Rahma turned around and quickly left, careful not to let her heels make sound that'll gain her attention from the three. She could wrap her head around what she just heard. She really did think the message was from Maria. But then again, as it was established, the message seemed more like a harmless warning than a threatening message. But for Tahir to get it too? It's simply strange. What relationship does the two have?

Then again, maybe it's a different message they're talking about.

But then again, he said it's an anonymous message from two days ago. The same day she got her anonymous message. Could it be a coincidence? And what was that that they were talking about seeing someone?

It all doesn't make sense.

She knew there was only one way she could get her answer though, and that is to talk to Zarah about it. However, she knew right now wasn't the right time. So, she'd save it for alter, when they leave the event.

"Rahma"

"Yeah?" This time she wasn't as startled as she was when Zarah talked to her earlier. However, that didn't stop how startled she felt at the moment.

"Something is going on"

This made Rahma's brow drew in close as she threw away the thoughts of the conversation she just heard away. "What? Where?"

"Maria and the woman you were talking to earlier..." Zarah's voice lowered for a second, "The two are alone. Seems like they are arguing or something"

"Where are they?" Rahma looked around, trying to see if she could spot the two. She smiles at everyone her eyes meet, trying to not seem weird by muttering to herself every now and then.

"Keep moving and then take the hallway on your right, second room. From where I am, the door room is slightly ajar. You can hear what they're talking about if you're discrete"

"Alright. I'll check it out now" She followed the direction Zarah gave her. At the moment she was thankful that her heels do not give as much sound as one would expect. Granted, they clank, but not loud enough to draw attention.

She avoided being seen by much people, and when she passes by some, she smiles trying to act as natural as she can. By the time she reached the end of the hallway, she understood why Maria and the woman chose the spot, there were barely any people there. Only a couple littered here and there, but even they were making their way over to where the other people are so they are alone.

She looked back, wanting to make sure that no one's following her before she turned right, walking slower than earlier to the second room. As Zarah said, the room door is slightly ajar and the closer she gets, the clearer the voices in the room become.

She stopped once she could hear the conversation clearly, a couple of feet away from the door.

"What happened to you Maria? You suddenly trust that girl out of nowhere! You don't even know her. No one has ever heard of her before until she showed up out of the blue" The woman said frustratingly, her voice raising slightly. "You've always been cautious of the people you interact with, so why are you being carless around her?!" The woman whisper yelled.

Maria sighed. Rahma moved closer to the door, peaking slightly only to see Maria make her way over to a chaise lounge and sitting on it. She crossed her legs, and calmly looked at the woman. "You're right. I don't trust people easily"

"Exactly!"

"Which is why I had her investigated. She's legit. I trust my source enough to know that everything he told me about her is true. So calm down, she's not a stranger anymore. Besides, she sponsored this event, didn't she? Do you know how much money that costs?" Maria's lips slowly stretched into a smile. She reached her hand out to touch the petals of a flower that rests on the table beside the lounge. She lightly caresses the white petals, staring at the flower as if it's the most beautiful thing in the world.

The woman rolled her eyes, fixing her veil which fell off her shoulders. "Who cares about money?" The woman's voice raised again, annoyed by Maria's nonchalant attitude over the situation.

Maria looked up at the instant, her hand pausing from touching the petals. "I do" She saw the confused expression on the woman's face, it made her shake her head and roll her eyes, "Look, she goes around and pay for the event which makes me save money. And since no one knows her, I get all the credit. It's a win-win situation for me"

The woman's shoulder slumped a bit as realization dawned on her. "So you're using her?" She's trying to understand how Maria's mind works. The woman never ceased to surprise her.

Maria nodded, whilst smiling widely. "Of course. Why else would I keep her?"

"Then why did you send me away? You embarrassed me that day"

Maria rolled her eyes, then turned to the flower again. "You caused that on yourself. You were getting on my nerves"

"Or maybe you did that to get the girl on your side"

Maria shrugged, "Maybe...maybe not"

The woman scoffed, looking away from Maria, "Well I don't like this. Do you have any idea what that girl said to me? I can't stand her Maria so you need to pick, she or me? And before you chose, remember that I know everything about you Maria. If you embarrass me again, I swear I would expose you" She said, turning around to point a finger at Maria, with her eyes narrowed.

Maria chuckled but didn't say a word to her. She believes that the woman is just bluffing.

"You think I'm joking right? How would you feel if I pay that girl a visit? The one in prison? I bet she'd love to have a visitor for the first time in ten years. I bet she could get out with a couple of information from me. What do you think?" The woman taunted, taking a step close to Maria as her voice dropped.

