BABI NA ARBA'IN DA TAKWAS

GININ DAKE ƘASAR Biritaniya ne yake birge ni. Manya manyan buildings ne wanda suke nuna alaman suna da ƙarko. The buildings look ancient and modern. Lokacin autumn har ya fita sanyi ne ake fama dashi. Duk lokacin da zan tafi classes ɗina se na sanya jacket domin maganin sanyi. Inda muke lecture, Faculty of Law a cikin Oxford University, basu da girma as the students are not many. They have comfortable chairs and conducive environment not like that of Nigerian universities. Bana so na dinga comparing makarantun mu da makarantun su saboda a makarantar da nayi a Nigeria ne har yasa na samu wannan scholarship da nake karatun Master's a UK. 

A cikin lecture mu, lecturer baya tsayawa ya dinga bayani shi kaɗai. It's more like a discussion class where we discuss with our lecturer rather than him alone lecturing us. We have seminars and we have tutorials. 

A faculty na law akayi circulating wani small research assistant openings. Dama ina buƙatar aikin da zan dinga yi ina samun kuɗi. Applying nayi kuma na samu zan dinga yin research assistant work for a lecturer. 

Muna zama a cikin shared flat inda kowa yake da bedroom nashi. We have shared kitchen and bathrooms. 

I'm usually the quite one a cikin wanda muke tare dasu a flat namu. Idan na gaji da karatu muna tare dasu, zaune kawai nake ina kallon su tare da observing nasu. Mata uku ne maza ma haka. A ciki, akwai mace ɗaya da take Faculty mu na Law wanda muke classes tare da ita. She's from Lebanon; fair with long black hair. She talks with a very deep Arabic accent, always making the ‘kh’ sound heard just like how native Arabic speakers are as well as Hebrew and Aramaic. 

Na fito daga class ne zuwa flat kiran Temi ya shigo a waya ta. Kallon wayar nake yi har ta ɗauke ina mamakin kiranta saboda mun jima bamu yi magana da juna ba. Zan iya cewa shekaru uku kenan ko ma fiye da haka tun ina jami'a. Nasan dama ba kodayaushe muke magana ba.

Ƙara kira tayi. Ina buɗe ɗaki na na ɗauka kiran ta. Ajiye jaka ta nayi babu me cewa wani abu daga cikin mu. Zama nayi gefen gado ina sauraren Temi. 

       “Hey, Baffa” ta faɗa cikin muryar ta ahankali 

        “Hello, Temi”

       “Long time”

      “Long time, indeed. How are you?”

    “I'm good. And you?”

     “I'm good too, Temi. I'm good”

      “How's life? It has really been long”

   “Life is good. And you?”

        “Same here too”

Wayar na laƙe a kunnena na duka ina cire shoe laces ɗina “Just wanted to greet me? I'm surprised by this call”

Dariyar ta me sanyi tayi tace “Just wanted to hear from you. I wanted to call since time immemorial but I just didn't”

       “You did now”

         “Yes. How's life? You're not filling me up”

     “My story is not long”

Murmushi tayi tace “I'm coming to the UK with my fiancé. Maybe we should meet?”

     “Thats wonderful. I'm happy for you. But wait, how did you know I'm at the UK?”

Wata dariya ta ƙara yi “C'mon Baffa. We're in the era of technology”

         “Huh?”

   “Of course, yes Baffa. So now, am I invited over?”

     “Yes, you'll always be welcomed at my place”

      “Okay thank you. We're coming tomorrow”

    “See you tomorrow”

Bayan na gama waya da Temi na kwanta akan gado. Ban san lokacin da bacci ya ɗauke ni ba. 

Washegari bayan na dawo daga class Temi ke kirana and I invited her over to my bedroom. Ita da fiancé nata suka zo kamar yadda ta faɗa min. He's tall and not fat but not too slim either. Yana da accent na ƴan ƙasar America. Anan tare dasu ne nake sanin cewa shi ɗin African American ne. Be cika magana ba amma idan yayi magana za'a saurare shi because his speech is coherent. 

Kitchen na shiga da kaina na dafa musu coconut rice har Temi tazo tana taya ni. Anan take tambaya ta abinda ya faru a cikin rayuwata. 

     “Nothing major. Done with university, did my one year programme in a Nigerian Law School, did my service and started working in corporate legal department. Finally gotten a scholarship for my Master's in law”

Gyaɗa kai tayi tace “That's something major you have achieved there, Baffa. I'm proud of you”

Murmushi nayi nace mata “Thank you. I know you're a Barrister”

  “Yes, yes. I work at the States”

 “I'm happy for you and also proud of you too, Temi. And you're getting married. Your fiance looks like a good man”

    “He truly is Baffa. But, what about your mother?”

  “My mother?! She's happy”

Gyaɗa kai tayi da murmushi akan fuskar ta. 

Coconut rice muka gama nayi dishing a plate biyu. Nasu ɗaya, nawa ɗaya muka fito daga kitchen. 

   “Sorry to have made you waiting” nace wa fiancé'n ta

    “Oh, never mind”

Fara cin abinci muka yi ya kalla Temi ya kalle ni. “Who cooked the food?”

 “Baffa cooked it. I just helped”

   “Where did you learn how to cook? It tastes so good man”   

    “I learnt cooking from my mother. And my university days, I spent them in hostels”

Gyaɗa kai fiancé'n Temi yayi ya cigaba da cin abinci. Na riga su gamawa na ɗauko musu bottled water. Bayan sun gama cin abinci nake tambayar inda suka haɗu. 

    “We met in a book shop”

“A book shop?” nace tare da kallon shi na kalla Temi “Temi in a book shop? Where did that one start?”

Cikin wasa ta dakar min kafaɗa “I became a Barrister along the line of my life so I became a reader”

    “Yes and she really is a good reader. She knows every prose and poetry carved into a book”

Gyaɗa kai nayi ina kallon su suna masu birgeni. 

Hira muka cigaba da yi har ƙarfe uku tukuna suka tashi zasu tafi. Dama zasu je ganin mahaifiyar shi ne dake nan UK. Har inda zasu shiga Bus na raka su tukuna na dawo flat ɗina. 

Naji daɗin da Temi ta samu abokin rayuwa wanda zata cigaba da rayuwar ta dashi. Naji daɗin ganin ta haka ta ƙara maturity tayi kyau classiness nata yana ƙara fitowa.