2nd MARCH, 2017.

KANO, NIGERIA.

Ameerah placed the last piece of clothing back in her drawer. With a sigh, she closed the drawer and stood up, moving the now empty suitcase out of the way. Her gaze fell on Juwy who sat quietly on the bunk they shared, her finger absentmindedly playing with the ring on her thumb as she stared at the wall. This made Ameerah sigh again, hands akimbo, "How is she?" She asked.

Juwy snapped her gaze to Ameerah, taken aback slightly by the sudden question thrown at her. She opened her mouth to say something, then contemplated and kept shut. She continued to fiddle with the ring, thinking of whether to just lie or tell her the truth.

She knows that she shouldn't share her family problems with strangers. However, Ameerah is not just a stranger, the girl is family to her. She had been with her since their first year and had helped her deal with the whole divorce thing and whatnot. So, if there's one person she can share her problems with, it's her.

"Not good" Juwy said after a while, sighing loudly. She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly, "The whole divorce thing is taking a toll on her though it's been years already"

Ameerah's kept her lips shut. She understood the turmoil Juwy is in considering her mother is going through the same thing. The only difference between the two mothers is that one is divorced while the other is ignored.

Ameerah made her way over to Juwy who sat on her bed, then sat beside her. "Is she in contact with him?

"No" Juwy shook her head, not moving her gaze away from the wall she suddenly found attractive, "He doesn't answer any of her calls. All he does is send her money and that's all" Her tone held a bitter undertone.

"He sends her money? That means he cares right?"

Juwy scoffed, turning her head to look at Ameerah, "You of all people should know that money is not everything. So what if he sends her money? Do you think it's enough compensation for the way he divorced her?"

Ameerah closed her eyes, biting her tongue so as to keep her from saying anything that'll anger the girl more. When she figured out what to say, she opened her eyes again and looked at her friend, "It's not. But Juwy what she needs the most right now if for you to be by her side. Knowing that she still has a daughter that'll always be there for her, I'm sure would make her happy"

Juwy stared at Ameerah for a while before she sighed and nodded, "I guess so..."

Silence befall in the room. None knew what to say. Or maybe they had too much to say that they preferred the silence. It would be much better than actually express it and know the answer.

That was, until Ameerah felt the need to speak, "I won't lie to you Juwy..." The mere mention of her name had Juwy looking up to meet her friend's gaze, "Things will not be okay. But it'll get better with time in shaa Allah"

"You think so?"

Ameerah smiled slightly, then nodded, "Trust me, I've been through a lot to be sure of this. Things will get better in one way or other. You have to make sure of it"

~*~

3rd MARCH, 2017.

ABUJA, NIGERIA.

"Please don't!"

"This is all your fault!" The man screamed, angrily punching the wall beside him.

"How is it my fault huh?!" The woman yelled back, anger lacing her tone. Her voice came out hoarse from all the crying, pleading, and yelling she had been doing.

"Are you asking me?" The man's voice dropped an octave lower, as if he couldn't believe her audacity. "You are really asking me that?!"

"Shouldn't I? Why must I take the blame for something you did!"

"Okay I've had enough of this" He looked around hastily, looking for anything that would help him shut her up. His gaze fell on the kettle that's plugged in, steam escaping through the open tip.

"NO!"

Tahir woke up with a jolt, eyes widened as his breathing came out ragged. He clutched the sheets that covered his lower half tightly, clenching his eyes shut he tried to calm down his heavy breathing. At first it didn't work since the nightmare was so vivid, it scared him every time. Eventually, his heartbeat calmed down.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then exhaled. When he saw sure that he wouldn't pass out if he stands, he pushed the duvet off him and threw his legs off the bed, before standing up. The room was dimly lit, just bright enough to see a couple of things. He opened the mini fridge he has in the room, picking up the first water bottle in sight. With the bottle in hand, he used his free hand to switch on the lights. He blinked, trying to get his eyes accustomed to the brightness.

He sighed when his gaze fell on the clock beside his bed which read 1:47am. He looked around, trying to spot extra tumblers he keeps in case of emergencies like this. When he found one, he poured the cold water in it before closing the bottle and taking the tumbler with him.

