Keywords:

Jambo-Ok

Wan-used for elders

Sonada - good afternoon

Grate (pron. gr-a-t-ay) - everyone

Cra- brothers (in a crowd)

Hra (pron. ra) - sisters (In a crowd)

Zafri- speak

Ee- and

Grace ornaments - medicine

Branch of subjugation- prison for adults where they are forced to build mud houses by themselves (one person per small house for months or however long) and get to watch someone crush it within a minute with a giant boulder.

•Sanusi

Holiday was coming, no more river-enhanced distances and blocked communication—Surayya would be in the house—and my anger hadn't lessened over time. If we crossed paths, she'd have to accept that our conversations would remain one sided until I was open to forgiveness.

Bala has been begging me to return her calls and listen to her explanation but I couldn't bring myself to hear her because I felt all she would spill were lies.

A knock bounces off the door of my office and I wonder who it is this early in the morning. Najma has gone for a work trip to Gaso so who could it be?

"Babe." I hear Najma call.

"Come in my Queen."

She opens the door slowly and bends to greet me good morning as she pushes it to join with its locks.

"Come and have a seat."

She rises and makes her way to my mahogany table and plasters her bum to it and crosses her legs.

"Did you sleep well my lord?"

"Not really. How was Gaso and why are you back early?"

She ignores my questions and drags herself off the table to stand before me with a wide smile on her face. I have to wonder, what's so good about the morning that's got her happy like this?

"You look troubled. I can fix your problem." She drops her hands on my shoulders and slides them to the side of my face and sits on my lap.

"I'm tired Najma."

"I came back because of you."

I push her off me slowly "I didn't force you."

She stands up angrily, hands on her sides and fuming "What's wrong with you? The event was scheduled for a later date so I came because I missed you and this is how you welcome me."

"You're right." I wrap my hands around her waist and let my head rest on her stomach while she drops her hands on my shoulders "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong?" She removes my hands and moves to sit back on the table.

"It's Surayya."

Her brows crease "Is something wrong with her?"

"I went to Bunisa and saw her smoking."

"Is that all?" She laughs but it is cut short in her throat when she sees my frown.

"No," I stand up from my recliner and head for the door "Since you're not taking this seriously I'm going to my room to think about how I'm going to help her."

She follows me to the door and holds the handle so I wouldn't open it "She's just a teenager. She's growing and also learning. She's a good girl, I don't see her following the wrong friends. She'll find her path on her own."

"The path to hell you mean."

She sighed defeatedly "My lord she'll be fine. Stop worrying so much."

"Jambo." She lifts her hand and I open the door, motioning for her to go out.

Her mouth hangs wide open in shock "Really?"

"Yes, really. I have work to do."

She hisses and flies out the door in anger.

I return to my table and rest my head, only to fall asleep for the next five hours.

When I wake up, it's time for a meeting I was scheduled to have with King Tobi. He was to be here by 12pm but he wasn't here so I go to find Najma but she isn't in our room so I shower and leave to the garden.

"King Tobi is here my king." A slave appears from nowhere and kneels before me.

"Show him the way here."

She nods and rises from the ground and rushes to do as I've asked.

King Tobi joins me soon, draped in his royal draed that's adorned with diamonds and his lush crown perched on his bald head.

"Shall we?" I point at a pathway with no flowers. The girl turns away and we move forward.

"Tobi." We greet with the back of our hands touching.

"Sanusi." He says.

"How was your trip here?"

"It was exhausting."

"Feel free to stay here for the night."

"Thank you. I just might."

"Now," I clear my throat "The purpose of this meeting is to know how much you want to purchase from my next shipment."

"Well, how much will you sell me a kilo this time?"

"4 million trinks."

He stops "Sanusi I can't afford that now."

That's not my fault though. "You can buy half a kilo."

"Let me pay 1.5 million trinks."

"Why?"

"I'm your friend."

"I have no friends in this business Tobi."

"You can make exceptions."

"If you were buying more that just half a kilo."

"I'll think about it."

We shake hands "Your room has already been prepared at the royal inn. Just call the palace secretary if you need anything else."

He thanks me but pauses and he doesn't move then I ask "Is there anything else we haven't covered?"

"Yes. I just wanted to ask.." He purses his dry lips and swallows nervously "I would like some slaves in my room this evening."

"Oh I'm sorry. My slaves are strictly bought to work in the palace."

"I respect that."

"I'll take my leave now Tobi."

I had a local meeting to settle disputes between my people and I entered the meeting room just in time. I joined all the chiefs and sat at the table but we couldn't start without the Umaru's or the Kila's. We needed at least two of the representatives of these families to be there.

They soon enter and we start without any arguments unlike the last time where we had to threaten the audience with electric tweezers before they were silenced.

"Sonada grate." The court marshal greets then looks at me "Can we start?"

"Proceed."

"We'll start in alphabetical order based on your first names so listen for your name as you'll be called to make your complaint."

The court marshal clears his throat and flicks the paper in his hands with the complainers names "Ebuka Wan."

