When Ahmad met Aisha, their love was orchestrated straight out of Cupid's bow. She was everything he ever wanted in a woman. The first thing he had noticed was her walking steps. She walked majestically and had her head bowed to the ground, occasionally raising her head to view her environment; he's always hated it when women looked around as they walked; it is an attribute of shamelessness as he’s observed. He loved how her flowing hijab left traces of her presence as she moved. He’s noticed how her slightly chubby frame made the hijab serve its purpose; that is to shield her away from the gaze of men. He doesn’t count amongst those men, because he wanted to make Aisha his wife. He had asked the youths from around the area who she was and how one would define her character, even though she looked absolutely perfect from afar. They all had the perfect things to say about her, it turns out Aisha is so pure both in and out. He was informed; she came from a male dominated family and she is the apple of their eye, her father is lecturer at Nsukka University in Enugu, which is why he's never around since they live in Kwara state. Her mother is a renounced market woman who loves and appreciates what she does. Ahmad was star struck, he made up his mind to make Aisha his. He just needed to put in a few good words to his father, and his father would definitely allow him marry a Yoruba girl, it’s not like they are bad people as his father had decided solely. Besides, his father should have thought of that before sending him off to Kwara for his Bachelor’s degree program all the way from Zamfara state.   

Things didn't go as planned of course; all hell broke loose from both parties. Both parents did not approve of the relationship when Ahmad and Aisha informed them about their courtship; a courtship that lasted two whole years. Aisha’s family was displeased when she relayed how long they had been together.  No one noticed early, it would have been stopped.

"How… How on Earth did I not notice?" Her mother had bellowed dramatically, flaring her arms in opposite directions. Aisha kept mute; her mother would get agitated if she answered. Let's just say it was a rhetorical question. It definitely wasn't meant to be answered. Answering would attract punishment. "I am not going to give my daughter out to a mollom! They do nothing but marry and divorce everyone that comes their way. They know nothing about promises and they don't take marriages to be anything" her mother added fuming effortlessly; market women have a knack for excessive drama obviously.

Well, Aisha went on a hunger strike threatening to die of starvation if she wasn't allowed to marry the man of her dreams. She knew Ahmad, he's a gentle man and he would never hurt her. When Aisha almost died of starvation, her family yielded and allowed her to ask Ahmad to bring his family for the proper introduction. That didn't happen immediately of course, because Ahmad was equally battling with his family and he isn’t a girl, a hunger strike would only make him look pathetic. This had successfully make Aisha look stupid. But she did not relent. She had faith that Ahmad was going to come for her.

"You will not marry her. Those people don't have an iota of self respect; they talk and gossip a lot. If you want to spend the rest of your life with her, then forget about getting my blessings" 

"If I don't marry Aisha then I'll remain single forever" He threatened, making his father throw his head back and laugh. He ignores Ahmad’s protest and grumbles, dismissing him from his sight. Seeing how adamant his father is about his decision to marry Aisha, Ahmad took up the matter to his uncles, he explained that he had met the woman of his dreams but his father is being a stumbling block in his happiness . Luck was on his side, since his father is the lastborn in his own family, orders flew around demanding he allow the boy to have his way. This was more than two weeks after Aisha's family had asked her to alert her suitor of their agreement. The day the letter was delivered to Aisha, it was already three weeks from the agreement time. Aisha was already threading on the road to depression when she received it from the postman. It clearly stated that he and his family had fixed a date to come ask for her hand in marriage. 

Her joy knew no bounds. She laughed and ran round her father's house. Ahmad was finally coming to ask for her hand in marriage.  Aisha's father was informed and he came down from Enugu to welcome his in-laws. Aisha and Ahmad got married after a few months and she was shipped off to Zamfara state, where her husband would be. Her family was miserable realizing their Aisha is no longer little. For some reason Aisha had this outlining doubts in her head about the whole marriage thing with Ahmad because his family had already started showing their true colors from the moment she stepped her foot out of her father's house into their car. His aunts kept throwing snarky comments about how they felt some events weren't done to their taste. They complained bitterly about being starved, about not being served well. The painful thing was they knew she was in the bus, they spoke English so she'd understand, and of course it was hurtful. 

When they finally got to Zamfara, she was taken to Ahmad's parents for the normal welcome prayers. Ahmad's step mother didn't waste much time, she only mumbled a soft "May God make you happy" and turned her attention towards Ahmad's aunts to ask how the wedding was. Of course they continued gossiping about different aunts from Aisha's family, telling her what each did to annoy them. Thankfully the older women who escorted Aisha were not familiar with the English language mixed with Hausa so no comebacks were thrown. They did feel that their daughter wasn't welcomed into the family. But who could say a thing, Aisha chose this herself.

After spending thirty minutes with Ahmad's step mother, she was excused and taken to his father. He wasn't so keen on seeing her but his brothers made sure he sat down there and welcomed his daughter in-law. Prayers were showered on her there though but they were still cold towards her. Aisha had made up her mind to make them accept her through thick and thin. When she was transported to her husband's house, none of his aunts bothered to follow her. They were assigned a chauffeur and that was it. Her aunts immediately started telling her how they felt she wasn't welcomed in Yoruba. Aisha felt it too but she played it cool. She was marrying Ahmad after all, only him.  Not wanting her own relatives to go report to her parents, Aisha told them not to generalize bad characters, that her in-laws were really happy with her.  Just 3 months after the wedding, Ahmad was recruited into the military. Aisha was so happy for him. He never had a job anyways, just a small business he manages around for people. Now she was sure they'd never have to ask her father in-law for anything. She knows the dreaded look on his face whenever there was a need to ask his father for money. She also knows Ahmad might be regretting marrying her because of their lack of  money, which was why the job had been a blessing to her, because he finally had that glint of happiness on his face.