For some reason, each time he has a nightmare, he always opens the curtains and stare out. Somehow, that gave him the much needed peace he yearns at the moment. So, he did the same thing this time. He made his way over to the window as he sips the water from the tumbler, the coldness easing the tension in him. He pulled the curtains open, eyes looking over the vast land of his father's house.

As his eyes slowly moved about, he saw something lurking in the shadows.

He blinked once, then twice. Still, the shadow was there—staring at him.

He squinted his eyes, using his hand to rub the sleep off his face. Yet when he looked at the direction again, a pair of dark orbs met his. He could dismiss the action as a trick of the darkness but if anything, those piercing black orbs made him shudder. It was as if the person is staring right through him—unblinking. Due to the black outfit the person has on, it was almost impossible for Tahir to recognize the face lurking in the shadows. This made his now calm heart start beating fast again out of fear.

Tahir glanced at the clock for a brief second, trying to make sense of someone showing up at such absurd time before he looked back. Except this time, when he looked at the place once again, there was no one there.

It was simply like no one was there. It didn't seem like anyone was there just about a minute ago, and that scared him more. He frantically looked around, trying to spot the person lurking in the shadows, but there was no trace of the person.

"I'm just imagining stuff" He muttered to himself before he looked at the cup in his hand. He brought it close to his nose so he could take a whiff of it, wanting make sure it's water and not some alcoholic drink that's making him hallucinate.

That would make much more sense than what happened because as far as he knows, no one should be able to get into his house that easily.

Yet, someone did. And for some strange reason, he felt the person wasn't a stranger because by all accounts, the person is after him.

The question is, who and why?

~*~

"Noah! Come here" The woman called, fixing up the now empty plate of food.

Noah laughed and continued running about, laughter erupting from his chest making his body shook. He enjoyed teasing her, something about the smile on her face always made him grin. After all, she was all he had.

However, he stopped in his tracks when her laughter stopped. Looking over his shoulders, he saw her in the same position she was earlier, except this time, she wasn't laughing. The smile is just there plastered on her face. "Mom..." He trailed off, turning around to run back to his mother.

"Mom!" He called again, seeing as she made no move to answer him back. She was simply smiling, and nothing else. By the time he reached her, a loud gasp escaped his throat. His small hands covered his mouth as his knees sank in the ground, near her body that now laid on the carpet they ate just five minutes ago on. How she ended up on her back when she was just sitting earlier remained a mystery to him.

He took a hold of her shoulder, shaking it as he called her name again and again, pleading with her to reply. He was sure that there was nothing wrong with her, he was sure that she is alright. That was, until he saw the pool of blood that surrounded her. "MOM!"

Noah woke up at the instant, cold sweats streaming down his face. He felt so suffocated, he simply couldn't breathe normally. His eyes weren't helping either considering everything looked blurry to him. He roughly pushed the comforter covering his body and got off the bed. Using the bedside drawer to aid him stand without falling, he scrambled his way over to the window, hastily opening it to breathe some fresh air. He didn't acre that the air conditioning system was on, all he needed was some fresh air that would aid him breathe since he's feeling suffocated.

He breathed heavily, greedily inhaling as much air as he could while his hand rested on his chest, where his heart is. With the more air he inhales, he could feel his heart beat calm down.

It took a while before he could finally breathe again. And when he did, he could see clearly then. He held the window, closing his eyes trying to erase the nightmare from his memory. It wasn't real, he knew that. But, it didn't make it any less painful.

It still hurts. The mere thought of her did.

When he was sure he's back to normal, he looked up—his eyes immediately falling on a figure from afar, staring at him. The shadows made the person look like an illusion of the darkness. However, the eyes staring at him told him otherwise. His eyes narrowed at the figure. It was too dark in the area for him to make out the person's features, partially because the person had on black face mask which made the person have this mysterious aura.

Noah reached his hand out to turn on the lights, convinced that it may help him make out the person's features. He couldn't reach it though. So, he turned around to look for the switch and flicker it on. Once the brightness filled up the room, he hastily looked back to see the figure only to see it no longer there.

His brows furrowed as his eyes squinted a bit. He didn't believe that there was no one there, that it was an illusion of the darkness. No, someone was there.