He rises from his chair and descends the stairs to the middle of the room, rubs his massive belly and belches "Sonada cra ee Hra." He greets.

Everyone just nods except the court marshal who says "Zafri."

"My wife sold grace ornaments to Haleed Wan's and she refused to pay her for 10 months now."

A sudden laughter fills the atmosphere and he's looking down in anger and shame. I rise up and raise a hand for the to quiet down for the court marshal to talk.

"When do men interfere in women's disputes?" He asks.

"She told me to speak on her behalf. Is that wrong?"

"Of course not." He looks at me "My King what do we do?"

"Is the accused here?" I look around in the crowd for a sign of the woman's presence but I don't see anyone till the court marshal catches a hand being raised behind the ton and he asks her to come out.

"Madam is what he says the truth?"

She shakes her head "yes."

"Why haven't you paid?" I question her.

"I don't have the money."

"We give you an allowance weekly to purchase food items. What do you with it?"

She breaks into a hysteria of cries with her hands covering her face "My King, I've been paying hospital bills for months. My husband is dead and I have only one child. He's ill and I don't want him to die."

"For how long?"

"It's been a year."

"Pay her debt and give her some money to buy food and more grace ornaments for her son."

She kneels down immediately, shouting praises and thanking me until she's taken out with Ebuka Wan and another woman is sent to make her complaint.

"Sonada cra ee hra." She curtsies.

"Zafri Amina Wan." The court marshal flattens the puffs on the sleeves of his courtier draed.

"I've been looking for my toothbrush for one year and I found out it was my husband that stole it."

Another round of unexpected laughter cover the room. She doesn't look the least bit afraid or embarrassed. In fact she stands taller so everyone can see her stupidly brave face.

The court marshal can't even complete his sentences without breaking into a fit of laughter. "Amina Wan you should take this to you household and solve it within the walls of your house. Why here?"

"It's enough." I say firmly and she looks at me "Where's your husband now?"

She points at him sitting right beside the spot she rose up from. The court marshal beckons him and he walks down to meet his wife.

"What do you have to say Harun?" He was younger than her so his name needn't be spoken with endearments.

"She's lying."

I just shake my head "Amina Wan your husband has spoken. Counter it or face the punishment for lying to me and wasting my time."

"Prove that you don't have it Harun." She tightens her wrapper that's about to unwrap to the floor "He gave it to his girlfriend. He knows what he did."

I stand up, ready to leave the room because I can't stand the foolish and nonsensical problems they've brought to me today. "Finish it off. I have other problems to handle." I say to Badoo the court marshal.

On my way out I see Bala walking towards the throne room and I holler at him. He turns and waves me over.

"Are you heading out?"

"No. I want to check on the guards before I go back to my office."

"Ok, go. I'll wait for you there."

"We can leave them for now if what you want to talk about is more important."

"They're also important so go ahead. I can wait."

He finishes off to the throne room and I take a bypass door to a row of stairs in the second floor and I find his door locked so I wait for him to come and open it.

I hear him running up the stairs with loud stamps. He appears shortly and apologizes for forgetting to mention he locked the office. We go in and he locks it again.

"Sit, King." He jokes "What is it I'm needed for today? If I'm to be your therapist you're going to pay me extra." He drags his seat to sit with this legs crossed on his table as he folds his arms.

"That's alright. I can afford it." I laugh and slide into a chair opposite his glass table with gold compositions.

He nods and squints like he's in thought "What's wrong?"

"I don't know what to do with Surayya's issue. Whenever I think about it too I get so aggravated that I don't want to see her."

"I wanted to tell you but I've been so busy. I spoke to her. Something is bothering her. She won't speak unless it's both of us."

"You're also her brother so sort it out for her."

"We're her brothers." He points simultaneously at me and him "But she needs you you."

"You're the brother she trusts more." I counter.

"Well, I'm not the one who betrayed her trust."

"It was one time." I hold my chin up with my elbow on the chair "We stopped."

"We were fine because one we didn't want to catch us caugh us."

"But still stopped." I argued.

"Yes, Mentor Alice and Mentor Fahad stopped us." He explained.

"Now, I need you to stop her."

"I can't." I hiss "I also can't send her to the brand of subjugation for something so measly."

"You know where to take her if you can't stop her. You just need to stop being childish."

"I'm just so angry."

"You can start by trying to forgive her."

"I don't know why it hurt me so much. I just love her so much and I don't want to break my promise to our father."

"You care that's why it hurts."

"But I'll try, I'll see to it that she gets better if she's using constantly." I fake a smile and we say bye with the tap of the back of each other's hands "I'll find a way to get over it and speak to her."

I was definitely lying. Her voicemail was the first thing I saw this morning when I turned on my phone but I intentionally deleted it.

"You're not a child. Just pick up the phone and call her."

"I don't want to hear your preaching today." I stand up slowly and left his office to join Najma in our room so we can sleep.

She's watching a Gasodi show when I join her. I lay on her lap and let her rant about the missing child and his nonchalant parents who only care about cheating on themselves till I fall asleep.
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Yay or nay?