This made both Maria and Rahma's eyes to widen.

Rahma was taken aback. How did the woman know about her? There's a possibility that they might be talking about another person but she has a feeling that this has to be her. So, she inched closer to see their expression.

Maria stopped what she's doing. This time around she moved her hand away from the flower as she turned around and glared at the woman. She slowly stood up, making her way over to where the woman stands.

The woman's gaze didn't waver either, she held her chin up, daring Maria with everything she got in her.

"Stop that nonsense" Maria said, gritting her teeth.

The woman scoffed, "Or what? What can you do huh?"

"Or I'll take matters into my own hands. And we both know how that will end up. You said you know me right? Well you should know what I'm capable of"

The woman's glare falter for a bit, as her shoulder slumped slightly. She chuckled lightly, "Is that a threat?"

"No..." Maria suddenly started chuckling. She enjoyed seeing the fear in the woman's eyes. When she stopped chuckling, her expression suddenly turned stoic, "It's a promise"

Rahma stepped back, eyes widened as her gaze blurred for a bit. The wheels in her head spin as she placed her hand on the wall beside her, wanting to catch her breath. Those words...she'd heard them before. That she's sure of, but when are where?

Her mind raced, trying to figure out the answer to those questions. She clenched her eyes shut, willing for the memory to resurface, anything to help her answer those nerve wrecking questions.

Suddenly, the memory hit her like a truck.

"Stop that"

"Or what?" That is her foster father's voice, she could tell.

"Or I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands. You should know what I'm capable of" The first person repeated. A voice she could then recognize anywhere but her head was struggling to pin it on who it belongs to. Probably due to the fact that she's sleepy.

"Is that a threat?" Her foster father asked, and for some reason he didn't sound like he's scared. He sounded like he was daring the person.

"No..." The person's voice trailed off and the eerie silence that followed was spine chilling, "It's a promise" That was when Rabia recognized who the voice really belonged to.

Nanny Maria.

Rahma inhaled sharply as her heartbeat hastened for the second. She remembered. She remembered what happened the night her foster father died. Not exactly what happened but what she heard. Maria threatened him right before he was murdered. And then suddenly the next morning he's found dead? It's too good to be true.

Rahma gulped thickly, struggling to breathe properly as she felt constricted. "It's her" She muttered. "She killed him" She whispered to herself as she turned around and started walking away. Her legs felt heavy but she forced them to move. The sudden answer to her problems were supposed to make her elated yet they only made her unable to breathe properly.

She bumped into someone for the second time that day. The only difference is that unlike the first time she was annoyed when she saw who the person is, this time she felt all blood drain from her face. For that mere second she thought she'd pass out. If she wasn't having problem breathing earlier then she definitely was at the moment. She gulped, eyes wide as saucers when their eyes met.

Noah.

"You..." He whispered.

~*~

3rd March, 2017.

KANO, NIGERIA.

Ameerah tapped the edge of her HPI pen on her book, reading over the words of the textbook. She had been studying for two hours now, and for some reason unknown to her, she suddenly couldn't get anything in her brain. It refused to cooperate. She couldn't tell exactly what's wrong but she could feel it. Call it a gut feeling or a hunch, she just knows that something isn't right.

And as if to confirm her though, Juwy ran into the empty lectures hall Ameerah is in, panting heavily.

Startled from the sudden intrusion, Ameerah looked up, the pen in her hand stilling, "What's wrong?"

Juwy rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath from running all the way over, "She...she..." She stuttered, unable to get her words out. When she finally calmed her heart, she gulped and looked at her friend again, "Come...fast!"

Ameerah didn't need to be told twice before she dropped the pen, and rushed out along with her friend who led the way. She didn't care about the books she left, she'd have her friends pick it up for her later. The stares they undoubtedly got from the other students didn't disturb her in the slightest way, she had more pressing issues at the moment.

Juwy stopped by the road and waved her hands. Eventually, she hailed a tricycle which they both quickly got in, agreeing to pay the driver any price he wants if he drives fast to the area whose name was given to him by Juwy as Ameerah was too stunned to speak.

All through the drive—--which turned out to be a long one due to the traffic, Ameerah couldn't stop thinking of what happened to her. What happened so suddenly that Juwy had to come get her like that?

She tapped her feet repeatedly, not able to calm herself down and neither could her friend. As they got closer to the house, the fear and nerves only grew instead of lessening. However, Ameerah being the strong girl she is pushed her feel out of the tricycle, handing the driver a one thousand naira note to which she allowed him to keep the change, he could've ran with it and she wouldn't say anything at the moment. She had more pressing issues.

