AN UNEXPECTED GUEST

★★★★★

Late Afternoon...

I was fast asleep and clutching my blanket, feeling cold when I felt my bed shaking beneath me. I instantly opened my eyes, feeling dazed, I thought I had been dreaming. I opened my eyes, taking a few seconds to adjust to the sun rays beaming into my room, just then I felt a pair of tiny little hands on my legs. I felt another hand shaking me back and forth telling me to wake up. 

"Aunty Hannan, wake up!" I heard Teslim's four-year-old daughter calling me. Yaseerah stood at a corner of the bedstead tapping my legs. I was about to scold her when I felt a strong push on my shoulder.

"Wake up, "My little nephew, Jaseem's voice rang in my ears, making me wince. He sat on my pillow, shaking me with all his might.

"Go away you two."  I groaned and closed my eyes, attempting to fall back asleep.

"It's time for salah." I heard him say again, this time a little closer to my ear, which made me hiss and cast him away and put the pillow over my head, ignoring the little pests invasion in my room. 

Minutes later, I heard the door slammed shut and I thought they had both left. I mentally heaved a relieved sigh, but the next thing I knew, Yaseerah was tugging at my hair. She was still around?

"Aunty Hannan, Mummy said to call you." She whispered into my ear. Somehow she had managed to climb the bed. 

"Please, go to your mother and let me sleep," I murmured and turned to the other side with my back to her, hoping the persistent little one would leave me alone, but she didn't. I told her to give me some breathing space, that I wasn't in the best shape or mood to play. I was having a throbbing headache and I wanted to sleep it off.

I wanted to scold her crossly when she became too persistent and continued to tug at my hair, turning it into a plaything, but something stopped me. Maybe it was the headache, perhaps I was too tired. My God! I felt like dead wood. Feeling awful, I turned to face the innocent-looking child. She stared back at me with her bright almond-brown orbs, wearing a beautiful and irresistible smile. She had her mother's eyes.

Awe! Why do you get to be so cute? I mentally said and feigned a crying face. She giggled at my expression and I held her by her shoulders and pulled her into my blankets, pampering her to sleep. She laughed and tried to resist, pulling out of my hold.

"No princess," I moaned, pulling her close. "Let's sleep." I kissed her forehead and I felt her resting her head against my breasts.

"Hannan!" Teslim's voice echoed from the corridor. I instantly hated the sound of her voice and internally rolled my eyes. I pressed my eyelids together, tightening them as hard as I could. I knew she was coming to wake me up and I didn't want to get out of bed.

And just as I suspected, she pushed the door open, allowing herself and Jaseem in. I heard him running toward my bed and landed his tiny butt on my toe. I almost yelped and pushed him away but I had to keep pretending like I was actually sleeping. 

"You lazy ass!" She yelled and it was as if she was standing in my brain. "What are you doing sleeping?" She turned on the lights and I heard her footsteps approaching me. "It's past four already, you've missed your Asr Salah." Subhan Allah! I made sure I prayed before I climbed onto this bed, yet thirty minutes into my sleep, my room was invaded by my sister and her kids. More reasons I should get my own apartment.

"Teslim, please stop it, you are hurting my brain," I whined, my head feeling as though it was disconnected from my body.

 "Dan Allah kin tashi ki je kinyi Salah(For God's sake, get up and go and pray)." I heard her say crossly and grabbed the edges of my blanket, tugging at it until I let go of her daughter and the blanket, revealing my face.

"Please, take your kids and go away. I need to sleep, I have a headache." I said in a more serious tone.

"Is that why you don't want to get out of bed and go and pray? Dan Allah kitashi (for God's sake get up)."She came closer and I opened my eyes to meet her almond ones which gave me a disapproving glare. Teslim had such beautiful eyes, her husband is lucky.

"I have prayed already," I told her, pushing the bedspread down to reveal the upper part of my body. I was wearing a thick maroon sweater.

 "What is wrong with you?" She then put a hand on my forehead to check my temperature. I saw her face soften a little." Your temperature is high." She uttered and then went on to open the curtains, allowing the sunlight to fill the room, almost blinding my eyes. Jaseem took the opportunity to pinch my toes.

