•Hamza

The trip to Kaduna had to be delayed till later in the afternoon. Around 16:00pm to be precise.

Despite the embarrassment my father had caused I couldn't just cancel the trip because I really wanted to make Aaliyah happy.

The search for closure is one that requires sacrifices and this one was for my dearly beloved.

I could tell it was quite weird to have Uncle Hakeem sit beside her in the back sit so I asked Bilal to trade sits with him.

We arrived Kaduna late in the evening so we postponed all activities till the next day. I was too pissed to sleep because of my father's disturbing display so I stayed awake till 03:00am and did some extra nafilah's before sleeping off.

****

It was Saturday! One of my favorite days of the week after Friday.

I woke up early before Bilal, Aaliyah and Uncle Hakeem so I took a bath and did some work on my laptop before they got up.

After they each called to tell me they were ready, we all went to Aaliyah's room.

Like Bilal predicted, she was asleep. Fortunately, she had already taken a bath and was just waiting for us to come and get her.

We had our simple breakfast of ƙosai from the restaurant downstairs and soon we hit the road to Zaria.

The thirty minutes ride was incredibly energy draining and boring. The roads were untarred and bumpy which was detrimental to the bodies of my car tyres. Two out of the three in the car with me were asleep. It was weird to start a conversation with Uncle Hakeem so I decided to be quiet till we arrived at the village.

Uncle Hakeem led the way and we found ourselves in a mini ghetto along the outskirts of the town.

At a point we had to leave the car behind because of the bad roads. Bilal adviced me to remember to raise all the glasses because he heard most of the inhabitants stole care parts and if it was possible, the whole car.

The scorching sun was just too hot today. I was sweating profusely like a Christmas goat, Aaliyah looked like caramel flavoured ice-cream that was melting, Bilal just looked disorientated while Uncle Hakeem just continued walking forward without even stopping or complaining of fatigue. I thanked God for making me wear shorts and a sweat shirt just in case we got ambushed.

I see Aaliyah thought the same as she wore just a pair of black jeans and a dress shirt.

We all left our valuables in the car and walked through a series of corners and skipped gutter filled roads to get to the house of the man, Rambo.

His name was scary but cool.

It reminded me of an action movie I watched with my mum and the hero who was Sylvester Stallone was named Rambo in the movie.

Turns out, Rambo was arrested after he got caught drug trafficking all the way in Kaduna. Rumour has it that he was sent to Kirikiri prison but most said he was in Abuja.

Such a waste of time.

I didn't want to stay in Kaduna any longer so I pleaded with everyone for us to leave today so that I could just go home.

Thank God the day was yet to end.

The drive to Abuja was quiet. I guess everyone was either angry or tired but I, for one, was hungry.

I dropped Aaliyah off at her house and Uncle Hakeem at Father's guest house and lastly Bilal at his house before going home.

I thought my life had siezed surprising me since my mum promised to never travel without informing us but...

That was just the tip of the iceberg.

A family meeting was going on when I came back home. Dad seemed normal but he looked angry again.

What?

Oh, I forgot to mention that Aaliyah's Aunt was forced to call the Malam that helped her bewitch our father. He did his work. It took a few days of non-stop prayers but now he was back to his senses.

I regretted entering the living room once I passed and didn't speak a word to anyone. All eyes were on me expectantly, waiting for words of greeting but I was too tired.

For traditions sake, I bent in a half-squat position to greet both my mother and father before I turned to the stairs.

"Go and get refreshed then come back." That was my father.

"Ok."

I walked up the stairs slowly as my entire body ached from being tired. I could've faked a headache and slept after my shower but again I thought, everyone held grim faces so whatever it was mustn't be a frivolous topic.

I took my time enjoying the hot steamy shower and wasted more time looking for clothes to wear.

After an hour of playing dress up, I was seated downstairs with my mother, father, two guilty looking sister's and Fadila with a poker face as usual.

"Now that you're here, Hamza, let's start with Yusra." Father announced, "Please explain why you were throwing up consistently. And all of a sudden you're sleeping all the time as if you're sick. How did it happen?"

She looked at me then at Zahra before speaking, "I don't know how it happened..."

"Shut up!" Father's authoritative voice boomed in the room like a natural loud speaker, sending shivers down my spine, "You made a mistake and you're still trying to justify it. Where did I go wrong as a father? Look at your sister, she's a drug addict!" He added, "Like her mother!"

