•Bilal

My phone buzzed incessantly on the night stand beside my queen sized bed. It was too far and my lazy self wasn't ready to get up so I ignored it though I was curious to know who was calling and for what reason.

Being too exhausted, I was quick to lose the urge to even answer the call. I'm sorry but whoever was calling has to wait till tomorrow. Today's work was much more than I could handle. I represented my father at a meeting that lasted at least two hours alongside my regular workload that needed attention.

For a minute there, I actually slipped back into the lovely slumber I was enjoying but the vibrations were becoming unbearable so I begrudgingly got up as I cursed underneath my breath to answer the call. Whoever it was is really persistent!

"This better be good." I said to myself before picking up the phone and to my surprise, Aaliyah was boldly displayed on the caller ID.

"Best cuz what's up?"

She sounded as if she was hyperventilating so I told her to calm down. She spoke too fast and I couldn't decipher any of what she said so I told her to take deep breaths before she began speaking at a normal rate and her breathing slowed down.

"Bilal I'm in trouble. I need help!"

"H-how? What happened?"

"Well it's aunty Raliya."

"Yes. What happened to her?"

"She's put me in a hospital. Can you come and see me tomorrow? I need a huge favour from you."

"Which of the hospitals are you in?"

"I'll send you the address. Please just come tomorrow and don't tell your mum."

"Why shouldn't I tell my mother?"

"B-b-b-ecause she knows."

"She knows you're in the hospital?"

"No." She replied, too quickly, making her sound as if she was hiding something.

"Then what does she know?!" I asked, getting impatient.

"I'll explain tomorrow. Please just come. Come early in the morning, I know aunty Raliya won't be here by that time. Please come and I promise to tell you everything!" She begged.

I was confused but instead of asking I let it go since she said she'd explain tomorrow so I nodded my head in affirmation and mentally cursed myself for not saying anything. I replied her with a simple 'ok' and hung up after wishing her a goodnight.

She sent the address to the hospital before I went back for another round of sleep knowing that I'd be a bit late for work tomorrow.

****

I just arrived at the hospitals gate and I was nervous as hell. For her to sound that way on the phone, I knew something was up.

I had just gotten out of the car when I noticed two nails had flattened my tyre so I instantly messaged Hamza to come and pick me up in the next one hour as I made my way inside the neatly swept reception of the hospital.

"Good morning."

"Good morning sir. Who are you here for?" An albino man with a diminishing frontline answered.

"I'm here to see Aaliyah Mujib. What number is her room?"

"She's in room 215. 3rd floor."

"Alright. Thank you."

"You're welcome sir."

"Alright. Room 215." I smiled faintly, speaking to myself as I made a run to the elevator.

210...212...214 but no 215. I walked around and didn't find it until I bumped into a nurse who took me to a room I had passed earlier without noticing.

I didn't know if to knock or just open it but I knocked regardless, just in case she had another visitor.

Her little voice answered and told me to come in. I sat quietly on the chair closest to her bed and watched as she played with her baby hair.

She smiled the moment I looked at her then used her right hand to continuously press the button of the hospital bed so it rose in a way she could use it as a chair to straighten her back in a vertical position without straining her.

After that, all she did was stare into space as if she forgot I was still sitted beside her till I called her name.

"Lilly are you ok?" She smiled upon realising I used her nickname.

"When last did you call me that? That's so old." She laughed and I could see her moodiness starting to fade.

"It was just some weeks ago, stupid."

"Right. So how have you been?"

"I should be asking you that. What's up? How did you get here?"

A lone tear slid down from one eye and her lips trembled. I could see she was struggling inside. Before she could say anything again, her tears filled her face, turning her into a mirror to different shades of agony.

I have never seen her this way in my entire life. I was the worst to seek comfort from so I stood there watching her, saying nothing. The least I could do was apologise and try to get her to calm down slowly so I handed her a chocolate box I brought earlier, saying a few words to soothe her, hoping she'll get distracted with a huge chunk of Toblerone.

She took it with a small smile but was only able to take a little bite before letting out a long groan. We just sat in a comfortable silence for like ten minutes before she was able to regain her composure.

"Do you remember when my parents died?"

Her question took me aback but I answered anyways.

"Yes."

"And do you remember ever seeing me in this kind of state? Just to be clear I don't mean in a hospital but looking like a sleep deprived zombie struggling to live."

"Actually, never. So what happened?"

She sighed, looking me in the eyes before talking and for a second there I felt like she was trying to show me with her eyes what she was struggling to say but couldn't because this fairytale was far from over.

"Do you remember when I stopped talking to you?"

"Ye..." She interjected.

"It's rhetorical, don't answer. I know you remember. That was a few weeks after I lost both my parents and I was crawling into a stage of depression. Aunty Raliya managed to get me to move into her house with her 'a girl your age isn't supposed to live in this big house alone' speech. She was nice at first. Even helped me to get through the pain. Nadiya too was of great help but they all showed me their true colours after everything daddy owned was handed to her."

