01

“Buba!” Her voice echoed through the humungous compound of the mansion. She stood at the balcony, staring down at the car she had intended to go out with, frowning. Two seconds later, she opened her mouth and yelled “Buba! Can’t you hear me calling you?” Her voice could be heard two houses away, and she didn’t give a damn about that. Buba, being an elderly man in his late sixties rushed out of his room, which happened to be the gateman’s room and looked up at her with a sad expression on his face. “Hajia Jiddah, I’m sorry for not coming out earlier, I was in the toilet and..” Jiddah cut him off aggressively, scrunching her face in utter annoyance. She looked down at him, at how his body was slightly shivering and hissed. “I called you an hour ago and told you to wash my car for me and this is how I’m coming out to meet it? Really, Buba?!” She threw the words at him without caring about his age whatsoever. “I’m sorry, Hajia Jiddah, but it was Alhaji that asked me to wash his car then Hajia too did, so I slightly got carried away and forgot to…” “How dare you forget to wash my car?! Buba, what do you think of yourself in this house? Need I remind you that you’re nothing but a gateman and it will only take a single word from me for you to get replaced? What sort of nonsense is this? How dare you?” She shouted, visibly angry at him. “I’m sorry, Hajia Jiddah. I’ll get to it right now.” The old man uttered and rushed to fetch some water so he could get into it as he said. Jiddah hissed and threw him a condescending look before she walked back inside. It took her over fifteen minutes to finish getting ready and she walked out holding her phone in one hand and her bag in the other. She had a test to write today, if not, she wouldn’t have gone to school because she was a bit under the weather and to top of it all? She had cramps. Upon sighting her, Buba quickly opened the gate to avoid getting insulted by the lady he was more than old enough to father. Jiddah got into her car and was reversing out of the gate when she noticed something, or someone, pushing a cartwheel containing jerrycans filled with water. She didn’t need to be told that the jerrycans were filled with water as she could see them dripping with every move he made. Dan-Garuwa, that’s the name the men that sell water in jerrycans are called. And Dan-Garuwa is pushing his truck, or cartwheel, or whatever it was, into her father’s house. Nearly scratching her brand new Mercedes Benz C300. She stopped the car in a breath and bolted out of the door in a flash. “You must be insane! What the fucking hell?! Buba!!! Who lets this garbage inside? Have you two gone completely insane?!” She screamed at the pitch of her voice. Her eyes bulged as she stared at Malam Buba that was rushing to where she stood, his entire body shaking. He turned to see the man that was staring at them with utter shock. As if he wasn’t assimilating what was happening in front of him. “Hajia Jiddah, wallahi I have no idea how he got in and I didn’t even notice him…” Jiddah hissed, fuming as she threw them both a degrading look. “Cut the crap, Buba! What do you mean by you didn’t see him coming? What would you have done if he had scratched my car? And you…” she turned to find the Dan-Garuwa staring at her with something in his eyes. Something lethal, as though he could slap her right at that moment. “What the hell do you think you’re doing by pushing that piece of trash into this house? Does this look like a place your services are needed or what?!” She thundered, pointing at his cartwheel as she stared right into his eyes, feeling the way her entire body seethed with rage. Before the Dan-Garuwa answered her question, a body trembling Malam Buba walked close to him. “Yi hakuri kaji yaro? But I don’t know why you came here, were you called?” “Buba? You’re even apologizing to him, what for? He should be the one apologizing to us for barging into our house with his bunch of thrash. Please show him the way out before I lose my temper and order for his arrest rightaway!” She yelled, pointing the gate at them. “Order for my arrest, for what reason? A small boy hailed me from the main road. He’s on his bicycle so I probably made a mistake because I lost track of him when we entered this street and I saw the gate is opened. I thought it was him that opened the gate for me…” Before he could finish what he was saying, Jiddah had thrown the disposable cup she was sipping her morning coffee from at him, making all the liquid splattering on his chest and some parts of his face. “Have you heard yourself? Does this house looks like a house your filthy and dirty water will be needed? Why is it that poor people always have an excuse and their stinky mouth never shuts up? Freaking leave this house, will you?!” Buba gasped, watching the way the Dan-Garuwa was looing at her with venom literally dripping from his eyes. He watched as he started walking towards her in enigmatic steps that made him recoiled in fear of what might happen. He knew touching this girl in any manner may result in world war three because she was the most valuable thing to her father. And he didn’t take her affairs lightly. “How dare you throw this on me? I thought I explained why I came here and I was ready to push my cartwheel out so you can leave. Your car didn’t have a dent on it, then why?” The Dan-Garuwa whispered in a low tone that sounded so icy and scary. Buba rushed and held his hand. “Kayi hakuri, Yaro. Let’s go, you don’t know what will happen or whose house you’re in…” He was trying to push him away but he didn’t even budge. “I don’t care whose house it is or whatever it is she’s capable of making me go through, Baba. I didn’t scratch her car, I was ready to apologize and leave the house, why would she throw this on me?” The Dan-Garuwa asked, seething with rage. Instead of an answer from Jiddah, she simply scoffed, leaned back into her car and pulled her phone from her bag and she started to dial a number. It as answered in less than two rings and she pouted her lips instantly. “Abba,” she called out in a whiny tone, sounding as distressed as she could. “What is it, Abba’s baby?” Her father answered from the other end of the phone and she smiled softly before she pulled back her expression. Over yonder, she could see Buba trying so hard to persuade the DanGaruwa to leave the house but he was adamant, something about her apologizing to him for throwing the remains of her coffee at him and she nearly burst out laughing. She? Apologize to him? He’d definitely rot in jail for this crime! “Abba I’m just about to leave for school but there’s this Dan-Garuwa that pushed his cartwheel into our house and