"Ouch!" I jerked, almost screaming. I saw him giggling and running off to take refuge in between his mother's legs.

You little demon!

 I squinted at him and he pouted back, returning the energy. Well, that was my payback for scolding him earlier. I shall have my revenge later. I eyed him, making a warning face, then averted my eyes when I saw his mother returning. 

"How long have you been feeling unwell?" Teslim came to sit by my side on the bed.

"It's just this evening, it's nothing serious. I think it's my new hairstyle." I informed her."I believe I'll feel better if you and your kids will excuse me. I need to catch some Zs."

"Well, Mum said I should get you. We need your assistance to organize the guest room, we will be having some visitors." She said, taking a good look at my hair. 

"I think you need to unbraid this hair, it's too tight." She gave me a pitiful look. I thought so too, I knew I would die of migraine before the next day if I didn't take down my braids. As much as I wanted to keep the beautiful box braids my mother made for me, I also wanted to live long too. The pain was becoming unbearable with every passing second. 

"Yeah, sure I have to," I grunted and finally got out of bed, and so did my niece. I walked up to my drawer to get my rat-tail comb and detangler.

"Come here, let me help you." She mustered me to come sit on the floor near her when she saw me returning with my hair tools.

"Who is coming?" I asked once I plopped on the floor between her legs, resting my back on the bedstead.

"Hmm?" She mumbled. I gave her the rat-tail comb.

"You said we are expecting guests," I said and she began to unknot my hair. 

"Oh! About that, it's Ahmad." She informed me and carried on with my hair. I instantly regretted letting her handle my hair. My head was banging with pain. I knew I had a sensitive scalp, yet I cajoled Mum to plait my hair. She might get furious if she saw that I had taken them down.

Twenty minutes later, the detangling session was over. My sister took her daughter and left to join Mum in the guest room. I stood up and walked up to my dressing mirror to admire my hair, the rich black texture, and the way the thick curls fell below my shoulders. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror, feeling like the most beautiful woman in the world. I reached for my hairbrush on the dresser and carefully began to brush through, giving every strand the love that it desired. After that, I went in with my Ayurvedic hair cream and then pathed the curls into two halves.   

I took a step backward, staring at the soulful young lady on the other side of the mirror. Her smooth skin was glowing and her hair, almost as dark as coal, shone, laying perfectly on her shoulders. She could easily pass for a model. I winked at my reflection. My hair was giving me the confidence that I needed. Suddenly the need to take a picture of myself struck me. I took my phone, turned on the camera, and took a few shots from the mirror. 

While I was snapping, I saw my little nephew struggling to get into the picture so I pulled him closer and we took some nice selfies together. Once we were satisfied with the number of shots we'd taken. We sat on the bed and began to go through the snapshots. After scrolling through a few of them, I came across one in which Jaseem and I had been pouting, we looked cute together.

"Awe! You've got such cute lips, Habiy." I said as I showed the image to the little one. He giggled and fell with his back on my lap, palming his face. I laughed at his cheerful reaction.

It wasn't long before I remembered that my mother had requested that I join them to organize the guest room for our guests. I felt a little better now that my head was free. I lifted my nephew, kissed him on both cheeks and sat him down on my bed, leaving my phone with him. 

As I approached my closet, I noticed that he had been taking photos of me from behind. I smiled at that. I love and adored Jaseem so much even though he was quite stubborn. 

 Shortly I fetched my blue jersey veil from where I usually hung it and went to check my appearance in the mirror before pulling the veil over my head. As I did that I saw from the mirror that Jaseem was about to exit the room with my phone, so I spun around. I knew I couldn't trust him to stay put, and I also knew that I couldn't risk him taking my phone out of my sight because what if he broke it?

"JASEEM!" I scowled. "Give me back my phone!"  He turned to face me, the muscles about his mouth exhibited wrinkling movements and he pouted his lips. 

"You come catch me." He said, sticking out his tongue at me before taking to his heels. I instantly regretted letting him have my precious phone in the first place. I knew that kid was up to no good. 