Everything happened so fast, as he was dispatched to Abia state after five months into the job because of a gruesome dispute that broke in one of the local governments there, between some cultists and a community. The cultists have been kidnapping their children, using them for sacrifices. When the community had enough, they took matters into their own hands and started burning down the cultists’ home, not caring about the innocent parents. 

"Ahmad, why won't they send someone else, you were just recruited. How sure are they that you can handle this?"  Aisha asked worriedly as he parked his suitcase shortly after receiving a call about the Abia dispute. He rolled his eyes frustratingly. She had been going on and on about him being incompetent. When he signed up for the work, she knew it included unplanned journeys, yet here she is worrying about nothing. 

"Aisha, you worry too much. I'll be back before you know it. You're lucky I am not leaving Nigeria. There are soldiers who have to settle overseas disputes. Nigerians don't even own arms for God's sake, just wood and pocket knives. They can't do much damage" he said, picking up his suitcase. He kissed her deeply with a smile. "I'll be back before you know it. I am always back before you know it. Just keep praying for me. I'll inform Baba before leaving so he'd ask Rabiba and the other siblings to come keep you company" he had said smiling at her. She clutched her stomach as it churned in protest about being left alone with his step sisters. She'd rather be in the war front with him than stay trapped indoors with their rude behavior. He noticed her hesitation, quickly giving her another bone crushing hug. He raised her chin up and gave her a soft kiss. "I'll ask Baba to warn them, they won't misbehave I promise" he pouted with a smile. Aisha hugged him before letting him go. She watched his retreating figure, until he closed the door to their home.

A week has passed and sadly there has been no news from Ahmad. Aisha was already imagining a different series of thoughts about not seeing him again, because of the incessant dreams she kept having. Aisha became disturbed and reported the issue home even though everyone kept telling her she was just being paranoid. Of course she would be paranoid, it's a whole week and none of her letters were being returned.

"You worry too much. Ahmad is fine. If anything bad had happened to him, they would have contacted you" Ahmad's step mum told her after listening to Aisha's fear.  

"It's not about their letters mama; I feel it in my bones that something has happened to him. He normally reaches out after retreating.  

"You and your bad energy, be positive! Nothing will happen to him, just take care of yourself" his step mum reprimanded, rolling her eyes at Aisha's excessive drama. Aisha didn't bother complaining to the woman again. If she was his birth mother, she would have felt what she was feeling. She wouldn't know or feel anything since she didn't give birth to him. Another week passed and still nothing. Aisha became alerted! She needed to talk to her father in-law. Maybe he must have felt this bad feeling in the pit of his stomach just like she did. She put on her hijab, picked up her purse and secured her bedroom door. On her way to the big gate, she was stopped by the gate man. 

"I was about to go to your house, there's a letter from the base, Ma" he said standing erectly like the soldier he is. They were living in the barracks. Seeing the stamp of the Nigerian army made her beam immediately. It is Ahmad. He's written her a letter to her after all these weeks. She excitedly tore the envelope open. Little did she know it wasn't what she was expecting; on reading the contents, her head felt fuzzy. Her sight was blinded and the gate man's voice started becoming slow. Aisha fainted; for the contents of the letter explained Ahmad was nowhere to be found. She had been pregnant then. When Aisha gave birth to Fatima Zarah, only then had she slumped out of depression. The joy of having a piece of Ahmad in her hands was enough to compensate her for her loss. Now it's already a year and six months after giving birth to her bundle of joy. When Zarah became one, it was a massive celebration for both families. Losing Ahmad had tied everyone together. They had co-joined hands to help Aisha out of her state but nothing seemed to be working at that time. No amount of jokes would make her laugh. No amount of gifts would cheer her up. It got bad that she was removed from her house and asked to live with Ahmad's family. She could easily harm herself or the baby so it wasn't even an option for her to be left alone. Zarah had grown to be a very smart child. At a year and half, she is fluent in speaking and already mastered the alphabets and numbers. This is because her mother had made sure she had many video cassettes just to encourage her. Aisha is now living on her own with her child. Her sister in-laws would come to visit at the day's interval. They would spend the whole day with them, then slid back home. This had been their routine. Aisha was able to secure a job at a government school in Zamfara state. She would normally take Zarah with her, but with her incessant talking and body guarding her mother, the head teacher started picking offense and demanded Zarah be kept at home. 

Aisha couldn't enroll Zarah in the nursery school because she is too small and with the four to six year olds parading in that class, she knew her child would get bullied, and listening to Zarah cry over any discomfort doesn't sit well with her. Thankfully, they had gone on a break. Zarah is already becoming excellently good at identifying numbers and letters. It would be perfect to drop her at a private school on her way to her own work place. Then she could easily go pick her child up when they're done with school. 

"Mummy" Zarah bellowed dramatically when she didn't receive another spoonful of rice.

"Sorry, now open your mouth" her mother said smiling as she fetched a spoonful of the food.