear her voice, see that smile, that look she always gave him.
He was helplessly in love with her . Why ? why would they not consider his happiness? What if the virgin they want for him would not make him happy? What if he did not love her? What if she was not even a virgin? What if she had been sexually abused, raped, or fallen for a man’s trick? Would he divorce her after he found out? He heard of innocent girls been sexually abused daily, did that mean that they were cast out as garbage? What mattered was the present and future. The love he felt for her was not the type he would mistake for lust or infatuation.

He arrived her house a few minutes later. He had stopped by the road to buy her favourite chocolates. He drove slowly on their boulevard, and then drove into their close. He had just pulled up the car when he saw her enter a SUV which was parked in front of her house.
There was a man sitting on the driver’s seat while she sat on the passenger’s seat. What was going on? Who was this? Were they going out?
No. They were not going out. He seemed to be showing her something because he put on the car light.Jamil studied him. He was young, handsome and looked elegant. He said something and she laughed before he switched off the light.

Jamil waited.

Twenty minutes later, she did not come out. They seemed to in a serious discussion and this did not look platonic.
Jamil forgot what he had come tell her and felt a strong wind of jealousy hitting him. That was one thing he had always been scared of. He was a very jealous person and it was hurting him badly. He wanted her for himself. Was this a new guy or her ex -husband?
He heard the call for prayer from the masjid on the street. He alighted the car and went to the masjid. All his attention was on her. It was while he was sitting in the mosque he saw the guy come in too.

Jamil studied him and realized that he was an impressive and charismatic guy and obviously wealthy.
The imam came in and the iqamah was raised. There was a space close to Jamil. Lawal came up and filled the space.
They prayed side by side.
After the prayer, they left the masjid. Jamil allowed Lawal go out first and went back to the car. Jamil went back to his car and sat. It was now dark.
Jamil felt his hands on the steering wheel.
Why was he feeling jealous? He wanted to tell her the truth, that they could not be together,that his mother was against it, so why should he feel so jealous now? Why? He could not tell. He just knew he did not want to see her with anyone, he still wanted her, he did not want to let go.
What a dilemma?

He was living in peace before he fell in love. This thing called love!

He saw her come out of their house though the gate.
Seeing her again, he fell into a daydream at once. He could picture her coming towards him, saying in her sweet voice, “ I am sorry for keeping you waiting, let us go.” And she would get into the car and off they go to their home.
Having Nadia in his life, home all to himself!

He saw her walk to the car and got inside. But she said she was in love with him. How come she was doing this when he had not even told her what his mother said?
He sat there for another thirty minutes, and absentmindedly, he unwrapped one of the chocolates and munched. He felt his blood rising. He could not take it anymore. It was better he left them alone. Maybe there was no point telling her what happened. She may have made up her mind to go back to her ex-husband or have a new man.
He relaxed his head on the headrest, closed his eyes, stayed like that for about ten minutes, trying to make up his mind when he heard a rap on the window glass of his car.
He opened his eyes, and saw her standing by the window. She was by the passenger’s side. That meant she wanted to come inside the car. He pressed down his excitement. He pressed a button and unlocked the doors and opened it for her

She came in and sat down after she said, “Assalamu alaikum”

He was speechless at first, not knowing what to say.

“ Ameen wa alaikum salam.” He replied. “ How are you?”

“ Alhamdulillah.”

“ I- I was about leaving. I have been here for a while.”

"But you did not call.”

“Yes, I did not call because….I did not want to interrupt.”

She smiled.

“ I saw the car but did not recognise it until I came out now. You should have called.”

“ I don’t like been pesky. I don’t know how he will feel if I called you.”

“Who?”

Women. She knew what he meant.

“Your visitor.”

“Hmmmm….Mr Jamil. That is Lawal.”

He felt his heart go pit-a-pit.

“ That’s nice.”

She glanced at him and smiled again.

“Nice? Are you sure it is nice?”

He shrugged.

“It is nice if you feel it is nice. I just want your happiness. It may not be nice to me but your feelings are connected to mine and infectiously imparts mine. I know I felt somehow seeing you guys together but you looked happy so….”

“You decided to go back. “

“I was confused.”

“So am I.” she said. “ Did you talk to your people?”

“ Yes, I did.”

She studied him and saw what she was looking for.

“I know they rejected the idea. They won’t let you marry me.”

“Well, it’s just a misunderstanding…”

“I know. I knew that would come up. I have brothers and I know what my mum used to say about it. Now she has a daughter that is one. And on my side, I got a big problem too. Lawal sent his parents to my father….and I have been ordered to go back.”

Now Jamil knew he was in trouble. He was not ready to lose her. He was so much in love he wanted to fight for her.
But who was he going to fight? His mother or her father.

“They want me to go back to him. They say he has learnt his lessons. I understand their feelings. No parent wants a child to be changing husbands. But it is better at times.”

“I know. Sometimes, I wish I never met you. I have come to fall in love with you so much I am scared of the future.”

“I know you love me. I knew that after I told you I was a divorcee. I feel the love radiating from your eyes, your mouth and heart. But we are in a helpless situation. I want you to tell me where you have been all these years, Jamil…”She was now crying. “Where? Why does it have to be now? I am with him but my soul is with you. Since I recognized your car, I became restless. Seeking for a way to come to you. When I got into the car, I felt different.

Different from what I was feeling with him. Why can’t they understand this? It is you I love, Jamil. But fate is taking me away from you. I am confused…….”

Jamil was so confused himself.

What a situation.

This thing called love!

It was at that time he heard a violent knock on his car window. He turned to see Lawal standing grimly by his car.

Damn!

Jamil wound down the glass.

“ Who are you?” Lawal asked angrily but trying to look calm.

“ I don’t understand your question.” Jamil said.

“Lawa…..” Nadia started but he ignored her.

“What are you doing with my wife?”

“Your wife?”

“Yes!” He replied raising his voice higher, fuming.

“ I did not know she was still married. She is a divorcee.”

“What kind of illiterate are you? When a woman is in iddah, it is not permissible to have a relationship with her because I have the right to take her back. It is only when the iddah is over you can talk to her. I am taking her back. Nadia, I Lawal Nasir have taking you back as my wife!”

Jamil felt as if he had been hit with a shot put ball on the face. What did he just say?

Coming out through the gate was Professor Abubakar.

The sky was azure, patched with stratocumulus clouds, with birds freely displaying circus prowess, and a scintillating view of the horizon was offered pro bono. The sun was retrieving while the moon was warming up for its celestial duty. It was crepuscular.
Fahad performed ablution in public for the first time. While he did that, those around kept watching the strange act with keen interest.
He spread some leaves on the ground and began to perform Salat He saw people begin to gather and watch. They wondered what he was doing, inquisitively whispering to themselves.

After he ended the prayer, followed by supplication he went and sat on a sand dune and watched the vast river, while some of them swam, he wondered where this river led to. Could this be an escape route? How could he get a boat, or a canoe?
He never knew this river existed. It was big and must link to somewhere. He just had to think of a way of escaping. Goshiya seemed to be obsessed with him, and any slight goof could get him executed.
Then he felt someone close to him. It was Gusku, Gwimbu’s brother and one of the teachers in the school. He sat on the dune, his big biceps resting on his legs.

“ You is is come and taked my woman pikin(you came and snatched my woman).” He said without looking at Fahad but stared at the vast river.
“ Is is me am wanted to lacking her since pass todays ( I have been in love with her for long).”

Fahad now understood why he always glared at him.

“ Hey, I did not go for her. She came to me and I’m not in love with her. I will be glad if you marry her like right now.” Fahad said.

“ I is is knows that is why am not killing you. Am lacking her, in sleeping am dreaming her, dreaming her. Am a education family and is is qualification in marry her, the king woman pikin. But you is is come, she is is no lacking me .”

“ I feel your pain, bro. I swear I can do anything to let you have her.”

“ Tah, make I kill you? If you is is died, she is is come to me.”

Fahad gave him a sharp glance, and Gusku grinned.

“ Am not killing you, am joker. Kachakum! Who is is killing you wey Goshiya is lacking you, and King is is lacking her, he is is killing the person is is killing you and is is brother , sister , mother and father. Kachakum!”

Whoa! So I have become a kind of untouchable then. A VIP and prince. Fahad thought and giggled. Fahad, the prince of Dabuhu Kingdom.
Fahad wished he had his phone to capture all of these.

My phone!
It must have been somewhere in the jungle. His gun was there too. He wished he could find them but how would he charge the phone even when he found it?

“ I wish I could find a way to leave just to give you the chance, bro.” He said casually.

“ You is is no want am? “

“ Yeah. I want you to be happy. I will do it just for you. But the problem is I don’t know how to leave.”

He now seemed more interested.

“ Me is is never leave am this place. Only my father is is leave am this place. We is is not know anything unless here. “

Whoa! Imagine living here for like ever.

“ Do you guys use a boat?”

“ We is is no use am. The gods is is say we is is no go far from here. But is is three boats and is is owning by the king.”

So they did not know where the river led to.

“ How did your father leave?”

“ Kachakum! Me is is no born am that time( I had not been given birth to then). They saying is is fall am into water and is is carry am go. Is is see some people in big boat. Is is carry am and tooked him to a place. Is is spend plenty plenty today, five Dabuhu festivals pass and is is coming back.”

“ Gusku!”A very harsh voice interrupted. “ Zubanda hun hun kwi achaka!!”