"Jaseem! Come back here." I called after him as he made away with my phone. I was running after him like a maniac escaping from a psychiatric ward.

"You little thing!" I yelled at him, running down the stairway, afraid that he would trip and fall and end up breaking my phone in the process. 

"You can't catch me." He giggled, running towards the front door.

"HABIY! I'm not playing with you." Short for Habibi.

"Oh yes, you are."His tone was mischievous which made me mad.

"If I catch you, I won't spare you," I said out of frustration. I could still hear his annoying giggling as I ran down the stairs and just when I was about to get off the last step my veil slipped off my head and fell onto the floor.

Ignoring it, I hurried toward the room where Jaseem had just entered. I reached the door, I halted as my eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar figure and that was when I was almost immobilized with the greatest shock of my life. 

I saw Dr.Zayn, dressed in a white kandura with Arabian headgear, he walked out of the room and was on a phone call. His eyes swept the sight in front of him and I colored scarlet red when they bored into mine. My body went numb as I stood there, unable to form words.

The world stood still, an excruciating silence loomed around us and during that split second I remembered that I had nothing over my head. Almost immediately my hands flew to my head and that was the moment I wished the ground could just split up and swallow me. My hair was exposed before his eyes.

 I couldn't move, yet I wanted nothing more than to bounce back to fetch my sheila that was lying on the floor just at the foot of the stairway. His eyes followed my gaze and it fell on the veil. I saw him look away and then turn around to close the door. The moment his attention shifted from me it was as if my limbs were liberated once again. I took the opportunity to rush back to pick up my veil. As I wrapped it over my head, I heard him utter something that sent a cold shiver down my spine:

"Yaa Hanamy," The way he pronounced the words, it was as if no one else had ever called me by my name. 

I glanced right over my shoulder and I swallowed hard when our eyes met again. It was as if he was looking through my soul. I squirm, unable to keep up with his powerful gaze.

*****

Hafsah had walked out of her apartment when two of her grandchildren, baby Fahad and Yaseerah emerged from the door behind her. She stood on the lawn right under the dark shade cast by the building. She picked up Fahad and carried him on her side upon seeing that he had come outside barefoot. The kids and their grandmother stood there, anticipating their father's arrival.

It was not too long when two cars drove into the premises: a polished black Sports Car and a silver Range Rover. Hafsah craned, squinting at the cars expectantly waiting to see her beloved Son-In-Law emerge from any of them. Unfortunately for her, the cars were adorned with black tinted glasses, so she could not see whoever was inside. 

Upon arriving at his in-law's place, Ahmad felt at ease watching his kids and dearest Umma from the luxurious Range Rover where he had been occupying the passenger seat and Omar was well seated at the driver's seat, wearing his signature smile as he stared at the view in front of him.

With a gentle smile on Ahmad's face, he stepped out of the car and hurried to his kids, and unintendedly Yaseerah's gaze met with her father's and she let out an enthusiastic scream, "ABBAh!(Daddy)"

And without delay, she dashed in the direction of their father, making Fahad struggle out of his grandmother's grip which she eventually placed him on the ground.

Yeseerah reached out to her father with a huge beam glued on her face, so he picked her up without any delay and plastered wet kisses on both of her cheeks. He placed her down as she giggled while eagerly waiting for Fahad to come to him. He eventually scooped him from the ground and gave him his share of the blessed kisses.

"Daddy," Yaseeah called. "What did you bring for me?" She grinned widely. Ahmad smiled, looking down at his adorable daughter. 

"He brought me." A tall man appeared from behind her father and she peeked at him.

"Uncle Khalifah!" She beamed and he lifted her in his arms affectionately."You came too?" She asked and wrapped her small arms around his neck. She called him uncle because he used to visit them at Kano and they grew fond of him, recognizing him as their uncle regardless of his relationship with their father.

"Yes, I did and I brought you this." Omar surprised her with a little teddy bear he had bought for her. 

"Wow! A Teddy Bear?" She gasped.

"Yes, and it's all for you little one." He shoved it into her hands.