And one thing he was sure of is that the person shouldn't be there else, why lurk in the shadow?

But there was one question that disturbed him the most, how did the person get in?

~*~

"Next!"

The woman in front of her moved out of the way, her tray held firmly in her hand.

Rabia stepped forth, pushing her empty metal tray over to the woman that gives them food.

The woman looked at Rabia, face scrunching in distaste. She rolled her eyes but nevertheless, scoped little food compared to the ones she had been serving and rudely dumped it on Rabia's tray. "Next!" She said, not sparing the girl a glance.

Rabia's eyes moved from the woman to the food in her tray. It would barely be enough for her to have three spoonsful of it. It was her first day in prison since she was moved from Juvenile detention center just a few hours ago. However, based on the way the people that were in front of her were served, she knew this is too little. "That's it?" She muttered, unknowingly having said it out loud.

"Move out of the way" A white woman behind her shoved her out of the line. This made Rabia nearly trip but the woman didn't care one bit. "Why are all these black people dumb?" The woman said to her friend, who along with the woman serving the food.

Rabia looked at them, seeing how much food the woman gave the woman that shoved her along with her friends. She turned and walked away from them, spotting an empty table to sit alone. She knew the amount of racism that exists in prison since she experienced it back in JDC. She didn't expect that much in the prison she moved to though. Somehow she believed that the people here would be more mature and accepting.

Apparently not...

She was about to slid into the table she spotted when someone bumped into her harshly, this made the tray slip out of her hand and fall on the floor, all the contents ending up on the dirty floor. Rabia swiftly turned around to look at the person who caused it.

The woman from earlier offered her a fake smile, "Sorry" She said, while her friends laugh, not bothering to hid their amusement. The woman turned around to walk away along with her friends, but stopped after a couple of steps. She walked back to Rabia, leaning down to her level, "Piece of advice...learn to keep your mouth shut"

Rabia watched as the woman and her friends walked away, leaving her with an empty tray and dirty floor, which she undoubtedly has to clean all alone. It didn't help knowing that she won't get any food again, she knew the rules well enough. The next food she might see that day is dinner, and that too, it would be a miracle if she gets it considering what just happened.

She crouched down and cleaned the content, wiping the floor with the rag one of the inmates carelessly threw at her. When she cleaned the place up and washed her hands, tears of anger clouded her vision. She didn't let them fall though, she had stopped crying long ago over this.

She walked out of the bathroom, with the intention of going back to the cell she shares with the others since there was no point of her going back to the dining again. A hand stretched out in front of her. Her eyes snapped from the hand in front of her, to the tray in the person's hand which had food in it. She looked at the person, eyes falling on an unfamiliar light skin that she had never seen before.

"Here" The woman said, gesturing for Rabia to collect it. She rolled her eyes slightly when she saw the hesitation in the girl's eyes, "Take it, don't worry, I didn't poison it. Not all white people are wicked"

Rabia collected it after a bit of hesitation on her part. "Thank you" She said genuinely to the woman.

The woman only smiled, then walked away.

Rahma woke up, a memory she wished to bury deep in her resurfacing. She breathed out slowly, fingers running through her hair as she sat up on the bed. Just the memory of that reminded her of one of the reasons she promised herself not to go back too that place ever again. "I won't go back in shaa Allah" She muttered clenching her eyes shut, "Come what may, I'm not going back"

She shook her head to get rid of the memory that woke her up, but her heart still wasn't at ease. She knew there was only one thing that will calm her down at the moment. She got out of the bed and made her way over to the bathroom to perform ablution after slipping into a pair of flip flops. After performing it, she spread out a prayer mat in the room and prayed. She seeks for Allah's guidance in her affairs knowing only He alone can help her at the moment.

She knew that when she wakes up in the morning, she has to meet Maria considering it's the day for the charity event they planned together. And this time, she was determined for something...anything that would help her.

She would find something on Maria by whatever means necessary.

~*~

Who expected an update rn?

Who went to Tahir and Noah's house?

First anonymous texts and now shadows? Okay...

Rabia is determined to get something from Maria. Let's see how this goes.

Vote. Comment and Share.

Love, Jannah.