It was a brutal looking warrior, talking as if his throat was going to burst.
Gusku grimaced and stood up. Fahad could see anger, jealousy on his hard face. That was good. He really liked her and may do whatever it took to get him out of this place.

“ King woman pikin Goshiya is is wanted you.” Gusku said bitterly.

Fahad nodded.

“ Don’t worry, you will get the final laugh if you work with me.”

Fahad said and followed the warrior.

He led Fahad to a part of the town where the buildings looked different. There was a very tall, thick mud fence round the large compound. The was a large gate made of wood and guided by heavily armed warriors. The buildings were bigger, and built in rectangular shapes.
Then a very big mud house, with an attempt to give it some architectural expertise stood majestically, standing out, and had over a hundred guards.
Fahad guessed it was the main palace and this was the king’s quarters. He was led to the palace and felt his heart beating rapidly. What was wrong?

The king was sitting on a big wooden chair, reeking of royalty, with four women behind him, touching him at different intervals, while four warriors flanked him.
The palace was large, illuminated with over fifty lamps, making it very bright. The floor was made of burnt clay bricks, then covered with a shiny oily substance which made it sparkle.
There were various local artworks on the wall, hides of wild animals, and shells. At the far end, he saw what seemed to be human skulls, arranged in rows, and numbered up to fourty.

That part scared him and the king was quick to notice.

“ Gwimbu!” He called, “ Vumbu yuida gabak twi.”

Gwimbu who seemed to be the kingdom translator got into action.

“ The king is is say me is is telling you say those is is the head of the kings is is fighted war with and kill am (those are the skulls of other kings he killed in battles).

Fahad quickly hid his dismay and gave the king a proud look. Yeah! I am proud of my father-in-law. What the heck!

“ Kachakum!” Fahad said with a bow. He was surprised to hear them laugh.

There were about twenty men, sitting on small stools facing each other in the palace. Their skirts were not as glamorous as the king’s but you could see the difference between theirs and the ordinary man’s skirt. Their caps were blue coloured. Fahad guessed they were local chiefs.
Then some young men were ushered in, and he saw Gusku among them. He counted them, they were nineteen.
They were made to kneel down and formed a straight line. Fahad was put in their middle while he wondered what was going on.
Then one of the chiefs stood up.

“ Buhuntu kaha!” He said with force.

“ Huhuhu Dabuhu!” The rest replied, except the king and Fahad. One of the warriors glared at him.

“ Buhuntu kaha!” He repeated.

This time, Fahad was among the first to shout “Huhuhu Dabuhu!” The look the warrior had given him chilled his nerves.
The chief spent the next five minutes giving a speech while the audience nodded. Even though Fahad could not understand a word of what he was saying, he also kept nodding. He did not want to look different in any way….for safety.

There was a point where he said something which Fahad believed was hilarious because they laughed. Fahad also laughed and even hit the next guy close to him.

I am part of you.

Then a group of bandsmen were ushered in. They arranged themselves with alacrity then gave a ten minute performance.
Then four women came in with big pots of liquid Fahad suspected were filled with palmwine. They began to serve it round and he felt his heart skipping beats. He never consumed alcohol but if it means taking it to remain alive, so be it.

But fortunately, those that were kneeling down were not served. What offence did they commit?
The wine changed the mood of the place. As they drank, they became more vivacious and more laughter emerged.
Then an announcement was made before a group of girls were ushered in. It was Princess Goshiya and her maids. She looked radiant, dressed in pink woolen skirt.

Fahad felt his heart banging. What was happening? He hoped it was not what he was thinking.
She stood before the king with her head bowed while the maids showered her with confetti made of flowers.

“ Shi Goshiya.” A chief called . Fahad guessed Shi meant princess. “ Num buya kui ju him.”

She still had her head bowed, then the bands men got to work, synchronizing their instruments with a slow music. Then one of them jumped up and started producing a sound that he called singing. He was trying to sing a romantic song.
A set of elderly women were also ushered. Elderly? Yes, by their bosoms you could tell.

Goshiya walked slowly to the first guy on the line, her maids following her, and she wore a smile, or smirk, on her face.
Then every man kneeling down pushed their heads forward, extending their necks like a goat stretching to eat leaves from a tree. What was that for? Seeing everybody do that, Fahad also extended his neck and pushed his head forward.
She now turned her back, her buttocks close to his face while he closed his eyes, and waited. What kind of culture was this?
She rolled her waist then passed him.

“ Aaaahhhhhhhh!” The maids and elderly women uttered in unison.

Now she was with the next guy, same action, same reaction. This went on until she got to Gusku. She took more time with him, rolled her waist longer until Fahad saw his eyes gleaming with excitement, his breath becoming harder and he almost smiled before she moved away from him.

“ Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!” He got the loudest reaction and most exciting because even the king smiled while some elders laughed.

Fahad saw disappointment on Gusku’s hard face. She must have toiled with his emotion.

Then she got to Fahad.

Silence.
Heartbeats.

She turned her big fannies at him, wriggling, twisting and almost twerking. The musicians were busy singing, and some of the audience shook their heads to the rhythm.
She paused, rolled then pushed her waist forward before she rammed her buttocks onto his face.

Damn!

Fahad had not expected it and that backas as Gwimbu called it carried a lot of force. He lost balance and fell to the ground.

“ Lah lah lah lah lah lah lah lah lahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” The palace became a cauldron of jubilation. Even the king raised a fist, rolled it then sat back with a smile on his face.

The women were excited and Ghoshiya covered her face in shame. She had chosen a husband!

Fahad saw disappointment on the faces of his co-contestants. Gusku was most annoyed. She had played with his emotions, acted as if she wanted to ram her fannies onto his face, giving him false hope.

Then some strong men came and lifted Fahad, lifted him up while music blared. He was been congratulated. A new prince of Dabuhu.
They said it was a rite to choose a husband for a girl, and this was special because she was a princess. A date was going to be fixed for the wedding.

Adam sat in his car when he saw Haneefa come out of her house. He wondered who are tailor was. The way he made her clothes for her made him wondered if he was trained just to sew for her.
She produced a smile.

“Adam.”

“Hanny. You look sweet.”

“Thank you.”

“Please come in.”

She hesitated.

“I thought you were coming out.”

“It is sunny and hot.”

More hesitation. She reluctantly moved and opened the passenger’s side door and got in. He was right. It was hot and the AC blew a cool air that made her felt so nice.
He brought out two containers of ice-cream and passed one to her.

“It is hot. It is a stracciatella ice-cream.”

“Adam, you know I won’t say no to this.” She collected it. She loved stracciatella which was a variety of gelato. She loved chocolate so the irregular shavings of chocolate and milk-base made it mouthwatering.

“I know right.” He smiled.

“Where is Haneefa?” She asked after a scoop.

“Who?”

“Oh my God! I meant Leena.”

“Damn! This ice-cream is brutal. You just gave your name to someone else.”

They laughed.

“I was with her a few minutes ago.”

“and you look happier today.”

“I am happy.”

“So, things are working out well, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“I told you. Leena was just going through some things.”

“Yeah. I know she would never hurt me on purpose. I got to understand her.”

“I am glad.”

“Thank you. Haneefa….”

“Yep.” She replied while the coldness and sweetness of the ice-cream scintillated her.

“I just want you to know that mean a lot to me. When I feel down, you come to my mind. I feel so comfortable telling you my travails and you heal me.”

“Does that make a me a good wife’s best friend?”

“Do I have a wife?”

“You have an almost-wife.”

He chuckled. He took a full spoon of ice-cream.

“I can never share ice-cream with you. Did you see the scoop you just took? If we were sharing one, then it would have been ratio 3:1. You take one spoon, wait, and I take three.”

“Who knows if we are going to share?”

She heard him say that and felt something knock her head. That did not sound so nice.

“Nah, we can’t share one. You would share with Leena and not me. But I don’t think you can cheat her. She could be naughty too. When we were in secondary school, there was this woman who used to sell doughnuts. We would go when she was just making them and get them hot. Leena would have two before I get one….”

“The Hausa man says a person’ wife is his grave. You don’t know where you will be buried for certain.”

“I have heard that but I don’t know where it fits in besides, you did not laugh to my story.”

“Ohhhh,” he said and forced a fake laugh.

“That is not fair. It was not funny. Okay, Adam…..”

“I think I am in love with you.”

Haneefa felt her mouth go dry even though it was filled with ice-cream. What did he just say? Was this guy crazy? Did he think the ice-cream would intoxicate her or he was intoxicated himself.

“That is a strong word, Adam.”

“I know. It is a strong word for a strong feeling. I want to marry you Haneefa.”

She was speechless. She dropped the bowl of ice-cream. Went out the car and slammed the door.
Adam had lost it, she thought.

SEVENTEEN


“No.” Leena said and felt so low at that moment. A part of her said she was just a player, toying with the hearts of two men. She had told Mufty that there was nothing serious between her and Adam. Now, she told Adam she was not in love with someone else.
Was she threading on the wrong side of the game?
Okay, she had lied to Mufty because she did not want to lose him. If she told him about Adam. He would have walked away. She did not lie because she wanted to play him.
She lied to Adam because he looked as if he wanted to make a scene and unveiling her relationship with Mufty had to be tactical. There were too many dark sides of him which no one may understand.
She did not want him to go ballistics here. She would tell him the truth but in a more conducive manner.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I am.”