"Thank you so much, uncle." She hugged his head and kissed him on his forehead, making Omar laugh.

Ahmad smiled at that and turned around to see Zayn emerging from his tinted sports car. He shut the door behind him, tossed his keys inside his right pocket, and walked up to them with some elegant steps.

"Assalaam Alaikum," He offered his greetings to the small throng. The kids turn their attention to see a very tall fine man, dressed in white. He didn't look like someone they had seen before.

"Wa alaikum salaam, "They answered simultaneously and he didn't fail to notice the kids' lingering gaze on him, more like they were threatened by his presence or something.   

Seeing her boys together once more, Hafsah's lips tucked up in a beautiful smile.

"Ya Rahman! (Oh merciful lord)." She praised, earning everyone's attention as she ambled toward them. Omar was taken aback by the sight of this nice old lady.

"Ya Ummiy! (My dear mother)"He exclaimed and hugged her before releasing her with a soft peck on her forehead. He had been the only one out of the three men who had not seen her in years. The other two men came to stand before her, offering her kisses with much regard.

"Look at my children, they've grown into men." She said with a huge grin, lifting her gaze from one person to the other. "Sannu ku da zowa,(Welcome y'all)" She invited them to come inside.

As they sauntered inside they were met by Teslim at the door, who was coming to check the reason for her daughter screaming. Unlike her mother, she was not surprised to see the three of them together because she was well informed of their coming.

She held the door for them to enter, and then after the greetings and pleasantries, she headed on to escort them to the guest room where they would be staying for the night.

"Where is your brother?" Omar inquired, shifting Yaseerah to his other arm.

"He is up there," She answered, pointing at the top of the stairway. Omar followed her gaze to see that she had been pointing at a door.

"Doing what, sleeping?"He asked playfully, and Zayn didn't fail to notice how each of his friends carried a kid affectionately in their arms. He wasn't great with kids so he felt left out.

"Jaseem is with Hannan upstairs," Teslim answered over her shoulders as she opened the door to the room.

"Zayn, do you remember Hannan?" Omar asked, glancing over at Zayn from behind him.

"How can I ever forget our worst nightmare?" Zayn sniggered at Omar who was helping Ahmad to play the role of a daddy.

"I swear, she was absolutely a wild cat on that very day," Omar remarked as they stepped into a large room that had couches and cushions, a glass center table, and a dining area.

"What was that she called Ahmad again?" Zayn asked with the hope that Ahmad would at least say something this time. Upon sensing the tension in the air, between him and his wife, he noticed that he had not been contributing to their conversation. 

"She said Old fart." Ahmad finally said something, making Zayn laugh along with Omar.

"I wonder how a little child like that knew the meaning of such a phrase." Ahmad carried on laughing and shaking his head at the young version of Hanamy. As he sat somewhere on a sofa, he placed Fahad on his lap.

"Even I don't know the meaning of the phrase till today."Said Omar, sitting next to Ahmad, and sat Yaseerah down in the space between them.

"Forget about the meaning, the phrase is hilarious." Zayn pointed out and a small smile crept over his face. He sat idly in an armchair with an arm stretched over the arm of the chair. "I'm sure she couldn't possibly know the meaning of what she had said, Khalifah can testify." He made a face, giving his friend a teasing look.

"Testify to what?" Omar grinned, knowing where Zayn was heading with the conversation. "She had been angry because I stole meat from her food," He confessed, leaning back. "So she came to kick my leg, calling me all sorts of abusive names. I got annoyed and called her fat, she retorted and said even bigger fat. I turned around and called her old fat, I said 'Fat' not Fart." He clarified and the three men convulsed with laughter. "And that was the first time I've heard such words. From that day on it became a catchphrase for her." 

Zayn shook his head and felt sorry for Ahmad's little cousin. Omar was the only one in the group who liked to play around with the girl, telling her he would marry her when she grew up. Zayn and Ahmad were always trying to get rid of her because of her bad temper, Omar, on the other hand, enjoyed messing around with her just to see her throw tantrums.

