Five years later...
Present

Key words:
Fep ji - how are you?
O bi - I'm fine
Jambo - ok

•Surayya

I pressed my ears gently to the door as I closed my eyes imagining what exactly would be happening in the opposite side of the door.

My eyes teared up a little because I knew what was about to happen was the things I watched in movies like 365 Days, The Voyeurs and Rich in Love.

Truth is I didn't even want him to do all that with me but he could at least not touch any other woman. I'll wait for my turn when I'm a bit older and maybe he'll want me the way I need him.

But that his wife Najma, I don't understand the kind of mighty grip she has on his soul. He doesn't flick an eyelash to the prettiest and curviest of my friends whenever they come to visit.

He doesn't even stare even when they dress too tight for modesty to drag his attention. All he desired was Najma. I'm surprised he hasn't drowned in her piss.

"You have visitors. It won't be proper to make them wait."

I hear a plop on the bed. Must be him. He seems like a heavy man. He's enormously tall and well built. Not gym-bunny built but definitely ripped.

The sound of a zip tears it's way through the door and the falling of clothes to the floor follow.

"On your knees." Sanusi demands lustfully.

Her knees hit the ground with a loud thud, "Yes my lord."

What was this, I asked myself. Role play maybe.

I hear the  squishing of pillows, slapping of skin and shallow breaths.

What type of joke was this? Subjecting someone to such cruelty.

"You know what to do baby."

"Yes Lord Sanusi."

Why does she keep saying lord? It's becoming annoying.

"Now take me into your mouth."

"No." She seethed. It sounds as if she's now the one making him remorseful of something.

"Please." He begged, "I really need this."

She giggled, "You have visitors."

"Touch it at least."

"Like this?" She asked.

He takes a deep, reveling breath. "Yes. J-just like that."

Then he begins to beg again. I'm assuming she's stopped.

"Get dressed." She commands, "I have a meeting to go with Larai  to hear all she has to say about her sons stealing issue before he's sent to the."

"But look at me."

"Look at me too." She whispered, but not too low for me to hear.

"You're naked." He flatly stated.

"And you want me to remain like this, yes?"

"Just call Bala to tell him to cancel the meeting."

"You can't miss it. It's very important for the community."

"Well you'll have to help me take this down then." He hissed, chuckling.

Oh, how my body vibrates to the chills his laughs give me.

"How?" She questioned innocently.

"Like this." I hear him stand up.

I hear crashing of things on a table and next I know she's gasping loudly and asking him to go faster and I definitely didn't need to ask what she was talking about.

Next I knew, my knees were feeling weak and my core felt like it was beating to the rhythm of their inconceivably, raw, wild and crude sex.

He grunts and she sighs, they laugh and all I feel is rage but I'm still needy and I knew his tongue would never be down my throat even in a million years.

"What was that?" Najma laughs.

"Your power."

"What power?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't know."

"You just want me to say it."

I heard them kiss. My head was hot, the heat stung my eyes and I felt like breaking down the door. As soon as I turned I saw a maid coming and I ran away from the door, pretending to be going to my room.

I slowly turn the knob of my door so it'll spare some time before she passes. Once she passes I rush to their door again.

"That was epic." Najma says.

"Another round?" Sanusi asks.

Eww, why am I still here?

"How many meetings are you going to postpone today?" She's picking up her clothes. I just know. "Bala can't help you forever."

"And Larai can't really prevent her son from going into the house of absolutions even with you there."

"I can try to help her at least. I just hope what she's going to say is the truth. He's not yet 15 so he'll be pardoned."

"He turns 15 in a few days. He will be tried as an adult."

That was one of our laws—15 makes you adult—you could start anything including trade. What more couldn't you do? Not even marriage.

Sanusi doesn't talk much after that and Najma continues to arrange the things they must've broken.

I let my head rest on the cold metal of the door but that doesn't give me respite and I was still angry at myself for not leaving.

Najma approaches the door almost immediately but I'm too fast. I raise my hand to the door and she opens it, looking at me weirdly. Her eyes see my hands, fisted and about to hit the door and she smiles "Surayya were you about to knock?"

I was about to crush your head. Parasite.

"Yes." I look down. Indeed I was ashamed. What they'd just done, I was a witness by proxy with my ears and now that our eyes met I couldn't look at her—she couldn't either—it was a secret we both didn't know we knew. "I was looking for Sanusi."

She pushes the door to close it, lifting a finger with her weird smile "One minute." The door closes. She whispers something to Sanusi before opening it again.

"Is he there." I stand on my toes so I can try to look from the slight space she's left open.

"Yes. He'll be with you shortly." She walks out and closes it then tells me to wait outside for him to call me in.

There's silence after a while—I'm not with my wristwatch so I can't tell what time it is—Sanusi hasn't said a word for at least twenty minutes and I'm beginning to think he was sleeping. I knock but there was no answer so I return to my room to read one of the textbooks he bought me some days back on mechanical politics.

Later, and now still reading, I hear a knock on my door and guess who comes in? The koala bear that left me standing at the door of his room while he enjoyed his after-sex nap but I wasn't angry. He was a busy man and busy men seldom sleep, rather they hibernate every chance they get and I wouldn't deprive him of that.

Oh so disgusting.

"Su, fep ji?" Sanusi touches my head and drags the veil to cover my hair more.

