Homecoming
# CHAPTER EIGHT
### Homecoming
The house changed when my family finally returned.It was not a dramatic change.
Nothing about the walls or furniture was different, and Mummy still shouted from the kitchen whenever Hanan did something she was not supposed to do.
Yet the atmosphere had shifted.
There was an unmistakable anticipation in the house, the sort that made everyone move a little faster and check their phones a little more frequently.
My family had arrived back in Lagos.
After weeks of waiting, I was finally going home.
I had packed everything the previous night.
At least, I thought I had.
Mummy came into my room that morning, looked at the suitcase beside my bed and immediately shook her head.
“You forgot your slippers.”
I stared at the suitcase.
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
“They're inside.”
She opened it.
They were not.
I burst out laughing.
Mummy shook her head.
“Just like your mother.”
“Don't tell Mama.”
“Why?”
“She'll never let me forget it.”
Mummy laughed.
“You're definitely her daughter.”
She picked up the slippers from beneath the bed and placed them inside.
Then she closed the suitcase.
“There.”
“Thank you.”
She remained beside the bed for a moment.
Neither of us spoke.
Then she sighed.
“I'm going to miss having you here.”
I smiled.
“I'll visit.”
“You'd better.”
“I promise.”
Mummy reached out and pulled me into a hug.
Her perfume mixed with the faint smell of the oud she had burned earlier that morning.
For a few seconds, I allowed myself to simply stand there.
“Allah ya kiyaye hanya ,” she whispered.
“Amin.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“I will.”
“And call me.”
“I will, insha Allah”
“Not once every three weeks.”
I laughed.
“Every day.”
“Good.”
She released me and wiped beneath her eyes as though she hadn't just become emotional.
I smiled.
“Mummy.”
“What?”
“Are you crying?”
“No.”
“You are.”
“Go and bring your suitcase downstairs.”
I laughed.
---
The entire household came to see me off.
Hanan was the most dramatic.
She had been following me around since morning, repeatedly asking when I was leaving and then complaining whenever I gave her an answer.
“You're leaving today?”
“Yes.”
“Now?”
“Not yet.”
“After lunch?”
“Probably.”
“Then you can stay until tomorrow.”
I laughed.
“That isn't how it works.”
She folded her arms.
“I don't like it.”
“I know.”
She looked up at me.
“Will you call me?”
“Every time I call Mummy.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She hugged my waist.
“I'll miss you.”
My heart tightened.
“I'll miss you too.”
Jalal appeared behind her.
“Don't cry.”
Hanan turned around.
“I'm not crying!”
“You are.”
“I hate you!”
He laughed and ran away.
I shook my head.
Some things never changed.
---
Anrah waited until everyone else had gone outside before approaching me.
She looked unusually quiet.
“So…”
“So?”
“That's it.”
She hugged me. This one lasted longer.
When she pulled away, she looked at me carefully.
“Don't forget me.”
“I won't.”
“And don't forget Lagos.”
“I won't.”
She smiled.
Then lowered her voice.
“And don't forget…”
She paused deliberately.
I frowned.
“Forget what?”
“Nothing.”
“Amrah.”
She laughed.
“Nothing.”
I narrowed my eyes. She walked away before I could question her.
I smiled despite myself. That was Amrah.
Always leaving something unsaid.
---
The final person I said goodbye to was Mummy.
She stood by the entrance while the driver loaded my bags into the boot.
I hugged her once more.
“Allah ya bar mu tare.”
May Allah keep us together.
“Amin,” she replied.
Then she held my face between her palms.
“You're going to Gombe soon?”
“Insha Allah.”
“Then you and Hauwa will come and see me.”
“Definitely.”
“Don't let university change you.”
I smiled.
“It won't.”
She gave me a look.
“You say that now.”
I laughed.
“Okay.”
She kissed my forehead.
“Go.”
I walked toward the car.
Then turned around.
Mummy was still standing there.
Hanan was beside her.
Jalal was arguing with the driver about where my suitcase should go.
Amrah was leaning against the doorway.
And upstairs—
I could see one of the curtains move slightly.
For a second, I wondered if someone was standing behind the window.
Then the curtain fell back into place. I didn't think much of it.
My hands slowly opened the car door.
“Se’ad.”
Ridhwan was walking toward the car.
He had probably just come outside.
He was dressed simply, a dark wristwatch around his arm, his car keys in one hand.
“You're leaving?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
He stopped beside the car.
“Safe journey.”
“Thank you.”
“How long is the drive?”
“I'm not sure.”
He nodded.
“Call your mother when you get there.”
“I will.”
There was a brief silence.
Then he said,
“Good luck with everything.”
“Thank you.”
As the vehicle began moving, I looked through the window.Then the gate closed behind us.
And just like that, the Turaki house disappeared from view.
---
The journey home felt shorter than I expected.
Perhaps because I spent most of it talking to Mama on the phone. She sounded happy.