"And I remembered that time you broke her bicycle. She became mad and said 'Your wife is a donkey' and you were like, you are my wife, donkey." Ahmad demonstrated and laughed out loud but Zayn remained silent for a moment, looking confused because he was not around to witness that particular scene. He directed his attention to Teslim and her mother who were setting the dining table at the other side of the room.

"So how does it feel to be back home, Zayn?" Teslim asked over at the dining area, reaching behind her mother, and snatching a bowl of soup on the table. "I hope you have not forgotten the days when you used to make everyone's life a living hell." She said mischievously. His lips held back a smile. He liked her selection of words, it reminded him of his reckless youthful days.

"I don't remember making anyone's life a hell."He chuckled lightly. "It's funny how you put it that way." He said, resting his long graceful arms on the armchair. "I'm sure Ahmad remembers that he was much of a strain on you than I was." He told her and her gaze swept him, he looked away, lowering his gaze and expecting Ahmad to respond to his snide comments, but instead, his wife ended up defending him. 

"Ahmad was not nearly as bad as the both of you," She pointed her spatula to both men. "Especially you, Khalifah, we have old scores to settle." She quipped and Omar laughed, shaking his head as he remembered why Teslim was making threatening gestures at him with a spatula.

"It wasn't my fault that I was just an excuse to bring the both of you together," Omar said on a serious note and Ahmad sighed, pressing his lips together. "I'm glad that I played my role perfectly as the matchmaker." He taunted, smiling and putting a hand on his chest in courtesy.

Omar had been a huge part of the reason she and Ahmad ended up together, despite him being an overprivileged pervert who enjoys pranking others. His pranks were put to good use when they helped her discover her feelings for Ahmad. She smiled at their old memories. 

"Aisha told me you are the new director of your father's company. She stepped down for you to take over." She inquired after she had set some plates down on the table. "How does it feel to be bossing everyone around over there?" She sent him a sly smile and wiped her clammy hands on the front of her apron.

"It feels good, but there is more to it than just bossing everyone around." Omar cleared his throat. "It's a great responsibility. It requires a lot of energy, time, and sacrifice. "He carried on, fixing his gaze on the floor in front of him." Sometimes I wish I could just travel out, run away to some other country."

"Even if you are allowed to run away, will you go?" She swiped her fingers underneath her eyes to rid some of the runs of Kohl and quickly took off her apron.

"You wey like your country pass yourself? (You love your country more than yourself)" Ahmad jeered, grinning.

"You have a point there," Omar nodded. He was about to say something when suddenly Zayn's phone rang. He looked at the screen, sighing loudly as he picked up the phone. Ahmad looked up and smiled at him.

"What? Is it Aliya?" He asked mischievously, and they both shared a knowing glance.

"Of course, who else?" Zayn replied. He got up and walked over to the door. It was to the left corner of the guestroom. As he was about to open the door, a young boy ran into the room, laughing loudly and waving a Samsung Galaxy phone with a pink pouch in the air. He ran past Zayn and rushed to his father, jumping into his arms with unprecedented enthusiasm. Ahmad hugged him affectionately and without a single doubt, Zayn knew he was the Jaseem they spoke about earlier.

"If I catch you, I won't spare you!" He heard a female voice call from behind the door. Ignoring it he opened the door and stepped out of the room.

"Yes, Aliya, what is it?" He said into the phone. "Don't tell me something terrible happened to my ca...r" His sentence trailed off as his eyes fell on the girl that stood before him. She was average height with rich butter bronze skin and thick dark hair that contrasted against her big brown orbs. A flicker of recognition flashed in his eyes. It was her, the uncultured little woman. What was she doing here? And oh! realization struck him like a lightning bolt that she was Mr. Saleh's younger daughter.

He knew that from their resemblance, she had her father's eyes. He also knew he should lower his gaze when he looked at her unveiled, but he couldn't help himself from examining her features. Her lush long hair fell loosely, reaching below her shoulder and touching her mid-back. She was also wearing a big knitted maroon sweater and plain black Palazzo pants.