He seemed to be relieved.

“I need you guys to excuse me.” Haneefa said.

“Where are you going to?” Leena asked.

“I have not said hello to Mama. I will be back.”

“Okay dear.”

She left.

“What is going on? Why is all these happening?” Adam asked.

“There is nothing going. I told you I had to save someone. He was a child who I could not leave alone.”

“Where is he?”

“Did you expect me to bring him home?”

“But you brought a child home the other time.”

“That was an infant and we got the formal permit to keep him. Gwago is taking care of him. This boy I saved is about twelve and he left with his mother.”

“Were they both captured?”

“Yes. But it was for him.”

“But I don’t get it. how did you save him? We are talking about insurgents here. The most dangerous sects in the country now. They are more virulent and feared more than Niger-Delta militants. The whole world is shouting ‘bring back our girls’ so I wonder how you saved him and his mother.”

“Did I make a mention of going back to the insurgents? I saved him from a house where he was been subjected to child labour and please stop pressing me with barrages of questions. I told you because I trusted you.”

“Don’t I have the right to question you?”

“You use the word ‘right’. I am not yet under you. I am still under my parents. Don’t call it right. Call it courtesy.”

“Hmmm…so what has the saving of the boy got to do with you not knowing if you love me again?”

“Adam, I just came back and I have gone through a lot. I cannot engage in an argument now.”

“This is not an argument. Just seeking for answers.”

“I never said I do not love you again. I said I don’t know but I do not hate you. I like you.”

“Hmmm…Leena.”

“My name has not changed Adam.”

“No but you have changed.”

“Really? I never knew about that.”

“Please Leena do not hurt me.”

“I swear I will never hurt you intentionally. I just want us to ray for what is best for us and only Allah knows this. If you are the best for me, then may we get married. If I am the best for you, same but if……..”

“What are you saying?”

“I am praying. Is there something wrong with the prayer? Do you know what lies ahead?”

“Why now? Why just a few weeks to the wedding?”

“You don’t seem to understand it. I have always prayed that I do not know who is best for me. I always pray that Allah should bring him to me. We are not yet married Adam. Please let us talk about something else. We should not put all our eggs in one basket. We should not commit our whole hearts into it so we don’t get shattered hearts. We should wait until we are married before we believe it fully but you are still very special to me. You are more than a friend but a super-brother and potential husband.”

“Thank you.” He said knowing there was no point of further argument. “I want to leave. Ask Haneefa if she wants to leave now. If she wants to stay back, then I leave.”

“Okay.”

As she walked away, his eyes followed her behind and he felt his bile rise. He wanted her but he was no fool. She was falling out of love with him.
No. she still loved him, Maybe it was just a psychological trauma. Whatever it was, he was not letting her go. He knew her parents would not let the wedding crash. No matter what she did, he would not let go.
She was going through a lot and he understood. She loved him. She also wanted him and he believed her when she said there was no one else.
Leena met Haneefa sipping juice.

“Are you guys through?” Haneefa asked.

“Yes. He wants to know if you are leaving now.”

“Hell no.” she said with a pout. “ I have my TP for keke. Let him go, I need to talk to you.”

Leena smiled.

“Okay but I wish you could tell him yourself.”

“Don’t you want to go back?”

“Sure I do but courtesy….you should tell him yourself rather than sending me back.”

They went back to him.

“Adam, thank you for the ride but I still want to hang out with this foolish girl a bit. Do not think that I miss her though.”

“You better confess, naughty girl. You missed me .”

Haneefa pouted.

“I have to leave then. Thank you Haneefa for everything.” He said, smiled and then walked out of the compound.

“You have got a lot of explanations to make.” Haneefa said after Adam left. “What is going on?”

“Nothing.”

“I was there when you said there was no one else in your life. Why did I not believe you? Why do I feel there is something going on?”

This was the time to tell her best friend but what was she going to tell her? That she fell in love with someone she met in Kabari Forest? The guy who abducted her? Was there any best friend that would understand with her? This was Adam, a nice guy who they knew his background and ready to marry her.

“Adam is just being paranoid. I still love him and we are good.” She said. This was not the time to reveal her secret. She knew Haneefa would tell her the truth and the truth was breaking up with Manga and getting married to Adam.

Haneefa was a twenty four year old Computer Science graduate. She was of average height, slim with very long hair. Her friends used to call her Black Indian.
She came out of her house and smiled at Adam who sat on the hood of his car.

“Adam.”

“Hanny, what’s up?”

“I’m good. How are you doing?”

“Breathing.”

“Come on.”

“What else? I still breath.”

“So, shall we?”

“Sure.”

They got into the car and he drove off.

“When did she come back?” He asked.

“Adam are you asking me? She called me this about thirty minutes ago that she just arrived. Are you trying to say she did not call you?”

“She did. I just don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Duuhr! You are taking it too far.”

“Hanny, did you just say too far? This is a girl I am supposed to have gotten married to like five months ago and get married to in just seven weeks’ time but gets missing only to call me that it was not……”

“It was not what?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? Do you think I am stupid. You have been trying to hide something but you fail because words slip out of your mouth easily. What the heck is going on between you guys. Leena is my childhood friend and she told me nothing out if the ordinary. What is going on?”

“I don’t know. I think you should ask her. Do you know if there is someone else in her life?”

“Define someone else. It can’t be just all about you. She got parents, besties like me, bothers….”

“You know what I mean. Is there another guy in her life? Is she in love with someone else?”

“Even though the question sounds so strange, I will say no. She has never told me about anyone else and I never saw any sign.”

“Hmmmm…”

“Adam, what is going on please?”

“We are going to see her now. I want it all figured out. I have kept my side of the bargain. Now I demand to know what is going on. I call you in because you are her best friend.”

“Say that again.”

“I think it has to be settled today. The rest, we will find out when we get there.” He said firmly.

They tried to change the topic but deep down, they all kept thinking about it. Haneefa was more curious.
When they arrived the house, they met a house in celebration. It was like a ceremony. Food was in surplus and people kept coming to see her and congratulate her parents. This time, Leena felt guilty but tried to keep it low. Even though she had narrowly escaped death, she was not kidnapped.

Adam and Haneefa arrived. Haneefa and Leena hugged each other.

“Tell me you will never leave again.” Haneefa said.

“Never and I am saying never insha Allah.”

People began to felicitate with Adam, congratulating him and he wore a constant fake smile.
Meanwhile, Haneefa could not wait to be in seclusion with Leena. They went outside the main house and stood by a car in the parking space.

“Leena, what is going on between you and Adam? He has being acting strange and saying strange things that do not make sense to me…..” she briefed her what she and Adam had been discussing.

“I am sorry I never told you this. I did not because it was so crazy not even my best friend would understand me. In fact, I could not understand myself either but it not what Adam thinks.”

“What is it?”

“So you girls are here.” Adam said with both hands in his pockets. They did not see him coming.

“Leena, I am happy you are back. I just want to know if you are in love with someone else.”

CaZmir:
Sokodobo you no go kill pèson o.

lol ,I was walking today and heard Craig David's (I'm walking away) ,my mind flashed at "cream debis " pak you.. I started laughing until a lady walked past me and returned a weird look at me ,I kept a straight face hahaha.

So much creativity and deep mental pictures.

lol

Thanks

“ You are right .” Jack said from the other end of the phone. “There is an Earthquake right now in Los Angeles and the company that helped stop the Nigerian earthquake for free has been contacted. They charged fifty billion dollars and the government has no option other than to pay.“

“ Oh my God! Fifty what?” Damon exclaimed. “ The insurgency is on. Theses guys mean business.”

“ And no one seems to suspect anything.” He said,

“ They are going to make a hell lot of money and guess who owns the company? The Grants.”

Richard’s father was the boss. They were only used as fronts, Damon thought.

“ How do we pin these guys? They are going to keep ripping the globe. They now claim some industrial activities cause it. When It happens in five states in a country, that’s two-fifty billion dollars. Twenty countries a year will yield two point- five trillion dollars. When they do this every two years, what do you expect?”

Oh my God! How can one family be making such an amount of money at the expense of people’s lives?
These guys were no doubt going to be the richest in the world.
And when he became president, it would make things easier.

“ I met Professor Pliers.” Damon said. “ He said the main chip that gave life to the machine that is used to produce the explosive Sodium tetraoxoraudacium33 quake activator is only one and that is the prototype he produced. No one had the formula of how he did it and if they knew he was alive, they would squeeze it out of him because if the existing one gets lost or destroyed, then the project was over. So, the only solution is to find this machine and destroy the chip.”

“ The chip must be in Nigeria then.”

“ That was my initial thought since the chemicals are found there but he said it does not work that way. The chemicals are produced there and then turned into dormant form and disguised as industrial chemicals which are legal. They pose as industrialists with registered companies then move it to the country they want to attack. The chemical is activated and made ready to start a quake through radio waves which is transmitted through satellites. The main machine is hidden somewhere and can activate the chemical at any part of the world. If we can find this machine, then destroy the chip, the world will be saved.”

“ Phew! What a bunch of evil geniuses ! So, how do we ……” Jack started but Damon stopped concentrating. He heard a rumbling sound, so deep his stomach shook. What was that?

“ I hear a rumbling, “ Damon said and stood up from the sofa. Alicia came out from the inner room.

“ Do you hear what I hear?” She asked.