now he’s threatening to beat me!” She exaggerated, listening to the way Abba screamed ‘WHAT?’ from his end and nearly smiled. She will certainly teach this rag a lesson. It took only a few minutes and there it was, a police vehicle sent by her father while Buba and the Dan-Garuwa kept on battling about him leaving and he was so adamant that he stayed without moving an inch. Because due to Abba’s order, she had hopped into her car and locked the door, waiting for the police to arrive. And once they did, it all happened in a flash. One minute they were pulling up in front of the house and the next, they were squashing both Buba and the Dan-Garuwa into their vehicle. They were about to close the door to their vehicle when she called out to them. “Hold on please.” She said, and they stopped, waiting for her to come over. Her gait mimicked that of a gazelle and they all watched as she walked until she stood by the door, fixing her gaze on him with a condescending smile. “I don’t know what you think of yourself, mister, but me? I’m a no go area. How dare you think, in my father’s house, you can even do as little as talk back to me? This will be the biggest mistake of your life, write it down.” And with that, she walked back to her car, ignited the engine and zoomed off in a breath. * “What is your name?” The man, who he figured could be her father asked in a voice that oozed so much power. He was staring at him with anger in his eyes, as if he could make him vanish from the face of earth if he wanted. He ducked his head down and gulped a lump down his throat, trying so hard to keep at bay the unsettling feeling itching his heart. “My name is Abdallah.” He answered shortly, feeling the eyes glaring at him. “So, Abdallah, what makes you think that you can come to my house and threaten my daughter?” Her father went straight to the point. Abdallah looked up and stared at the eyes that were throwing him a look of hatred and disgust. He had been in the custody of the police for three days now and some minutes ago, he had been brought out of the cell he had been kept in and brought to their house, to meet her father. It took him some time before he tamed himself down. The time he had spent in that cell, without any of his family member knowing where he was and he was certain his mother was worried sick about him and his younger siblings too, Abdallah knew that these people were not the kind he would play tough with. He had to do all he could to get out of their grasp, for the sake of his family. “I did not threaten her, Alhaji.All I wanted was for her to apologize to me, because she threw her cup at me with all the remaining liquid splattering on my clothes and I felt…” “Have you heard yourself?” Abba cut him off, flashing him a disbelieving look. “Is she the one that will apologize to you or were you the one that’s supposed to do that? Let me ask you a question, do you know who I am?” “You’re the chief of staff of this state, Alhaji. Currently running for the Governor’s seat in the upcoming election.” Abdallah answered with a slight tremble to his voice. He was furious, but he was wise enough to know that if he wanted to leave here unscathed, he had to do all they wanted and being sorry and obedient was it. “You knew all this and still did what you did?” Abba asked, fixing a heated look at him. “No, I didn’t. It was a mistake and I’d never repeat it again, insha Allahu. I’m so sorry it happened.” He said, lowering his head. It was paining him saying those words but Abdallah had to. He needed to go to his family, he doubted if they had eaten in the three days he hadn’t been home. Abba didn’t respond, he looked up at one of the workers in the living room. “Call Baby for me,” he said and it took a second before the man disappeared into the main house. They all waited in silence. With Abba getting in small talks with the two police men that escorted him there. Atleast ten minutes passed before Jiddah walked into the living room, her scent announcing her arrival even before her soft footsteps did. She walked over to the sofa Abba was seated on and slumped beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Abba, you asked for me. I was even…”She didn’t get to finish her words when she noticed him kneeling on the bare tiles of the living room. A small hiss left her lips. “Abba, what is this garbage doing here?” She asked, which forced Abdallah to shoot his head up and stare at her. “I asked them to bring him here because you know I shouldn’t be seen at the station anyhow. He’s going to apologize to you and he’d leave.” Abba said, smiling softly at her. “I really don’t think it was necessary for someone like him to enter your living room, Abba. He should’ve been sent to jail for all I care, let his dirty self rot there.” She looked up at one of the workers on standby. “Make sure you sweep, mop and put on some turaren wuta once he leaves, okay?” “Yes, Hajia.” Abba smiled at her before he turned to where Abba was, nearly frozen at how she sounded and the words she had thrown at him. Hatred for her and her family was filling his heart and right now, he wished his family could survive without him, he really would’ve done the unthinkable in this house. “Here she is, apologize to her right now and don’t even dream of ever repeating the same thing you did, okay? In fact, I don’t even want to see you a thousand meters away from this house or anywhere you can see her. I hope I’ve made myself clear?” “Yes, Alhaji.” Abdallah answered slowly, feeling as though something invisible was slicing his throat. He looked to where she sat, looking so regal as she awaited his apology. “I’m sorry for about what I did, please forgive me.” His words lacerated his heart, leaving him in sheer agony and anger. Instead of her to acknowledge his apology, Jiddah got to her feet and smiled warmly at her father. “Abba, I’ll go now. Don’t forget to take your medicine before you sleep, please?” “I won’t forget, Baby. I’ll stop by your room before I retire for the night. Take care, okay?” She waved at Abba and walked off, not even sparing him a glance. With his head hung low, Abdallah heard when Abba ordered the two police men, “It’s so late now, take him to the station so he can stay for the night and release him early in the morning.” “Yes sir!” They chorused and walked to where he was, lifting him up by the handcuff on his wrist. As they dragged him out of the house, Abdallah heard some sounds coming from the other end of the house and when he slowly turned to see the cause of it, he saw two grown men playing badminton, laughing and simply having a good time. Alhaji’s other kids, he thought. Something agonizing hitting his heart.