Hannan's hands flew to her head, and she shut her eyes, her face scrunched up in what was an evident shame. He saw her shifting her gaze and following her eye movement he spotted her headscarf on the floor. Zayn turned around to lock the door to the room, using the opportunity as an excuse to hide his surprise when he saw her getting uncomfortable under his gaze. He thought she would use this time to cover her hair, understanding the difficult position she found herself in.

When he returned his attention to the phone call he was receiving, he saw that Aliya had hung up on him. He put his phone away and turned to face the girl again, this time she had hidden her hair under her blue scarf with her back to him. Looking at her now was different from how he used to look at her, before and when she was young. More like he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Yaa Hanamy," The words escaped his lips as if he wanted to be sure she was the one. Her body tensed up, turning to face him and it was as if she was hearing her name for the first time.

"What are you doing here?"She demanded, despite the fuzzy feeling in her heart. Her tone was a bit disrespectful, which was something Zayn disliked about her: her manner of approach, lack of caution, and disregard for elders.

Amazed at the sudden shift in the atmosphere, Zayn narrowed his brows and took a step forward to observe her closely." I should be asking you that?"He uttered. His expression, a mask of composed annoyance. 

"The last time I checked, you are in my house."She retorted, making him frown. She saw his eyes darkened, an echo of the cold impression she had of him. She shook her head, attempting to shake off the lingering memory of their previous encounter.

"That is unsightly. What an impudent child you are."He saw something in her expression that he didn't recognize:the way she looked at him with utter annoyance.

His words caused her chest to swell, tightening with an excruciating pang, the feeling, a harsh contrast to the softness of her mother's gaze, glaring at her from behind the guestroom door.

"Why are you standing there, doing nothing?"Her mother's voice broke through from behind Zayn, a moment of awkwardness lingered in the air as she emerged from the room."Won't you offer your visitor something to eat?" Her countenance was clueless, making Hannan's expression settle back to normal, believing her mother hadn't heard her talking rudely to the so-called visitor. "By the way, what are you doing there?"

"Habiy took my phone and ran off with it, I came to get it ba..." Zayn barely let her finish when he went back to the guest room and returned with her phone in his hand. To save her the upcoming embarrassing remark from her mother, he gladly wanted to hand it back so she'd leave, but that didn't stop her mother. She didn't spare Hannan the chance to at least defend herself.

"So you were idle because of a common phone? Hannan, please do not take this lazy character to your husband's house, I beg you." She protested, and a wicked smile tugged at Zayn's lips, he expected that."Allah ya shirieki(May God deliver you.)"

 Reading Hafsah's expression and understanding her intentions, he looked at her and they shared a smile when their eyes met. Hannan saw that and her face colored crimson. Her eyes flickered up to meet his and he smirked, making her wish she was never born. He had just figured out a way to teach this little thing a lesson.

"Umma, you haven't changed totally. You remind me of the days when you used to chase her around with a cane just to ensure she had her bath." Hafsah laughed at the memory of her little Hanamy.

Zayn wanted to laugh as well to spite her, but upon seeing the way she stood, her eyes cast down in abashment, and the way she adjusted the scarf on her head, a bit of awkwardness washed over him. She was feeling embarrassed because of him. He could tell by the shame in her eyes.

Hafsah ceased her laughter and instantly wore a stern look."Yes, these children are hard to control, and if we don't treat them with an iron fist. Only God knows what would become of them in the future." She told Zayn who nodded to every single word, glad that he and her mother were on the same page. 

Before leaving, she instructed Hannan to go and assist her sister in serving the guests. Watching her from afar, like a hawk waiting to devour its prey, she saw Zayn holding out a phone to Hannan.

"Thank you."She murmured, taking her phone from his hand and turning to leave. He watched as she took quick steps away from there.

"You are not welcome." He said coldly, wishing that her mother hadn't heard him, and fortunately, she didn't, but Hannan did.

She instinctively turned to observe him. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear under her veil and smiled at the man who never quite spoke more than a handful of words, but somehow managed to communicate through his gaze every single time. His words pierced her anytime he spoke, but that's okay because she was like a shield cast out of titanium, mere words could not crack her.

★★★★★

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