Juwy stood beside her as they stood in front of the medium sized house. They watched people troop in and out with slumped shoulders. They didn't need to go in to know that they're too late.

Still, Ameerah pushed her feet forward, allowing her friend to follow afterwards as they made their way into the house. She held up a strong façade throughout, no matter who they met and sympathize with.

However, that façade broke when she reached the room and her gaze fell on the lifeless body of the girl. Somehow, she managed to end up beside the bed of the deceased. Her mouth opened into a silent wail as she sank on her knees on the floor. Her blurry gaze fell on the deceased, making her sob louder. She tried to keep it muffled though by placing her hand over her mouth.

Juwy stood by her side, leaving a reasonable distance between them as she and everyone else in the room stared at Ameerah in pity. She wiped the tears that streamed down her face when she heard Ameerah's sobs.

"I'm sorry" Ameerah muttered, cradling her body back and forth as her arms wrapped around her body. "I'm sorry" She kept whispering, the tears never ceasing to flow like waterfalls.

When she calmed down a bit, she turned to one of the women in the room, a doctor who she's familiarized with, "What...what happened to her?" Her voice came out hoarse.

The doctor sighed, "Depression. It was too much for her to handle"

Ameerah stared back at the girl's body, ignoring the women as they informed her of taking the body to bathe her in preparation to the funeral. She made no move to stand or help them as she remained rooted in her spot, tears streaming continuously though no sound came from her. Her eyes pinned on the empty space on the bed the girl was just on.

"She hasn't spoken to anyone! She flinches whenever one gets close and she refuses to talk! I don't even know how to deal with her anymore!" The woman yelled, ignoring the way the girl flinches and moved farther away from her whenever her voice raised.

Ameerah turned around and glared at the woman. Her lips curled into a snarl as her fingers bit into her palms, "You're supposed to help her not deal with her" She spat, harshly. She made sure to keep her voice a whisper so she won't scare the girl more.

"What?" The woman crossed her arms, poking her tongue lightly into her cheek as she sucked in a long breath, "Who do you think you are to tell me what to do, huh?"

Ameerah bit her lip, her posture not faltering one bit. She held her chin up and shoulders squared, refusing to let the woman intimidate her.

"You're just a mere student, a 200 level student and yet you think you know everything" The woman's face reddened, her tone deepening. "I had been working here for years. I have more experience than you"

"Then use that experience to help her" Ameerah said through gritted teeth. She had held in her anger for so long, yet the woman and her attitude gets on her nerves. She moved her gaze over to the 15-year-old girl whose face was pallid. Her lower lips trembled as she pressed her elbows to her side, making her seem as small as possible.

Ameerah closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, her clenched fists tightening for a bit more. She counted to three in her head before she opened her eyes and looked at the woman in front of her, "Please, I'm pleading with you now...help her" She doesn't get how that woman became a therapist with that attitude. Someone with her attitude shouldn't be allowed to become a therapist, especially not for someone who had faced the same trauma as the girl.

The woman scoffed, "How? She's detaching herself away from everyone. At this rate, she might as well be considered, dead!"

Ameerah bit her lip hard to stop her from saying something she'll regret. She inhaled deeply again, then exhaled, "Can you give us a minute please"

The woman glanced at the girl, then shrugged, "Alright...whatever" She walked out, leaving the two alone.

Ameerah calmed her anger down first before she turned around, and with cautious steps, approach the girl again.

This made the girl flinch and moved back, hands jammed into her armpits as she hugged herself. She looked around frantically, refusing to meet Ameerah's gaze as her body shook.

"Hey...hey...It's okay" Ameerah said, keeping her voice low so as to not scare the girl. It seemed to have worked because the girl stopped shaking, "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you okay?"

That didn't seem to have convinced the girl because she swept her hand across her forehead, to get rid of the sweat on it. She refused to make eye contact with.

"I'll help you get the justice you deserve from that man. That's what you want, right?"

For the first time, the girl looked at Ameerah in the eyes, fear and another emotion she couldn't decipher lingering in there. "He...He..." She stuttered, unable to get the words out.

"I know...you don't have to say it"

"He...he didn't do it"

Ameerah looked down for a second then looked back up, a smalls mile adorned on her face, "You don't have to be scared of him or anyone. Trust me, I'll help you. I promise"

Ameerah wiped her tears, staring at the empty bed one more time, "I promise" She whispered, then stood up.

~*~

As promised! We have new readers so I updated!

Ignore the typos please.

Noah and Rahma finally met! Do you think he'll recognize her?

Ameerah and her promise 🤔

Goodnight.

Love, Jannah.