Lagos

In times of pain, darkness provides a comforting blanket to help us dwell in the company of our agony.

The bedroom is in absolute darkness as Ahmad's dad made his way toward the bed, where his wife laid under the soft Italian duvet with botanical pattern embroidered on it.

He reached for the switch on the bedside lamp. The dim light burned into her eyes and she squinted. Her lips were parched and her complexion ashen, in all the years he had known his wife, he had never seen her this beaten. She refused to see the doctor and had became very withdrawn.

"How are you today?" He asked as he propped a pillow on the head board and helped her sit up.

"Am fine..."she whispered.

"Good."

silence

"Am not...oh God! I want to die..." She cried and hugged her husband. Through the muffled sound of her cries, he heard her voice.

"I want to see my son before I die...please find him for me...please."

"Hmmm..."

"What have I done to him? My son is no where to be found...he may be in danger and we wouldn't know... I pushed him to it...oh, how will he forgive me if I myself can't forgive me?"

"It's alright, don't beat yourself about it. I will find him...I promise." He said.

Unlike her usual self assured voice, she now sound feeble, almost child-like. Her helplessness thug at a chord in his heart and it constricted. He moved the hair that had covered her face and smiled reassuringly at her.

"Soon, my dear...soon, your pain will be gone, InshaAllah."

"Why are you doing this? I have hurt you as well...I should have listened to you when..."

"Shh...it's alright. We all make mistakes, it's what makes us human."

She continued to cry softly as he stroke her hair.

"Over the years, you have done the same for me... I have made my fair share of blunders in this life and you were there for me, more times than I can count. That's what marriage entails, it's all about been there for each other through thick and thin." He said soothingly.

He stayed with her until her cries subsided and she fell into a deep slumber.

He gently lay her down and draw the cover up to her chin before he switched on the vaporizer.

On his way downstairs, he smiled as he knows the time to make a call to Selma is due.
______________________________________
Kano

The house was filled with women mostly concentrated at Baba Alhaji's part. Safiyya's (Ameena's mom) relatives have opted to stay out of it, except her step sister who came from Kaduna. Even she stayed back at Safiyyas part, refusing to go to Hajiya Adda's, as she thinks it an insult for them not to send the lefe over.The bulk of the women in attendance were Hajiya Adda's friends.

Some yodeled as they surf through the opened boxes. Ameena's mom was feeling a uneasy, giving her consent to this marriage had felt like the zenith of all the wrong decisions she has made in life. All she could do was pray and hope all turns out well.

"Yarinya tayi goshi mashaAllah." An aunty said as she lifted a designer amber abaya with intricate bead work.

"Salman has really tried...it is an indication of how good he will look after her." Explained another.

A younger aunt snorted at that...maybe out of personal experience, but that is only known to her. Luckily, it went unnoticed as the excitement in the room is almost electrifying.

Almost all were singing praises of Salman while Ameena's mom looked on like an outsider. (His mom had refused to have the lefe sent to their part, claiming she is still head of the house.)

There was two set of boxes filled to the brim with awe inspiring designer pieces and what not.

"May Allah bless my daughter with a generous husband like your son." Said Hajiya Fanta, a friend of Hajiya Adda.

"Amin." The women chorused.

"And to think this was all whipped up in a hurry because the girl was helplessly without a suitor, is something in itself." Another chimed in.

"He takes after me of course... He has pity for helpless people." Smiled his mom.

"Wallah he is such a gentle man. From what I heard, the situation was so desperate and being the gentleman that he is, he stepped up to it." Said an overweight woman with gaudy jewellery.

"May Allah bless him." Another prayed.

This was followed by another chorus of Amin. With the endless prayers for Salman, the sitting sounded more like a congregation than a traditional sitting.

From time to time, Antin Maryam and Nadia's mom looked in the direction of Ameena's mom. They had always treated her coldly because that was what Hajiya Adda expected of them, but they are also mothers themselves and they felt for her, even though non was bold enough to show it.

"These days, young men tend to know the value of women, if you look at how they splurge when buying lefe."

The last remark was made by Sadiya, who is Hajiya's younger sister. She had married four times in the span of eleven years.

"I bet that same value is what leads to the incessant divorce that had become associated with most of your 'gentlemen'...God forbid that I allow my daughter's worth to be measured on a scale of how much gift the husband presents before marriage."  Said Hauwa, who is a friend and coworker of Ameena's mom.

Safiyya had warned her beforehand to ignore everything she hears, but the insults was just so unbearable that she couldn't take it.

"Pardon my memory, but I can't seem to place you anywhere in this family...Safiyya, who is she?" Hajiya Adda demanded.

Safiyya apologised and led her friend out as deadly glares accompanied them out.

"Seriously Safiyya I don't get you. How can you stand those self-centered witches?" She fumed on their way.

"Somethings, you just do because you can't do anything else. I would rather be quiet than become anything remotely similar to them" She said quietly.

She couldn't wait for all of this to be over. Her life has always been a tumultuous one and this is just a slice of it. Good thing the wedding is in two weeks.
______________________________________
Marrakech

Ahmad had performed istikhara and prayed that Allah ease the pain of his loss. He prayed fervently, but the feelings was still there. It's like she has become a part of him that he couldn't part with, even if he wanted to.