“I do.” He said and walked to the front door, used the remote to open the door, made sure his gun was in his right hand while he held the phone with his left hand.

“ What is going on there?” Jack asked “ I can hear the rumblings.”

“ Oh my God!” Damon said after he climbed a little hill to take a view. Alicia was behind him, holding his hand.

“ We have a quake Jack!” Damon screamed. “ And I got my family close to it. I gotta to go!”

He had never been that confused before. He thought about his innocent kids lying in their cots. He held Alicia, she was scared. Who would not be? He took a last look at the mountain that was vibrating vigorously before they ran in for the kids. This was not good!

Just dressed in a tight palazzo pants and crop top, Halima went into Hajiya’s (Fahad’s mother) living room. Hajiya made sure Halima lived in her quarters and slept in the same room. She was so nice to her, making sure she ameliorated her pains. She always reminded Halima that it was not her fault and if there was any was to be blamed, it was her because Halima did all she could to stop him.
She was always reciting the Holy Qur’an, performing Nawafils, and praying for her husband. But she could not help crying on daily bases, and imagining a lot of things.

Immediately she got into the living room, she cringed as she saw a chubby, fair complexioned young man sitting on the sofa.
He exclaimed, “ Subahallah! Subahallah!!” But he never took his eyes off her bosom and hips. What the hell was the exclamation for when he bored his debauchery eyes into her?

She quickly ran back and wore her veil. He was called Sabir, Fahad’s cousin. He had been coming frequently since Fahad got missing.
There was still a massive search for Fahad. The hummocks was intensively been searched by special forces and local hired men. Huge amount of money was been spent but no sign of her dear husband.

“ Good afternoon, Sabir.” She said after she came back into the living room.

“ Good afternoon. I hope you feel better.”

“ Thank you. “

“ Oh, Halima, I feel really bad but you must accept qadr (destiny).” He went on. “ I love you so much……”

She gave him a sharp glance, “ because Fahad loves you. He was my favourite cousin.”He completed.

“ Was?” She frowned. “ Is he dead?”

He sighed, making her feel an explosion in her heart. What did he know that he was not telling her?

“We don’t know yet. But I hope we find him. I miss him. We grew up together but while he spent most of his time in US, I spent mine in Britain. The Yar’aduas are everywhere. And he was more popular than I was. People loved him but his only problem was he never loved anything forever.” He smiled. “ I remembered when we got our first cameras, he would not sleep, but after sometime, it was off his mind. Even all the girls he had dated…... But he is a sweet guy.”

What was he trying to insinuate?

“ I still have that camera in my collections. I had just a few friends but I kept them for life.” He ran his hands over his lips, “ I always cherish whatever I have forever, I am a sucker when it came to loyalty. I take time to fall in love with something, and take all the time to keep loving it forever. So, when Fahad begins to show some signs of brush-up, if he will come back insha Allah, don’t get angry, he does not like it himself. Talk to me.”

“ Why are you telling me all these?”

“ Because it is imperative you know him and you don’t misconceive him. When you want to sell something out, let the buyer know not just the merits but the faults. I don’t want you guys to break up.”

“Don’t you think we should be talking about his safety first?”

“ Safety? After how many days? I love him so much I don’t want to get myself on false hopes.” He began to cry. It was so mawkish and melodramatic. “ I hate to face the facts but one thing is certain, no matter what happens…..you will not leave this family.”

“How?”

“ Even if Allah has taken Fahad away from us, and we accept qadr as good Muslims, we will not let you go and marry someone else.We will fulfill his wish and keep you still married here. I hate it to say this but….”He was sobbing, “ I love Fahad so much I will take the responsibility of taken care of you, love you more than he did, I will hold you tight …all for Fahad.”

The anger in her turned into confusion. Was he normal?

“ Please leave.” She said firmly, feeling sick and repulsive, “ I don’t want to hear anything from you and keep yourself away from me.”

“ What? I am Fahad’s cousin. It’s all for him.”

“ Get out! “

He got up, his eyes frisking her bosom and hips, seeing the hunger in his lustful eyes.

You can never have them. I am your tantalizer, idiot!

He shrugged and left. She took in a deep breath, moved, locked the door and ran back to the bed and cried. Fahad, please come back to me.

Leena was confused. She knew what he meant. He would leave if she told him that she was betrothed. It was more than just an introduction. If not for the abduction, she would have been in Adam’s house by now. His dowry was still there and a date has been fixed.
She would not lie about it. She would tell him the truth. He would understand. Understand? This was Mufty. He may have confessed his love for her but his string stand on issues like this made her thought twice. She never had the slightest idea that he liked her. Who could have thought he could express his feelings with such beautiful words?
She had to make a decision now.
She looked into his eyes and looked down.

“No. Everyone knows about the relationship but it has not been formalised.” She said. She felt ashamed of herself. She lied to him and denied her relationship status with Adam. It was not her intention to deny Adam, or deceive Mufty. She was just not ready to let him go. She did not know where all of these would lead to. She knew he would always find out. This cannot be hidden for long but she just wanted him to still be around for now, and hoped things would be sorted out.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked and she found it hard to meet his eyes. With a courage that came from where she knew not, she looked directly into his eyes.

“I am sure about it.” She said.

There seemed to be a big relief on his face.

“I will stay behind. Leena. You are my solace; you pull me from beneath to surface; you keep me in position like shoe lace. I don’t want this to be a fling, because you shine like bling, and just when I thought I had exceeded the elastic limit you pull back the string.
But I am a man that is lost, living at a cost, for being unjust. How can you live with me, when I seem not to fit into your world?”

“You have no right to play God because only God can judge.” She said, “I hope you-we get this self-condemnation behind us. Start afresh and I want to start with you. I beg you in the name of God to let it go. Seek for forgiveness, feel remorse and never do it again. That is how God makes it easy for us because of his infinite mercy. You condemn yourself while a lot of girls out there, with their parents, friends and loved ones are praying for you for saving them. Just promise me something….let it go.”

He looked at her and smiled.
That smile.

“I will try.”

“Nah. Don’t try, do it.”

He nodded.

“I don’t have a job, and when this madness got into our heads, most of us tore our credentials.”

“Oh my God! Was it that bad?”

“It is worse than you can imagine. We were made to believe that western education is nothing but a deviation from the laws of God. I was so gullible because I was in a situation where I hated the world for my sins. I don’t know where to start from.”

“This sect is really satanic.”

“You can say that again. Remember the night Jahl hit me for claiming to be your husband?”

“Yes. How can I forget the night that I was taken away?”

“I was sent to kill a Sheikh. You know him because he was famous. As I waited to kill him, I heard his sermon which revealed things I never knew. It changed my views and I realised that Islam was a sine quanon of education and civilisation. I ended up not killing him but someone else did it. It had been resonating with me. I wonder who did it because I combed the place and saw all of the people around him.
That was the day I realised that I was serving God in the wrong way. In fact, I was nothing but an enemy of God. Then you became an instrument that took me away from that life completely. Now, I have no one but you. I don’t want to lose you but what if I am not accepted into your life by your parents?”

“It is going to be alright Manga.” She said almost in tears. He just said he had no one but her. And she could not believe she was instrumental to saving a soul; taking someone out of an abysmal life. This was the best thing she had ever done because for her sake, about hundred girls were saved.

“You will start court processes. Affidavit and all of that. I don’t know much about these things but you can just a give a story. You lost your credentials in a fire accident or something.”

He nodded like a child. At that moment, she saw a completely different side of him. The hardness in his façade was gone. He looked like a child, so innocent and vulnerable. The taciturnity was gone no one would have believed this was the dangerous Mufty that even the insurgents feared.

“Let us leave everything in the hands of God.” She said. She knew it was not going to be easy. She did not even know how Adam was going to react. Who knew what he may have told them?

“What if they accept me and ask what I do for a living or…ask me to start the wedding preparation?”

The question made her gave him a sharp glance. The expression on her face got him wondering if he had said something wrong.
He thought she just realised that it would not work out and he felt a sudden fear. He could not remember the last time he felt so scared. He had been in very critical situations, chased and shot at by the police and soldiers but he never felt the fear that swept through him now that he may lose her.

“You want to marry me?” she asked in a low tone. He just talked about wedding. He truly wanted to be with her.

“Why else will I fall in love with you?” He dropped the rhetorical question. “If it was part of our tradition to get a diamond ring and kneel down to propose, I am sure that a diamond ring would have fallen from above right now. I want to marry you and if it was within my power, I would have done that right now.”

Her lips shifted and a pretty smile was produced.

“That will be one of my happiest moments in life.” She said. “I am just worried about where you will stay. This hotel is a bit expensive for someone who has no job. Five thousand a day is a bit on the high side.”

“I am going to get an apartment.”

“But that will also cost money.” She observed. “I had some money but I bought a bike with it and used the rest to pay some people.”

“A bike? What do you need a bike for?”

“The bike I used to go to the camp and I had to pay my accomplices.”

“You used your savings to risk your life for me?”

“Don’t go there. You seems to underestimate the power of love, don’t you?”

“That is because I am just experiencing true love for the first time. I love you Leena.”

He said it for the first time.

She blushed.

“I love you too.”

“Before I find an apartment, I think I can keep paying for the hotel bills.” He said before going to the wardrobe to bring out his backpack.

She was shocked to the bundles of currencies he offloaded. There were bundles of one thousand naira notes and American dollars.

