08

He stared at them, not wanting to believe that what he was seeing was real. And they confirmed to him that it was real when Anisa spoke again. "May Allah forgive his shortcomings. May Allah grant you the fortitude to bear his loss." Anisa said softly and Ilham and Fauziyyah answered with Ameen in unison. It took him some minutes before he was able to conform his words to respond to them, slightly nodding as if to make himself believe that they indeed were there and extending their condolences to him. "Ameen ya Allah. I truly appreciate it." He whispered, looking around, and not wanting to hold any of their gazes. He didn't have to ask, he knew what happened and why these girls were in front of his house and extending their condolences. Even though he won't say that it didn't look real, he could see that they truly felt sorry for him. He just didn't want to believe that they came here out of their own will. He knew for a fact that it was Anisa's parents that basically forced her to come and she invited her friends to join. Her mother was here some hours ago and it only made sense if they asked her to come too. But of course, Jiddah won't come, how could she? He could say that he was both enraged and relieved that she didn't follow the train of her friends. Enraged because he didn't know what he would've done to her if she had come and relieved because he didn't want anyone to see the way he'd have reacted if she had come. Because he blamed her for his father's death and will never be able to forgive her. Until he avenged for his death and she regretted ever putting him or his family in agony. Alongside that man she called a father. He turned to leave when Ilham caught him off guard. "Jiddah sends her condol..." She couldn't complete her sentence because the look he flashed her instantly got the rest of her words hanging in her throat and he didn't miss the way Fauziyyah nudged her to stop her from saying whatever it was she had intended to. "Thank you." He said with a tight lipped smile and walked back to where the men were all seated. He watched as they were actively speaking, looking like an argument while they walked back to Ilham's car. Someone caught his attention, it was one of Daada's elder brothers and the richest of them all. Immediately he saw him, he felt a sense of relief washing over him as he had since been thinking of a way out and only thought of one after seeing him. * Jiddah stared at her mother with her heart boiling, she just couldn't believe it. "Ammi, I really can't go to her house today. It has been long since I have a full day off. I'd really rather stay in bed all day than go to Aunty Sadiya's house." She really would rather bail out on the girls than have herself within the vicinity of Aunty Sadiya. In as much as she felt that Ammi wasn't being lenient with her, Aunty Sadiya was worse. It was the two of them had an agenda of 'Making Jiddah's life a living hell' and she had no energy for either of them. "Then forget about going out today. I have told you times without number that I don't like those friends of yours, Jiddah. Only for you to come to me today and tell me you guys are going on a spa date? Ba dani zakiyi wannan zunubin ba." She almost laughed at Ammi's last words because where does going to a spa date with her girlfriends become a sin? Just how? "Ammi, sin? It's not like I told you I'm going on a date with a guy," she said, trying to hard to stifle her chuckle and failing woefully. Ammi looked at her straight in the face and said, "If it were a guy, I really would have allowed you, Jiddah. You have no idea how much it disturbs me that you don't have a boyfriend at this age of yours not to even talk about a suitor that's serious about marrying you. You're almost done with school now, after all the tumbling back and forth and now another..." From the way the words rolled off Ammi's lips, Jiddah knew that she was truly worried. "Ammi, I just haven't met the right guy for me yet. Can you imagine? Yesterday some stupid guy stopped me at school? He thinks that he's my type just because he drives the latest Audi? Lol, jokes on him. The way I embarrassed him!" "And you think, with that your stupid head, that this is something to tell me and I'd be proud of you for doing that stupidity? Jiddah, with all the number of men that come to you and your stupid self think you're better than them? I hope one day you won't end up with the lowest of them all. You rate them based on their money, the car they drive and the phones they own, I hope Allah won't test you to end up with someone that doesn't even have a bicycle and doesn't own a phone. Then, I'd love to see what you'd do." The words came directly from Ammi's heart as she stared at Jiddah with a look hidden in her eyes. She wondered where she had gone wrong in Jiddah's upbringing and thought if there was still time for correction. "Ammi, someone that doesn't have a even a bicycvle and doesn't own a phone, haha. I'm sure Allah won't do that to me, god! It's impossible sef. Please let's stop this conversation, it's making me want to puke." Ammi stared at her long and hard and for a moment, Jiddah felt uncomfortable under her heated gaze. "Jiddah, I fear for the day Allah will bring your level so low you'll feel so much shame to look up. Those you now think are below you will be above you and you'd be under them at the time. Jiddah, kibi duniya a hankali." Jiddah stared at Ammi for some minutes and the moment she opened her mouth to speak, her brothers walked into Ammi's living room, talking and smiling at each other and Ammi's eyes instantly lit up. "Ammi, we were just talking about Ya Ammar's wedding plans and he's acting as if he's feeling shy, of us!" The third brother, Ya Anas exclaimed, he was the playful one amongst them and the closest to Jiddah. The pain she felt at Ammi's words instantly vanished and she turned to her brothers. Before she opened her mouth to talk, Ya Abbakar, the middle one smacked her head lightly. "Even without asking, I know she's here making your life so hard, right, Ammi?" He said playfully and they all slumped on the chairs in the living room, with Ammar pulling Jiddah to sit beside him. "Ya Ammar, when will the wedding be set? What events are we doing? I want to start making all preparations, my dresses, my makeup, my..." Ya Ammar chuckled softly and pulled her to his side slightly. "That's all you care about. Parties, makeup, just worldly things. You haven't even prayed for his marriage to be blessed, all you're after is the wedding!" Ammi reprimanded and Jiddah just pulled her lips into a pout. "Ammi I was just asking, but of course I'll pray for his marriage. Ya Ammar may Allah bless your marriage and put so much barakah in it." Jiddah said with a dejected voice and got to her feet, trying to walk away. Because she