The last of the few people who stayed back after fajr at the mosque ambled out. He had told his Soufiane he is staying back a bit, but the sun was high up in the sky, yet he made no move.

He has been counting to a month, and today is her wedding. Today is the day the love of his life become somebody else's.

Not very long ago, romance never was something he dabbled with. He had only heard others tell of the ache of heart break, but today he knew how inaccurate their reports had been.

What he had heard doesn't even scratch the surface of what he is feeling. No, it is not just his heart that was broken...it is all of him.

He stared at the intricate stained glass mosaic window. It's funny how relatable it is to his life; both have been complete once, then shattered into a thousand broken, uneven pieces. The only difference been that, this has been rearranged into something breathtaking, while the broken pieces of his life will remain strewn and hung on every speck of memory he had shared with her. The things associated with her; food, drinks, art, places, jokes, even the language she spoke with, will become a memory that will carry a piece of his broken self with them.

He was shattered inside out... Nothing could rearrange him again.
______________________________________

Selma was alone when he came back. She smiled warmly as she saw him come in...The time to talk to him has come.

He greet her and went to freshen up while she arranged the breakfast he seldom eats. Her son had tried to get something out of him to no avail.

What worried her at first is that she observed he carried no phone ever since his arrival, which was so unlike the youngsters nowadays.

It was only after the phone call with her late husband's friend (his father) yesterday, that she understood what was his problem.

As expected, he declined the food telling her he had a snack from street vendors on his way back. She didn't press him for she had experienced first hand how it felt to lose someone you love.

"Okay then, have this." She said handing him a cup of mint tea.

"Thank you aunty."

She watched as he slowly sipped the soothing tea with a distant look on his face. When he was done, she told him there is something she wants to discuss with him.

It was the last thing he wants to do. Now he was beginning to doubt if coming here was a good idea after all.

He stared at the greenish liquid at the bottom of the delicate China cup in his hand as she began in a soothing voice.

"What you are going through my son, is one of the most painful in life's journey...it becomes even more hurtful when we feel someone is the reason behind it.

But what we fail to understand is that, it is all part of a greater design.

Our destiny is an inevitable part of our life we can't escape from. It has been sealed even before we take our first breathe in this world.

If your destiny is not tied with the girl's, not all of the love in this world combined can bring you two together.

Agreed your parents played a part but as a believer, you should know that they are all pawns in the game of destiny.

What do you prefer? Holding a grudge against your parents and incurring Allah's wrath in the process or forgiving them and obtaining his mercy as well?"

She reminded him of the value of honoring one's parents and trying to reciprocate what they had done for us by being obedient to them. It's the least we can do.

______________________________________
Lagos

She had started hallucinating. The figure that approached her, had her son's voice and face. She knew it was one of the mirage she sees, but how she wished she could touch it before it evaporates into nothing.

He stared at his mom. How can a months worth of torture wreck such havoc on such a beautiful woman? He had never seen her like this and he felt remorseful that this was a result of his action. He had only thought of himself without a slight thought of how it might affect her.

She felt the warmness of his hand against her flesh as he held her hand.
She made to move but he restricted her.

"You came back." she said weakly.

He only nodded for he felt he will choke on his saliva if he tried to talk.

She began to cry silently.

"I...I am sorry..." She began.

"No mom, I am sorry...I went off on you because of my selfishness... I was only thinking of myself, am sorry." He managed to say.

"I forgot all you did for me...the sacrifices you made for me...all because my heart was the only thing I was looking out for. I forgot the woman Allah had mentioned thrice for me to love, respect and honor all through my life...forgive me."

She sat up and held her son. She apologised and like a one year old that has grazed his knee for the first time, he cried in the embrace of his mom. It's the first time he had shed tears ever since things went south.

"When your dad comes back...we will talk about you and Ameena."

"It's pointless...she got married yesterday.

At that she let out a cry "oh my son, can you ever forgive me for what I did?"

"There is nothing to forgive. Allah willed it that way so, it's not your fault. I am willing to marry whoever you choose for me."

He tried to go and see his sister but she begged him to stay a bit more.

Less than a minute after he left, her sister who had been eavesdropping by the door a little while ago barged in. She had hide when she heard him coming out.

"My God is kind." She beamed and made a brief dancing move.

"Her sister stared warily at her.

" I em...I couldn't help but catch the last words he said. I guess we should start the wedding preparation. " she added excitedly.

When she heard from the servants that he was back, she had hurried to her sister's only to hear the best news she has heard in a long time.

"Won se igbeyawo naa mo." Alaja said slowly.

"WHAT!!"

************************************
Hope u liked it. I know, I know but trust me it's not a cliffhanger (well...semi-cliffhanger). I promised myself (and some of y'all lovelies) am gonna break that habit.
But it's my inner mugu😈. it won't leave me alone to do what I want. It's addicted to making u guys guess. Am sorry guys...no vex enh? Xoxo

Vote

Comment

And share