“I have almost six million naira here.” He said. “The money I made over the years. I never spent it because there was nothing to spend for. I was not there for the money and like I said in retrospect, there was nothing that excited me about this world in terms of luxury. They fed us and unlike some of our men who lived a double life or went to town to enjoy their money, I was completely stuck to the course.”

“This is a lot of money. I mean you can start up something before getting a job.”

He shook his head slowly.

“I am sorry I can’t.” he said. “This is the money I got from terrorism. The money I got by inflicting pains on people, my country and destroying the image of my religion. The only reason I will use it to rent an apartment, feed or pay for hotel bills is because I must survive to achieve my objectives. I will never invest it, or get married with it, or do anything else. It came from insurgency and it go into something that destroy them. I will still try to get my credentials back and look for a job.”

“I understand. It is a nice decision.”

“Thank you for understanding.” He put the money back into the bag. “I think it is high time you went back home. Go and ease the tension out there. They are worried, remember?”

She nodded.

“Let me type my number for you.” She said. “I left my real phone at home.”

She collected his phone and she put in the number.

“I should give you mine. I want you to notify me when you arrive safely.”

“Sure.”

When it was time for her to leave, he remembered something.

“You cannot go in those clothes. You have to wear the dirty one.”

“That is correct. This is new and I am supposed to be an escapee.”

“And remember what I asked you to tell them. ATOF will come in and question you. Never change your story.”

“I won’t.”

“And never think for a second that moments like this when we have to say goodbye to each other is not one of the most difficult for me.”

“Awwnn….why do you see through my mind? That is exactly what is going on in my heart.”

“I don’t see through your heart. Our hearts are synchronized”

“If you keep talking like this, I will not leave here.”

FIFTEEN

Kamal came into the room with alacrity. The three Military Intelligence soldiers inside the room stood up and saluted.

“How did you get it?” He asked.

“It was posted on social media, Sir. Source-unknown.”

“Let’s have it.”

“Yes, sir”

The soldier put on the laptop and played a video.
A huge man with rough beards, wearing military uniforms with a bandage round his head appeared. There was an AK 47 hung over his shoulder.
Behind him were ten men, also dressed in military uniforms with masks on their faces stood grimly behind him.
Behind them was two trucks and they seemed to be in a forest.
The man with the bandage began to talk.

“You infidels! You Nigerians! I have a message for you. I had wanted to send this message long time ago but it is today Allah ordained. I am Sadiq Jahl Al-Bornawi. Enough is enough! We started with admonishments. Peacefully calling you to renounce infidelity, debauchery, oppression, ungodliness and embracing the devilish western education.
But you kept arresting us, killing us until you got us to the wall. The holy Jihad is on. We are not relenting, nothing will deter us until you all leave infidelity and embrace the laws of God!”

“Allahu Akhbar (God is Great)!” The men behind him shouted and they fired shots into the air.

“You leave girls to wander about, without getting married. You allow young girls to go into prostitution in the name of education. Young able boys that should serve God waste in your filthy schools. The time has come for a complete revolution. We will keep saving these girls by taking them off your dirty world and getting them married; give them Islamic education so they can make it to paradise.
You cannot stop us! You that call yourself the president of Nigeria, John or whatever they call you, we will deal with you. Your soldiers are nothing! They fear us! We kill them. Sending them to Borno is death sentence.
I know you attacked us last night. You think I am dead. Sadiq Jahl is alive! I am alive! I escaped the bomb blast. We are not scared of your grenades, tankers, fighter jets. You have ; we have. May the best man win. Here are some of the poor girls you send to doom in the name of school. Look…..”

The camera turned towards some girls who were force to sit down on the ground, all covered in veils, reciting a part of the Qur’an.

“The war has just begun.”

Kamal kept looking at Jahl.

“Get Derrick!” He said.

“ Where are you?” Mason asked.

“ California.” Lori replied.

“ Lori, what the hell is going on? I asked you to abort the mission; he is not Addy but Adnan. You have not been sending me the voice recordings lately and I am told you shot at my men. What are you doing?
Adnan escaped and he knows a lot. I knew it. He has the Haliru blood in him. He freaked out. Now we have to resort to the brains of the children. And Adnan must die. You are with him. I hope you are not emotionally attached to him.”

“Why?”

“You are changing. I know that feelings. You started having sex with him and …..”

“Common dad, save me!”

“ Then kill him!”

Lori stopped, looked at Addy, abruptly crashed the phone on the floor, and then threw it away.

“ It is a trick!” She said with an alarm “ They are tracing us! We must leave at once. We must find a way to get in touch with Adnan, Those children must be saved!”

She was right. Three cars were racing towards their hide out. Three cars filled with gun men. They ran out the old cabin, rushed into the car and as Addy reversed, he saw a cloud of dust been raised by the cars.

“ Go this way!” Lori said with an alarmed voice, her eyes widened

Meanwhile, Aminu who had been worried could not hold it any longer. He had to get in touch with Mason. Addy was not Adnan. Adnan could not be here enjoying with his wife while his son was in danger.
He had to save his son. He was going to the lodge. Mason had to know where the real TCO was.
He took his car keys and went out. He was going expose Adnan.

..“ I don’t know what you kids are talking about. You mean I should let my son get married to a divorcee? This boy has never done an introduction.” Mama said.

The meeting was taking place in her private chamber. Sameera, Jamils’ elder sister was there. She was the first child. Jamil was the second child. Hafsat was third, Nafeesa was forth while Bilal was the last.

“ I am not saying it is the best idea but he said he loves her.” Sameera said. “ I never wished for that but I am only trying to be realistic. He is the one getting married and he knows what he feels. Jamil is aware of the millions of girls around before he chose her. In my opinion, he should be allowed to marry her.”

“ The truth is I don’t want my brother to marry a divorcee.” Hafsat said. “ Haba, a divorcee? Out of all the girls in the world? Haba, Yaya! Please reconsider.”

“ I concur with Aunty Hafsat.” Nafeesa said. “ Please Yaya let her go back to her husband. There are so many girls around. I have a lot of friends, pretty girls that you can marry. Bazawara fa . I do not support.”

Mama was glad she was having support.

“ I gotta express my opinion.” Bilal began, gesticulating. “ I don’t think you guys…..”

“Are you stupid?” Nafeesa retorted, “who are you addressing as guys?’

“I’m sorry big sis. I don’t mean no disrespect, you know I just wanna let ya know that I don’t go with this stuff of dictating to big bro…”

“ Bilal….” Nafeeesa began but Sameera wove her stopping.

“You know him, let him say what he wants to say.”

“ Yo, I love you big sis.” He gave Sameera a thumb up. “ Like I was saying, it’s no big deal if big bro wants a dame that has been to the isle before. My nigga, Nick Cannon got married to Mariah Carey, eleven years older. She was married to Tommy Mottola. You know that nigga right? Tommy was the boss of Sony Music. The guy Michael Jackson called a devil and died just a few months later. He was Michael’s boss.
Tommy went out with most of the girls under his Label like J-Lo. The point is he got married to a divorcee. What about Kanye West, the nigga who named his daughter North West? He married Kim Kardashian, who was married to Damon Thomas. So what? ….”

“We are not talking about American’s here.” Hafsat said. “ I don’t know why Baba sent you to USA. Your mates would be quoting hadiths (sayings of the Prophet), you would be quoting what Tupac said, what Eminem said. Are you done?”

Bilal shook his head.

“I rest my case.” He said, raising his hands, “ go for her big bro. If Operah Winfery wants me today, I on guys. I am on it. We talking billions of dollars here. Yo. For the records, big bro is over eighteen he got the right to choose his spouse. Did you know that some of these porn stars are married? They said it is a profession.”

“ Thank you, Bilal. We have heard. “ Mama said. “ Jamil, you are not getting married to her.”

Jamil felt his heart racing faster.

“ I just want to say something. “ He said. “ Divorcees are of different types. There are those who are victims while some victimized their spouses. Every woman is prone to becoming a divorcee or widow. May Allah avert such a situation. But what if it happens and you fall in love with someone who has never been married and his people say this?”

“I would understand.” Hafsat said at once.

Jamil,” Mama said. “ You are not getting married to her but you have a choice. She or me. If you still want me as a mother, then you will not marry her but if you want to marry her, then you and I part ways.”

“ What the fuc*!” Bilal said.

“Bilal!” Hafsat screamed.

Professor Abubakar, a smallish man in his early sixties, said, " I called you here to tell you what has been happening."

Nadia stood expectantly.

" Lawal and his parents have been coming to me."

She felt her heart beginning to drum.

" We all make mistakes and what matters most is realising it, feel chastened and change. I can't see through Lawal's heart but I am convinced he has changed. His parents are very responsible people. No one wants to give a child away and want her back to his house. I am happy he has come back to his senses so after a long period of discussion, and making him realise his mistake, I agreed. You are going back to him. I gave them my word."

" Daddy!"

"What?"

"I don't want to go back!"

"I understand how you feel. I did not force you to marry him. You brought him to us, and we asked you and you told me you loved him. What is happening now is a result of what you went through. When you go back and he changes, you will forget it. You must go back to him, period."

She was one of the tallest girls Fahad had ever seen. She stood straight, displaying her chubby curved body which was covered with a multi-coloured woolen skirt. It seemed the woolen skirt was the mink coat of the kingdom.
Her front hair was made in cornrows, then the back in bunches while various coloured beads adorned it. Her nose was pierced. Fixing a small ring to accentuate the beauty of the slim nose which sat proudly over firm lips.
Shea butter must have given her chocolate-brown skin that smooth, glittering façade. Her eyes were not large but emitted rays of captivity and power, with a blend of intimidation.