just didn't know why she had never done anything right where ever Ammi was concerned. Anas chuckled slowly and dragged her back into the living room. "Ammi let your auta be mana. She's just a girl that will definitely get excited about these stuff. It's not like she's not going to pray for him. Look, My love," he said, turning to face a pouting Jiddah that had tears glistening her eyes already. He fondly called her My Love whenever he wanted to console her or something. "I'll give you the bride's number right now so that you text her and you girls talk about the events, okay? Ammi, please let my love be." Their other two brothers laughed at how Jiddah coed and hugged Anas, "That's why I love you, Ya Anas. When your wedding comes, I'll make sure to arrange everything myself. It's Ya Ammar that should've introduced us but he's not willing to. It's not like I'm a man that can snatch her away..." Ammi threw a throw pillow at her, "Dallah ni sakar min yaro, look at how you hug him!" "Ammi he's her brother fah!" Ammar and Abbakar said in unison, laughing at the duo. "You should go and get yourself a man if you want. Allah Jiddah the day I focus solely on you? You'd wish you were never born. You boys should be telling her the truth, mana. She's not that small girl you guys and your father are trying so hard to make her believe. Jiddah cn be someone's mother now!" The roar of their laughter, coupled with Jiddah's shrilling cry echoed through the living room and Ammi's heart swelled with happiness as she watched the way her sons were babying Jiddah, she couldn't help but smile at the beautiful moment of her kids. * Abdallah kept staring at Daada and how profusely she was crying. He still haven't been able to cry since Abbi died and seeing her cry her heart out today was so painful and he wished he could cry as well. "Daada, if you're crying this much, what do you want Husna to do? Daada please... I've never seen you broken like this and it's breaking my heart too. I beg you..." His voice broke when he started talking and he just had to keep quiet because the last thing he wanted to happen was for Daada to see him cry. He could already see how broken she was and didn't want her to break even more. "Hammadi, I'm not crying because I lost your father. Yes, it pains me so much to have lost a great man like him, he was there for me when the whole world was against me. When even my siblings were ashamed to be seen with me, he stood by me. He was there throughout everything and even for that? I'm sure Allah will grant him Jannah. I'm not crying for that, Hammadi, I know he's in a better place insha Allah. But I'm crying because of Aminah. Hammadi my innocent daughter has been in the custody of police for two weeks now. She hadn't seen her father whom she loved so much and he died without seeing her too. She still doesn't know that Abbi is no more and it has been four days since he died. Is this how this country works? Right in front of my eyes, Aminah was taken to the prison and there is nothing we could do about it despite knowing that she's not guilty of the crime she's accused of. This is what's making me cry, because if care isn't taken, Aminah may be in prison for the rest of her life and I have nothing to do about it but pray and cry..." She was hiccuping due to how profusely she was crying. "You have no idea the kind of words people are throwing at us because of this. Hamisu's parents, I know that it was destined for your father to die and nothing or no one will ever stop his soul from being taken. But they were the cause of it, Hammadi. Already people were saying that she had run away from home, some were saying she followed her boyfriend. Some are saying that they were caught by hisbah at a brothel very late at night...The day your father died I sent Husnah to buy something for me and she came home crying that some kids were throwing things at her calling her kanwar karuwa..." "WHAT?!" He almost yelled, getting to his feet. He couldn't imagine what Husnah felt to run home crying after kids are yelling the words 'a prostitute's sister' at her. How has our society turned this dirty? This toxic? "Abbi died while clutching his heart, Hammadi, I'm no doctor but I know it was a heart attack. He had no idea what was going on with Aminah and they came throwing all these accusations on her, Hammadi. Saying that they heard you were a thief because one of their relatives saw you at the police station that time you had that issue with the chief of staff's daughter? They threw horrible words at us. You know I kept it hidden from him that time too because his blood pressure wasn't stable. It was just too much for him to handle I guess, he couldn't handle everything and just..." She couldn't finish her words as she struggled to breath while crying profusely. Abdallah moved to where she was on the woven mat and just pulled her to his body and no matter how much he wished he could keep his tears hidden, they just began to roll down his cheeks in an uncontrollable manner. He just kept on crying so hard that his entire body shook and Daada held on to him as though she really would fall apart without his support. Husnah walked out from the room she was sleeping in and came to them. She simply wrapped her hands around them and burst into tears as well, crying silently yet painfully. With tears rolling down his cheeks, Abdallah stared at the way his family were crying in so much agony and thought; all these happened because of one person, Jiddah. If not for her, their lives would've been perfect. Even though Abbi surely would've died because it was destined he wouldn't live past that day, none of these sorrounding issues would've been there. And for his sister, he would avenge. For his father's life lost so painfully, he'd make her feel that pain. For the names thrown at his innocent sisters, because of her, he'd make sure she feel worse of that and more dirtier words thrown at her entire generation. "Daada, I promise you that I'd bring Aminah home to you. But there are a few things I want you to do for me, will you?" His words came out in such an enigmatic whisper, as though he feared that the night would carry away with his secrets. "What do you want me to do? I know how you act when you're angry, Hammadi. Please don't do anything rash that will make me lose you to the hands of law too. You know we have nothing and no one now but you. Please." Her lips trembled with fear the entire time she spoke and his heart broke even more, his quest for revenge even more fierce. "Nothing will happen to me, Daada. I'll be fine and you too will be. Aminah will be back home and I'll make sure everyone involved in all of this experience even greater agony than the one they cause us, bi'iznillah." He avowed, staring at the starless sky, so much conviction in his heart.