"She would take me and Nadiya for picnics at Millennium Park and would take us to watch a movie sometimes. I thought maybe she was just being the loving aunt I knew her to be but I was terribly wrong. During our outings, she would ask if I knew about properties my father owned here and in Bauchi or information relating to his bank."

"I can't say I wasn't skeptical about all the questions she asked but I trusted her alot so it didn't take much convincing to tell her everything. As the favorite and only child you kinda have knowledge about everything even if it was little. moreover, I was really close to my dad so he trusted me with a number of things."

"Later on, she sold her house and moved into my father's house. I'm sure you're aware of that. For a while, everything was ok till she turned me into a maid in my own father's house. Saddest story ever I know." She held her head with her right hand.

"She confiscated my clothes that I bought from school and gifts I got for my close friends just to give it to Nadiya. I was shocked when Nadiya switched up on me so quickly. At first, she didn't really listen to her mother's words, she used to help me with money to take care of myself and would still take me to places with her friends. She was even going to pass as best cousin at this point because I never saw your call after that last time I rejected your call." A dry chuckle escaped her lips.

"She would give me back whatever her mother took from me in the middle of the night and would tell me to wait for a given period of time before using it so her mother doesn't realise it. We did that for a long time till I noticed some changes in her after a particular man started coming to our house to look for me. She would momentarily hiss for no reason or push me to the wall even if she had enough space to walk into a place. She was becoming petty as hell and it was getting on my nerves but I had no power because her mother was now in charge."

"This man in particular was a man whom I had decided I would like to marry just to leave that hell hole but I guess we weren't meant to be. After a while he stopped coming to see me and sent me a message one day telling me he wasn't interested again so I should find another husband to get married to because he doesn't want to marry a girl who has no parents because she lacked moral upbringing."

"Who knew that he was the man for Nadiya? A few months later, he started coming back to our house. I even thought he came to apologise and beg me to marry him but he shocked me by saying he came to see 'his everlasting love' as he put it, Nadiya. I went in and didn't bother calling her. She came back in after he left and made jest of me. I would've told her to enjoy my leftovers but I knew I'd regret it the moment it left my mouth so I shrunk into a smaller hole I never thought existed and built a wall around myself that made me hate everyone."

"You see I became a victim of physical and emotional abuse after everything went haywire with our lovely aunt going crazy on wealth. Now I need your help and I just want you to say yes because you should know I won't cheat you." I watched her quietly as she fiddled with her fingers in anticipation to my response, a habit she seemed to carry on whenever she was anxious.

I thought about it for a while. I knew she wouldn't dare cheat me but I was still scared because this girl right here was too sly for her own good.

"But wait, what does my mother have to do with all this?"

"Well she knows everything. I once went to her for help but all she said was that she couldn't help me. She said Aunty Raliya was a monster she didn't want to mess with. So all in all, she said she didn't want any trouble for fear that Aunty Raliya would harm you all. I went home that day sad and angry that I had family who couldn't help me but I tried to put myself in her shoes just to see where she was coming from so I never pestered her again."

"Have you ever asked why I wasn't in school?."

I was quiet this time since I knew most of her questions were rhetorical.

"She refused to pay despite the amount of money she gathered from selling off my parents properties. Instead she wasted it on Nadiya's wedding and went about it the only way she knew. Spending it lavishly with her friends. I'd say I hate her but all bad things come to an end so I'm still waiting for that though I'm close to losing hope."

"Wow! I'm really sorry for all this but you should've let me in. I would've helped you. I just thought you were going through a phase so I gave you space."

"Nah there was nothing you could've helped me with then but there is now!" And for the first time she smiled genuinely.

"With what?"

"Well...my dad left me some money nobody knows about. It's in the bank and I need you to retrieve it."

"I can't do that because I'm not you so I can't take it."

An evil smirk grew across on her face.

I know." She shrugged "You know, I need a certain somebody to help me break out of this hospital so that I can get my escape plan in motion."

She knew I would eventually succumb to her pleas so she added "Also when you come to get me after I've been discharged, just tell the doctor you're my uncle."

I knew this girl was going to do something crazy but I'll help her if this will give her the life of freedom she so desires.

"Alright crazy. I'll help you but you'll have to wait till the doctor says you can be discharged. Maybe two days from now you'll be better. But wait, why did I have to lie about being your uncle?"

"It's all part of the plan."

A message from Hamza came just in time so I left.

On my way out, I see a man talking to the receptionist. He looked alot like Uncle Hakeem but I'm sure he's not the one. No. He looks older than uncle Hakeem and clumsily dressed which was a state you'd never find him in.
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~Aisha Safiyanu🥀