He did not look at her exposed bosom for long, but a glance made him wonder how they could be so big and firm, radiating its vintage of youthfulness, the perfect example of natural healthy anatomical organ. Her neck, wrist, waist and ankles were adorned with pearls which must have been the most expensive jewelleries there. She held a hand fan, while some of her maids fanned her.

Fahad felt his heart racing, as she kept looking at him with a soft smile. He looked at Gwimbu , hoping he or anyone could save him from this dilemma but Gwimbu’s smile and look of envy gave him a chilly heart.

“ This is is the king pikin woman(that is the princess).” He said ,” she is is come to you. Kachakum! Every man is is praying she is is lacking him. You is come in one today and she is is lacking you. Go.”

“ You-you need to come with me. Translation.”

“ No, no, no. She is is my before student (she is my ex-student)” He said proudly and made her look like someone Professor Wole Soyinka points at and say ‘ I thought her’.

“ But the king can’t speak English.” Fahad said.

“ Who is is going to taughted the king? The king is is not taughted because is is shaming for our king to be taughted. “

“ Because the king is too big to be taught, he remains….” He engulfed the rest of his words. He could see the picture of the cauldron with boiled water, and the sound of laughter as the leader was immersed in it. Damn his opinion.

Fahad walked slowly towards her, while it seemed the whole school were watching them . The warriors wore stern expressions, as if it was a crime to smile or look normal.
As he got close to her, she closed her eyes, opened it then walked to him, stared at him, slapped him and turned her back, covering her face in shame.

What? What offence did I commit?
Her maids also covered their faces in shame and turned back.

“ Kangras (congrats)” Gwimbu said, touching his shoulder.

“ What for? Getting slapped?”

He laughed.

“ If is is a woman pikin lacking you, she is slappin you and shaming and is is show say she is wanted you be that ( when a lady likes you, she slaps you then feels ashamed. That is a sign of love.”

Damn!

“ Now is is you go and slapping her her backas.” He told Fahad.

“ What is backas?’

Gwimbu seemed to enjoy teaching him.

He pointed at her buttocks then quickly withdrew his hand .

“ But I don’t want her.” He whispered. “I am married.”

“ Kachakum! If is is talk am she is is crying and the king is is lack am pass anything and you is is kill am ( if you turn her down, she would cry and she is the king’s favourite. That could lead to your execution).”

Damn!

He moved and stood behind her, remembered the slap then used his palm to give her a hard smack on the buttocks. She gave a short moan of pain and the warriors gave Fahad a sharp unfriendly look.

“ Hey! It’s love guys. Don’t take it personal.” He said quickly.

She now smiled as she turned. The toasting has been done. Next phase: Love begins.

Trouble!

A big warrior quickly moved and rested his big body on his hands and knees, making his back as straight as possible. Another one did the same by his side, leaving just a small space. Fahad wondered what that meant. She walked majestically and sat on one of the men, exhibiting her royalty , a satisfactory look on her face as she looked at Fahad.

“ You is is go and sitted in am (go and sit on him)”

What the heck!

He moved and sat on the warrior but only perched precariously, opposite her.

“ Lah lah lah lah lah lah lahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” The maids shouted as they sat down. There was excitement on their faces. The students were no more concentrating on their studies, just like the so-called teachers.

“ Mas names is is Goshiya.” She said in a voice lighter than he had expected from a big lady like her.

Is is! She was Gwimbu’s pupil really.

“ Mas names is is Na-Halima (Halima's).” Fahad mocked .

She giggled.

“ Wheres is is caming faram( where do you come from)?”

“ Abuja.”

“Wetin is is Abuja?”

“ The FCT.”

“ Is is they have a kings?”

“ There is a president. The president of Nigeria.”

“ Presidance? Wetin is is Presidance and Najaria?”

“ The leader of all of this place……” He saw her expression changing, “ but your father is the king of the world. He is bigger than the president. He is bigger than Muhammadu Buhari and Donald Trump and Putin put together.”

She smiled and he thanked God she did not ask him What Muhammadu and Trump meant. She now touched his cheeks, ticked them and squeezed lightly.

“ Lah lah lah lah lah lah lahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” This time, the female pupils joined the maids. Was that a rite to show a romantic scene?

“ You is is spoken Engilish difference( your way of speaking English is different), is is our teacher no sabi?
( is our teacher bad at spoken English?)”

“No,no,no.”He said, not wanting to be on anybody’s blacklist, “ your teacher is is good am.”

“ A lie am(that’s a lie) you is is chanja you spoken because I’m talk( You changed your way of speaking because I’m becoming suspicious).”

She was no fool, Fahad. He warned himself. Be careful.

“ I is is tell am my father me is lacking you( I told my father that I like you). Is is say I marry you (he approved of you getting married to me.”

Damn!

“ But you barely know me. We just met today.”

“ I’m lacking you! I’m lacking You!!” She said and he saw anger in her eyes. She was not ready to listen to any excuse. Fahad guessed she was the type that when she wanted something, she made sure she got without a second thought.
Her breathing was increasing it’s tempo, her heavy breast moving up and down and the warriors began to study her, their faces hardened.

“ I am lacking you.” He said with a false smile.

She beamed with smiles. He thought of his wife and felt tears in his eyes. She thought it was for her. She held his hands, wipped off tears from his face and began to cry.

“Lah lah lah lahlah lah lahlah lahhhhhhhhhhhhh”

This time, the lah-lah was boisterous , rhapsodic and there was a lot of cheers. Even the hard faced warriors softened. A love scene of the first order.

TWENTY-FOUR

It was a few minutes after 10:00 pm when Lawal dialled the phone for the umpteenth time. Was she asleep? He dialled again before she picked.

" Nadia."

" Na'am."

" How are you?"

"Alhamdulillaah."

" I have been calling you for a while.'

"I was busy."

" You said you were going to think about it."

"Yes, I did."

" So?"

" I am sorry Lawal but it is over between us."

"What?"

"Yes. I am not coming back to you."

"But I told you to forgive me."

"I did."

"Then why are you not coming back?"

"Because I don't love you."

"You are just angry."

"Wallahi I am not. I just don't love you anymore. I don't want to be with you again. Please forget about me and I will appreciate it if you stop calling me."

"Nadia, you are making a goof. Do not make a decision when you are angry."

"I told you that I am not angry." She said. "My regards to your wife."

She ended the call. She was not going to tell him about Jamil. The prophet SAW advised that marriage issues should be kept hidden until it materialises.

Sa'ima walked into the room. She held a plate of pepper soup.
She smiled at him after dropping the plate on a stool.

" Lawal."

" Na'am."

" Kutumar ubanka (insults him)!"

"What?"

" Ubanka ya .......uwarka! Dan bura uba shege (more insults)!"

"What is wrong with you?"

" Who were you talking with?"

" What? My colleague."

" It is your grandmother, idiot! You think I am a fool? I saw your dialed numbers. You have been contacting that slot, huh? You are still in contact with her. The lady that nearly killed me. You will not kill me Lawal. I will kill you before you kill me."

"What? What is wrong with you?"

She rushed him, flung a plate at him, he swerved. She saw a table knife and picked it.

" Murderer! They want to kill me! Murderer!" She swung the knife at him. He dodged then grabbed her hands and gave it a twist. She felt hurt and let the knife go. He picked it and dragged her into the room. They had a drag about for about ten minutes. She was hitting him while he blocked her. He slapped her.

"Stop it!"

She began crying, then held him and embraced him.

" Are you doing this because I love you so much?" She said amid tears. " Because I gave up everything to be with you?"

"No, Sa'ima."

Her hands began to go round him. They went on the bed but this time, he was only making love to her just to satisfy her. While he did that, she saw tears in his eyes. He was crying for his life, and the pain of prone to losing Nadia.

She smiled.

" I see tears of joy in your eyes." Sa'ima said. " Joy and ecstasy."

"Yes, Saima. " He said with sadness. " I am very happy." And the tears increased. He cursed the day he met the devil from the devil's basket.






The next day, Lawal went to his family house and said to his mother, " Inna, I am having lots of troubles from Sa'ima. I don't know what to do. I feel like divorcing her."

"Divorce? No. You don't have to complain." Inna said. " Remember when I made some observations and told you of my fears? You made me understood that it was a misconception and I realised I was wrong.
She is the girl you fell in love with since childhood and you know her so much. Besides, we are of the old school and do not know modern love. Sa'ima is just been childish, she would grow up. It was good you sent Nadia away, the evil one whom you divorced and told us three days later. I am proud of you because you are a man and can handle your house yourself without your nosy parents.
Please do not tell me about Sa'ima, it is all part of love and childishness and misconception....."

"Mama, please, I want Nadia back."

" Lawali, please let me enjoy my tuwon dawa. I have not had this for long. Do you mind for some?"





Jamil walked into his mother's room and found her on her praying mat. It was time he told her.

" Mama, I told you that I wanted to talk to you."

"Yes."

" It is about the girl I told you about."

"You did not tell me anything serious."

" Yes, I wanted to be sure."

" Okay."

"I proposed and she agreed."

"Alhamdulillah. Who is this girl? Do you know much about her?"