"O bi. Are you going out?"

"No. I just came to check on you. The list we talked about, is it done?"

"Not yet. I'll send it to you by noon, tomorrow."

"You're so grown up mey. I'm going to miss you."

"Save it for when you actually mean it."

"You're joking."

"Obviously." I roll my eyes "So, where's Bala? I haven't seen him around lately."

"He went to visit his parents this afternoon. He'll be back soon."

"Isn't it time we moved them to the palace? He's family which also makes them family. We have enough rooms."

"It wouldn't be fair on others."

I nod and straighten my back "I'll do it when I'm the Queen."

He cackles "When will that be?"

"When you agree to step down and let me rule."

"I can do that but you'll have to promise me one thing." He sits on the chair by my window and crosses his legs as he leans backwards.

"What's that?"

"You won't marry CinderMahir and kick us all out."

CinderMahir is our childhood chef who was fired for making passes at Surayya. He was funny and obnoxiously lazy so he would send us on errands to the market instead of going by himself.

Most times he would tell Surayya to stay and he would keep promising to marry her but the mistake he didn't realize he made was that he was talking to a child who'd ended up running her mouth to her father. He was drowned, there was now way around it for him.

"Very funny."

"It's true. He wanted to marry you."

"Go and stay with Najma. You're disturbing me."

Every fiber in my body prayed he wouldn't take the joke seriously and leave. If anything, him staying was going to make me finish the list faster.

"Ok bye." No.

"Wa-what are you doing later?"

"Going on a date with my prized horse, Fara."

The day he uses my name and date together...

"Without me?"

"Yes."

He watched my face turn gloomy with his reply.

"There's a first time for everything, I guess."

"O sor me. I have to teach Najma today."

"That means I won't be seeing you as often."

"Not true. We can still travel together during your first holiday from college. Our first stop will be the hotel nirvana."

"That's doesn't make me feel any better." I pout "But, I'm listening. Where is that?"

He rubs my shoulder "That's my girl." Oh the butterflies I felt when he called me that. "Its a resort in Disa—not an advisable holiday spot—but we need some adventure or should I drama to set our hearts pumping."

"You're right. It's been a while but I really don't miss beating up grown men. I haven't done that in a while and I feel great."

"Don't let tey hear you."

"I know he wouldn't have been happy but he's no longer here. We can enforce new rules."

"Our people won't see it that way."

"Our people won't see what in what way?" Najma walks in and stands behind Sanusi with arms wrapped around his neck. She might as well choke him to death.

"I'm just telling Surayya here that showing mercy, to our people is as good as showing weakness."

"She won't understand." Dumb Barbie "She's still young."

This woman must really think I'm a baby.

I stand up and exit the room to avoid insulting them both out of disgust. She called me a child and all he could do was chuckle.

Both Sanusi and his wife were knuckleheads.

I went back to the library downstairs in an instant and locked myself in. I snatched the remote to the ac from the couch and turned it up to the highest range and entered a blanket i always left there to cry out my frustration. What did he see in her?

Knock knock

The knock wakes me up but I refuse to answer. It continues and the person is hitting louder, the longer I remain on the bed so I march to the door and open it, almost breaking off the handle.

"What?!"

I see Najma.

"Can I come in?"

She doesn't even wait. Her legs just go infront of the other without waiting for my response. So I shut the door and offer her my bed to sit on.

"Is there something I'm needed for?"

"Nothing really. Sanusi just wants the list."

"It's not ready. Please tell him I'm still making it."

"He told me you are to resume tomorrow and I know both of you have been so busy but you need to have your things ready before tomorrow."

Why the hell is she being nice? I believe her to be a hypocrite.

"I'll go and see him now with what I have."

"I'll take it to him, no worries."

"It's not your problem."

She shrugs and exits the room daintily after tapping my cheeks.

I rush out to see Sanusi because I actually forgot I had things to purchase so I could resume with them. Packing them wasn't a problem but rather, not having them a day before I'm supposed to be a new and refined woman in college.

Outside my room, I notice Sanusi outside the window frowning and I can only guess what he's thinking of; our father. A day never passes without us acknowledging the fact that we never stopped missing him. I'm sure he cries like I do, in secret, to avoid gossip from the ton.

I wave when he looks up and he smiles. I tell him to wait and I sprint down the stairs. The way is a bit far because the palace is a maze but I join him in record time and we sit on the grass as we watched the sunset, without speech or actions—he, only understands me and him, I do too.

"When are you going to give me that list mey?" He inquired.

"It's incomplete. Let's just go together, like before—hidden in plain sight—costumes and all. It'd be fun."

"You think so?" He hasn't had that much fun in years. What harm could this do?

"I do." I wish he asked me if I'd marry him.

"Jambo, five minutes. Go and change. Let's meet at the garage."

I give him a thumbs up and gingerly skip to my room to get shades and a giant hoodie with some dirty jeans I always wore outside whenever I didn't want anyone to recognize me outside.

Sanusi is back with his famous moustache like the one Sportacus had in lazy Town and a weird wig that made him look like Mentor Mas'ood.

"Nice." I comment.

"You don't look bad."

We enter the car and we were driven to a local market in the outskirts of the city where everything was calmer and there was less risk of getting ambushed or  sighted by the enemies.

It would be the last night we could ever go out without a killer on our tail.
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~Aisha SafiyanuXO💚