Just as he mentioned our mother, he held his lips in shock. Wow. A slip of the tongue. We looked at her and she seemed to have no words to utter, only tears to spill.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault. I should've been there to look out for my kids. I didn't notice till it was too late. I knew my stash was reducing but I didn't know it was her that was using it. I thought it was me who over..."

"You never stopped? I thought we agreed you'd stop?" My father asked, disappointment lacing his words.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed.

"What do you have to say for yourself Zahra?"

"Da-da-daddy I was tired of being the child no one noticed. You and mama only remember Hamza because he's the golden child and Yusra was your 4.89 GPA student so you guys loved her more. As for Fadila, who doesn't love her? Impossible! I was always in the background looking for the love that was non-existent for me."

"If only you cared to ask questions like how was school or how was your day I wouldn't be in this mess. My first time was a mistake. I stumbled upon a tiny bag in mummy's drawer while I was searching for a shoe I left there then I took the bag because it looked a lot like a bag I was looking for. I just opened it and saw some white substances and something else which I got to know as weed later on. I then used it out of curiosity. Just to see if it was worth all the hype on social media and if I'd really have that blissful moment where all was forgotten."

"It actually made me forget everything but at what cost? I knew my health was deteriorating. The pain came back worse everytime but it was too late to stop."

" If you're wondering, yes I'm blaming you all. Not just Mama and Baba, you too Ya Yusra and Yaya Hamza. I hate you all!" She stood up and left upstairs.

For once I noticed how broken she was and I felt the urge to help her with all the power I had.

My mum got up to follow her but my father told her to stay and we moved on forgetting about both Zahra and Yusra's case for some minutes.

"I see it's just you and Fadila that care enough. Thank you for not being the reason I'll be in my grave soon." He looked at me and Fadila.

"Daddy he's not a saint ooo." Yusra screamed.

"Keep shut! You don't have shame. What do you know? You're not even thinking of how you're going to save yourself you're here trying to paint someones image black."

"Daddy just ask him." She dared.

He looked at me but wasn't still convinced with her words since she had no evidence.

"Tell them what happened to Fauziya." She pressed on.

"I don't know what she's..."

Father interjected, "What is she talking about Hamza?"

"She doesn't know what she's saying baba."

"He's lying." She screamed again, "He got her pregnant and she died with her baby because Hamza pushed her and she fell down in his room when she went to tell him."

"When did all this happen?"

"While you were away with mama in Bali." She answered.

He pionted at Fadila, "You! what have you done? Just tell me so that I'll know for sure that I've failed you all as a father and a husband."

"I haven't done anything baba." She said.

"Let it stay that way! If you follow your siblings footsteps you'll be suffering just like them. Go upstairs and call Zahra then stay in your room till you hear your name."

She nodded and left for the stairs.

Zahra came downstairs minutes later looking like she had been beat up with puffy eyes and a swollen nose.

"Sit down there." Father ordered.

"Now, for the judgement, Yusra you'll have to marry the father of your child. Call him after this and tell him I want to see him latest by tomorrow or next. You'll also have to call Abdullahi and tell him that your wedding has been called off with him. It's left for you tell him why this decision was made. You may leave." She got up immediately, heading upstairs after he dismissed her.

"Zahra, we're truly to blame for how you turned out. We can't even say your friends helped out because you barely had any friends. First of all, forgive us. We all love you very much. Also, you're going to rehab next weekend and I'll be the one to take you myself." He pointed at the stairs and she left too, leaving me and my mother to face the rest of the music.

"As for you Hamza, find the girls' parents."

"Sun mutu."

"Dead? How and when?"

"They died after finding out what had happened to her."

"See your life!" He asked, "Is that how you want to kill me and your mother?"

I knelt down as tears began to fall out.

"I'm sorry baba, I'm sorry mama. I never tried that again after her. Please forgive me."

"I'll think of what to do with you later."

I thanked him and sat back down.

"Jamila why?" He asked my mother.

"I'm sorry. I relapsed after hearing you were getting married again."

"That was an empty threat. I just said that to scare you into quiting."

"Well that was a terrible plan. When you were after Aaliyah everything else went downhill for me."

"I know but I wasn't in my senses then. Now, I want you to just go to a rehabilitation center with your daughter. You can choose another place if you feel it's embarrassing for both mother and daughter to be in the same place."

"Alright. I'll do just that. I'm sorry again." He said nothing as he smiled then he got up from his seat and kissed the back of her palms before leaving me and her in the living room.

I was too ashamed to speak so I left too.
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~Aisha Safiyanu🥀