“Yes. I know her family members and we have been working together for a while."

"You mean you work in the same place?"

"No. she works for a company we got an approval to be supplying materials. She is a Manager there. I am the Marketing Manager so we worked together."

" And from work, you fell in love."

He bowed his head.

" Mama...."

" Na'am."

"Please let me marry her. I love her."

"Ah'ah. If you are sure she is a good girl and from a good home, why would I stop you? You know I really want you to get married."

"I know."

"Then what is the problem?"

" She has the best character I have ever seen in a girl and I have fallen in love with any girl like I did with her....."

"Jamilu, talk straight to me."

"She was so unfortunate to meet the wrong person before me...."

"She has a child outside wedlock?"

"No. She does not have a child. She has never been pregnant. She only stayed with him for four months...."

" I don't get it. She lived with a man for four months?"

" Yes. But in the legal way."

"Stop prevarication. She was married to a man for four months, right?"

" She is a divorcee. She was married before."

" Jamilu, go and bring my daughter in law. You have not found a wife."

“Na'am?"

"You heard me well."

FOURTEEN

Leena heard the door get opened. She thought it was Mufty but the three brutal looking men she saw got her trembling.
The man in front split his wide face into a devilish grin.

“Daughter of the devil.” He said. “The time has come.”

“What?” She demanded with fear.

“You are an evil. You destroyed Mufty but we are glad you did because you gave the chance to do what we have always dreamt of.

“Please don’t kill me.” She cried but the evil smile they wore scared her the more.

One of them removed a knife.

“Are you going to slaughter her in here or outside?”

“In here. Wait, where is Mufty?”

“He went out.” Leena replied in trepidation. “Please shoot me instead.”

“Where is Mufty?”

Boom!

There was a sudden loud sound which was obviously from a bomb blast that shook everyone there.

“Ya Jabar! What was that?” One of them pondered.

Boom!

Another explosion which raised soil, flame and dust. From the loudness of the sound, it was very close and that meant there was an attack on the camp.

“You!” An insurgent pointed at Leena. “You brought them here. You brought the military!”

“Shoot her!” Another one said.

Bang! Bang!!

Two bullets escaped through the barrel and slashed into the heart. Blood, moans and death followed at once.
The two men watched in horror as Mufty came in fully armed while their colleague lay dead on the floor.

“Mufty.” The leader said. “Peace be upon you. There is an attack.”

“I know because I am the attacker. If not for the innocent kids and women in this camp, it would have been settled at once but at least, some of you will die.”

“Muf…..”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He killed the two men.

Leena got up, crying and nearly hugged him subconsciously but he declined. He was now wearing that mean and dangerous expression. He rushed into the inner room and pushed the mattress aside. He had a secret hole underneath. He pulled the cover open and brought a backpack. He hung it over his back and carried his guns.
The AK47 hung over his shoulder; a pistol in his left hand while he put some ammunition inside the bag.

“Come on.” He said before he peeped.

The camp was in a pandemonium. Women and children screamed.
Jahl looked calm but his brain was in turmoil. How did the military find them?
He looked more mean than ever . He was standing in front of over five hundred armed men.

“Troop A: Ma’awiyan Battalion, get the children and women in one place and get ready for evacuation. Troop B: Salahudeenan Battalion, make sure the gates are sealed. Let the arsenal be opened and move the weapons inside the trucks. We don’t know where they are. The satellite can’t pick anything. Mufty. Where is he?”

“I think he is dead.” An insurgent said.

Jahl frowned. He had forgotten that he ordered his execution. This was a time he needed him most. Why did that daughter of evil come into his life? She was nothing but a fame fatale. But wait….the men did not come back to make a report. Was he really dead?

“Open the arsenal!” Jahl ordered and the men went in. About three hundred of them began to move the heavy weapons. Most of them wondered how they could acquire such weapons. There was no doubt that there were high powered men behind this.

Mufty and Leena were hiding under a truck. He asked to wait and then he crawled out. He could see the men going in and out of the arsenal, loading the weapons into a truck. He felt like laughing. They did not know that he was the one who set all of the bombs and he got them from the arsenal. There was no single military man out there.
He saw Jahl and three men go into his cabin, probably to confirm his death.
That was the moment he had been waiting for.
He pushed his thumb on the detonator and the scary sound emerged.
Boom!
The flame that followed the blast lit the camp momentarily , then a cloud of dust and scattering of particles.

Jahl was dead. Mufty grinned.
He pushed his thumb on the second detonator and the arsenal was blown. Most of the men had no time to scream. They were reduced to mere tiny particles. Some of them who were outside but within the arsenal were also blown off, with body parts loitering, while some escaped the blast.

“This is what you do them. Have a feel.” He whispered. “Come on, Leena.”

She crawled out and they got into the truck. He started the car and sped off. He knew he to face the men guarding the gate.
He stopped before the gate, set his gun and fired three shots. Two men fell down and he ran the car with an incredible and crashed the gate. The bumper of the car pulled of and one of the headlights broke.
Leena screamed out of fear. Mufty did not stop or waste any time. He pushed his leg on the gas pedal and the truck receded into darkness.




“Are you okay?” Mufty asked Leena who was sitting on the edge of the bed in one of the rooms of a hidden lodge located in a sequestered area in Maiduguri.

She nodded.

“I am okay.” She said. “I just can’t believe we made it out of that place alive.”

“We thank God for that.” He said and heaved.

When they got out of the forest, he carried his weapons and dug a ground to hide the AK47. He had buries three of them there, marked the place and put two pistols in his pocket.
It was very late so they slept in the car. He did not sleep but sat watching over her.
At dawn, after they woke up and prayed, he set the car to fire and they took a long walk before they got a cab to Ring road. They now took bikes and stopped some kilometres before the hotel. He wanted to avoid any track.
He looked at her. She had just woken up. They lodged in around 7:00 AM. Both of them need a sleep so they slept off.
Mufty woke up two hours later while Leena just woke up. It was 11:00AM.

“I got toothbrush and tooth paste.” He said. “I had my bath already.”

She looked at her dirty clothes and felt disgusted. what was she going to wear after the bath?

“I got you some clothes too.”

“Did you go out?”

“Yes, while you were asleep. There is a boutique down there. There is brunch over there.”

“Where are the clothes?”

He opened the wardrobe and brought out a gown.

“Here. It is just something to cover your body.”

“Yeah…anything is better than this grubby thing. But it is cool. A typical Borno gown.” She chuckled. “Let me wash myself up. I stink.”

He went out of the room and stood on the balcony. That was what he used to do while she lived with him in the camp. Anytime she wanted to use the bathroom, he would leave the room.
While standing on the balcony, having a view of the beautiful trees, sky and city, he felt something different but yet, very uncomfortable.
Everything seemed strange. The life of insurgency had taken a lot from him. He did not feel comfortable with the normal people. In the past, he had seen the normal society as a world of infidels and dirt. He hated the system and felt it was only them who were truly worshipping God and fighting for him. Now it was from a different perspective. He felt everyone looked at him as a killer.
He was filled with guilt and regrets. Now he was not sure if he would ever be normal again.

“I am through Mufty.” She said from behind him. He turned and saw her.

“It’s no more Mufty.” He said. “ Manga.”

She nodded.

“No. It is MM.”

“MM?”

“Muhammad Manga.”

He smiled.

“Yes.”

Oh no! He had one of the most cosmic smiles she had ever seen. He looked so different when he smiled. There was life in his eyes and somewhere beneath those hard features of his was that mildness she craved for. She was in love with him and never wants to leave him.
Then she thought of Adam. She did not want to hurt Adam either. She could not just bring herself to discard Adam just like that. They had a history. It was not going to be fair.

“Come for brunch.” She said softly.

He went in and they had breakfast. After the breakfast, he sat on a chair and looked at her.

“You know you have to go back home today, right?”

“Yes.” She said. She was happy that it was all over but scared that there may be a drama ahead. She was confused.

“And that should be soon.”

“Are you getting rid of me?”

“I am getting rid of the troubles and pains of your family, friends and ….fiancé. They would be worried. They need to know that you are safe and if they know this, then you have to leave at this very moment.”

She felt her heart thumbing.

“And you?”

He paused without a word for the meantime.

“I don’t know.” He said. “ I don’t know what to do with my life, if it could be called a life, or what to do.”

“Do you plan to leave?”

He nodded.

“I need to time be alone for a while and figure out what next. I just want you to know that you are one person that I can never forget. I still can’t believe you came back for me after everything. I mean the risk you took. No one evr showed me such love after my ……my mother passed on.”

“I am sorry about her. May her soul rest in aljanna.”

“Ameen.”

She wanted to more about him but did not want to force him.

“I had to do what I could. You did the same for me.” she said but she knew it was more than just gratitude. “You saved chastity and life. I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me. I got you into the mess. We set up the bomb in the first place.”

“Let us not go there. I am happy you got the chance to realize your mistakes before you die.”

“Yes and you are instrumental to that.”

“So…does that mean that after I leave here, you will gone forever?”

He said nothing.

“What about the love you said you have for me? Do you think of how I will feel?”

“Leena, I must confess to you now. I had fallen in love before but since I met you I feel not just in love but I’m made of love. Even when my heart was protected by a three kilometre thick steel door that repelled all girls, you passed through with an ease that melted the door and turned it into a golden door where only you have the key. What I had before was just a fantasy but with you it’s a dream.
The sword stuck in my back can only be removed by the Diamond Princess. I was in the lands of the Diamonds but none of them could remove it so I stayed with the pain. You came without the diamond crown, but just a smile and the sword was removed. I now sae the diamond in your heart and realised you were the one.