“Did you pack everything?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
I laughed.
“Mummy checked.”
“Good.”
Mama laughed.
“Then you definitely packed everything.”
I could already imagine her expression.
“Bibi is waiting for you.”
“Really?”
“He has been asking every morning.”
“Where is he?”
“Sleeping.”
“Wake him.”
“Se’ad!”
“Please.”
“He's sleeping.”
“Just wake him.”
“You'll see him soon.”
I sighed dramatically.
“Fine.”
Mama laughed.
Then the call ended.
I leaned my head against the window.
For the first time in weeks, I felt completely at ease.
---
When we finally arrived at at Lekki, I saw my siblings before I even stepped out of the car.
Labeeb came running first.
“SE'AD!”
I barely had time to open the door before he launched himself into my arms.
I laughed.
“Bibi!”
He wrapped both arms around my neck.
“You're back!”
“Yes.”
“You brought me something?”
I laughed.
“Of course.”
His eyes widened.
“What?”
“Wait.”
He immediately turned toward the others.
“She brought me something!”
Abdullah rolled his eyes.
“Of course she did.”
Hauwa walked toward me.
She was taller than I remembered.
Or perhaps I had simply become accustomed to seeing her on a screen.
She hugged me.
“Finally.”
I smiled.
“I missed you.”
“You didn't miss me.”
“I did.”
“You called me once.”
“That's enough.”
She laughed.
Muhammad appeared behind her.
“Welcome back.”
“Thank you.”
Fatima hugged me next.
Then Mama came out.
For a moment, I simply looked at her. Then ran into her arms.The familiar scent of her perfume, softness of her clothes.The sound of her voice.
Home.
This was home.
I didn't need anything else.
---
That evening, the house was chaos.
Everyone wanted to hear about the Ikeja
Labeeb wanted his gift.
Hauwa wanted every detail about the Turakis.
Fatima wanted to see pictures.
Mama wanted to know whether I had been eating properly.
Abba came home later than everyone else.
When he saw me, his stern expression softened.
“Adda”
I smiled.
“Abba.”
He opened his arms.
I hugged him.
“You've grown.”
I laughed.
“I was already grown.”
He shook his head.
“You're still my little girl.”
I smiled.
That was all I needed.
---
That night, lying in my own bed again, I stared at the ceiling.
The room smelled like home.Everything was familiar.
My clothes were where I had left them.
My books were stacked beside the desk.
The little decorations on my shelf were untouched.Even the faint noise of my siblings moving around the house felt comforting.
I turned onto my side. My phone was beside me. There were messages from friends, Family members.A few schoolmates.
Nothing unexpected.
I scrolled absent-mindedly.
Then stopped.
There was no message from the Turakis.
I smiled faintly.That made sense.
Why would there be?I hadn't expected one.
I locked my phone.Placed it beneath my pillow.
And closed my eyes.
The Ikeja chapter of my life was over.At least, that was how it felt.
---
## ONE YEAR LATER
2023
Gombe State University.
The campus was louder than I had imagined.
Students moved between lecture halls, some carrying books against their chests, others rushing across the dusty walkways with phones pressed against their ears.
I stood near the faculty building with my admission documents clutched against my chest.
Pharmacology.
I had wanted it.
I had prayed for it.
And somehow, after all the waiting, I was finally here.
“Se’ad!”
Hauwa was walking toward me.
She looked completely different from the girl I had left behind in Lagos.
Taller.More confident.
Her chocolate complexion glowed beneath the afternoon sun, and her serious expression made her look considerably older than eighteen.
She adjusted her bag.
“Where have you been?”
“Registration.”
“Did you finish?”
“Almost.”
She sighed.
“University is stressful.”
“You haven't even started.”
“Exactly. I can already tell.”
We began walking together.
For the first time in a long while, I felt something inside me shift.
This was not Lagos.
This was not home.
This was something new.
A new city.
A new school.
A new chapter.
I had no idea what to expect.
Until that evening.
---
I was sitting on my bed in the hostel when my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.I frowned.
The message contained only one sentence.
“Assalamu alaikum.”
I didn't recognize the number.
Another message arrived.
I heard you're in Gombe.
My eyebrows drew together.
Then replied bavk “Wa alaikumussalam. Who is this?”
The reply came almost immediately.
“Ridhwan”.
I stopped breathing for a second.
Ya Ridhwan? I stared at the screen.
For almost a year, I had not heard that name.
I hadn't spoken to him.
Hadn't seen him. Hadn't thought about him often enough to admit that I remembered him.
Yet the moment I saw his name, something old and strangely familiar stirred inside me.
I read the message again. Then another appeared.
Mummy told me you're studying at GSU now.I stared at the screen.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
I didn't know what to say.
So I typed the first thing that came to mind.
Yes.
Three dots appeared.Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
And finally—
Welcome to Gombe, Se’ad.