You took me out of discomfort, pain and literarily made me smile again. Can’t you see that you are something out of a different world? If I say I love you, that could be an understatement. What I feel for you has no words of description. But I have to leave because I am not good enough for you. I find it hard to act normal. And when I said I thought you would have being married, it was just a blind shot. But I realized that you have a fiancé and I can’t ask you out. But there is one question I need to ask you and that would facilitate my final decision. Your boy fiend, has there being any formal arrangement? Has he come to formally seek your hand in marriage?”

Boom!
This time, it was not a bomb blast but blast Leena felt in her mind. She was in a dilemma.

Immediately he saw her, Jamil knew something was up. He felt his body chilling. She looked like someone on a mission, mind made up and she must have gone for consultation.
But as she descended the steps slowly, majestically, her serene personality and beauty hit him so hard he felt stuffy for a while. She was getting him breathless. She was doing things to his respiratory, nervous, and even skeletal systems.
She came and sat at the far end of the three sitter sofa he sat on.

" I must apologise for keeping you waiting. I am sorry once more."

" It's nothing."

" You were about saying something before the interruption."

He hesitated. Should he say it? What happened during the interruption? Why the change of moods? He could not bring himself to that jovial mood again. He was even finding it hard to remain expressionless.

Do it, Jamil. An inner voice told him.

" Nadia...."

"Na'am."

" I am sorry, I am going to be straight with you." He said. " I must confess that I have come to fall in love with you. I just met you and you took over a chunk of my heart. Nadia, I want to seek your permission to send my people to yours. I want to take you away, into my life, into my planet, and put a stamp on you: Not available.
I had prepared a table for two, bed for two, plate for two, life for two and taken one part and preserving the other for the owner. I want you to take that place, own it and we will merge and become one.
The desideratum of my life has been you. I want you to fill up that abyss. I see so many girls in their splendour, even as a neighbour, with sense of humour, but you got a unique flavour. Your glamour, makes me clamour, and want to labour, just to give you honour. You deserve a medal for your valour, and splendid behaviour, and you make me melt into vapour.
Your breath obliterates odour. We will shun rumour and your smile gives me vigour. Please let me be your armour, please marry me so you could lie on my chest in the parlour."

This was one of the most difficult moments of her life. She could not deny her feelings for him but she had always been scared of this moment. The moment was here. This had always been her fear. It was better she did it now. She had tried and failed in the past. This was the time because he had proposed and Lawal was back.
She bowed her head. She failed in taking back the tears which was now cascading.

Jamil felt a bang in his head. She was crying! He knew it! Something was up. Could he take this? Could he take it even when he did not know what it was?
He wanted to ask her what was wrong when she wove him stopping. She raised her face. She looked so innocent, and he saw in her a ten year old child who needed to be comforted. He wish she would let him do that.

"Jamil..." she called. " I never told you this. I am a divorcee."

What!
Jamil felt his head swirling, and at once his mother's words when Tijani married a divorcee. " Is his mother alive? How can my son, who has never married marry a divorcee? Over my dead body!" And she would always say, never you bring a bazawara (divorcee) to my place.
He never had the slightest idea that she has been married before and the shock was too much for him.

Nadia studied him. She knew it was going to happen like this.

Nadia closed her eyes as she watched his reaction. She liked Jamil but it seemed it was too much for him to bear.

Jamil bowed his head.




" I am sorry I never told you earlier." Nadia said. " I wanted to do this, but each time I tried, I ended up not doing it. I knew you were interested in me and was not aware if that. I know it is very rare, very rare for a man who has never gotten married to marry a divorcee as his first wife.
I have always been scared of this. That is why I fought my heart not to get attached to you. I have been through a lot. I have seen the depth of vicissitudes. I never dreamt of leaving my matrimonial home so early. I never wished for this and felt I was being careful. I got married to someone I fell in love with. I am not perfect but I tried my best to be a good wife."

Jamil listened without looking at her directly. He was looking downwards, trying to absorb the shock.

" And everything was good until he met his ex. Like childhood ex and they hooked up again. He got married to her four months after we got married........."

She told him some of the things she went through.

"......that was the night we met. I had just being given a divorce paper and I was driving back home. I guess I zonked and lost control. That made me hit your car. I was not drunk or high on drugs. I was high on tension....I was destroyed that night..." She was in tears. " And we met. I only wanted to see you to pay you back and thank you at first. But when we met, I noticed that something was developing between us.
I saw how you were looking at me and I got scared. If we got attached and you found out that I am divorcee, you would leave and what would happen to my already shattered heart? I am glad I have a friend like Naairah. She was there for me like no other person. She and her husband.
He made me a Manager in his multi-billion naira firm. It did not only give me a chance to earn good money, or practice my profession but kept me busy. But the scar was always there. You came and made me smile, and in the middle of the smile I will cry because it is just a euphoria.
It was not going to last. But it did help me. All those times you made me felt loved, and special, even though I acted with taciturnity, it was good for me, good to me but fear would not let me admit. You deserve someone else. I am sorry I led you on. I led you to this stage before telling you. I was scared, I was egocentric. I did not want you to leave then, and that was bad.
I was only thinking about myself, the joy you gave me, and not thinking of what will happen when you found out. Please forgive me."

Jamil was silent for a while. He was hiding his face from her. He could not understand this.

" I don't get it." He said in a low tone. " How could a sane man get married to you and do this? Why did I lose the chance of being the one who had you then. where was I? Where were you? Why didn't we meet earlier?" his voice was low and cold. She had never seen him look this sad.

" I am sorry for the things you went through. The reason we did not meet earlier is the reason why you went through this: Qadr. To say I am flabbergasted is an understatement. I am shocked beyond words. You are right. I had never dreamt of marrying a divorcee as first wife. It is not haram, makrooh, bidi'a. It is even sunnah. Though we are not comparable to the Prophet SAW. He got married to most of the women to serve as a solace to them. Mostly widows, or those that were in troubled marriages like the case of Zayd ."

"I understand that."

" Who came to see you?"

He asked and she was amazed at the tinge of authority in his note. She nearly say how dare he ask her that.

" He was the one." She said." Lawal is his name. He wants me back."

"Wants you back? And what makes you think he would not do the same?"

She shrugged.

" He wants us to be at separate homes. He looked chastened."

" He has the right to ask you back and there would be no need for a new marriage since you are not out of iddah. But you also have the prerogative to say no. Are you still in love with him?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I just want to know."

"I don't think I am in the position to give you that answer right now."

He nodded.

" I guess I have to leave." He said. " I am glad he has come to his senses. But if you are going back to him, there must be conditions and to prove himself right, you should go back to your former house, room and she leaves. I am getting nosy. I don't know why I am saying this. I should not interfere.
I am just angry. I got four sisters and it bothers me how husbands treat their wives because my sisters are wives or potential wives. I may have a daughter someday. I had anticipated you were going to give me that."

He got on his feet.

" Good bye, Nadia. I pray you will never go through what you went through again." He walked away slowly, weak and dejected.

She raised her face to watch him leave. Her mouth felt so heavy she could not utter a word. He did not look back, and she felt something leaving her. She had thought this would come easy. But it did not. She had tried not to get attached, but she was wrong. He was leaving.
He turned and their eyes met. His eyes were wet. He forced a smile and went out. She closed her eyes.

Destiny! only if she had met him before Lawal. Only if he came on time, and now what was she going to do? Go back to Lawal?
Between the eyelids, tears escaped. She slogged on the sofa. She let it out: Crying. That would ease her.

Naairah rushed down. She wanted to console her, make her strong but she was wrong. She also needed someone to console her. She was already in tears before she reached her. They hugged each other crying.

Adnan heard them, tried to come out but hesitated and went back. He did not know what transpired between them but he could guess. He could not face them. Let them cry. He would advise later on.

"It is okay." Naairah said. " you were right not to have given your heart to it."

"I have Naairah. I fell in love with him. It was my fault. I should have told him since. Is this the path of my life? Can I handle this?"

"We can handle it. It is just a trial from Allah. It's okay. It will get over. Please. I am glad you did not get pregnant for him."

" Yes, I was worried but it turned out to be a blessing."

" Assalamu alaikum." They heard someone say .

They saw Jamil walk in and stood before them.

" You acted as if you still love him." He said. " I asked you but you did not reply. I love you Nadia. I am disillusioned but not enough to obliterate the love I have for you. Yes, I never anticipated this but you still are the one I want to share my life with. Do you permit me to send my people to yours?"

Nadia could not talk. She just gaped, not knowing what to say. She wanted to say yes but something was holding her back. She could not believe he came back. He looked serious and desperate, he did not even act as if Naairah was around, he did not seek for privacy.

Naairah got up and went upstairs.

" Are you sure you still want this?" Nadia asked.

" That is not the question I asked. Do you want me to send them or you are still in love with him?"

She shook her head.

" Love is what I feel for you." She said. " Yes, Jamil. Send them. Go do whatever you want and take me away from Lawal and all other men."

" You are stuck with me, Nadia. I am not living without you. I am not leaving without you. I want us to live and leave together."

She smiled amid tears.

" I love you, Nadia."

" I love you, Jamil."