Chapter Eleven

"Baba Doza!" Sabeerah screamed excitedly as she sighted her paternal grandfather in the sitting room.

"Ina kwana- good evening." She greeted falling on her knees in front of him. She'd just returned from the office and from the extra cars she had noticed at the garage, she realized they had visitors, she just didn't know it was Baba Doza, her favorite old man.

During his youth, he had been a bricklayer but he could also do many other things, he'd been very hard-working and was always looking to doing the most tedious tasks with such vigour, it had earned him the nickname bulldozer and then everyone else shortened it to 'Baba Doza' as he became older, to the extent even his family members called him that and it always made him smile, he claimed it reminded him of his former energetic self.

"Sabeerah." He said pulling her into a hug, she was also his favorite grandchild, everyone else knew that.

"How're you? You look skinny, hope you're not working too hard to forget about your health?" He asked smiling at her lovingly.

"Baba she is, please talk to her, maybe she'll listen to you." Her mother chipped in, Sabeerah wasn't surprised, she knew her mother would never let an opportunity to complain about her overworking pass by.

"Ke! You didn't see me ko?" A masculine voice asked, Sabeerah turned to the owner, it was her uncle, her father's younger brother Baban Mustapha.

"Baban Mustapha Ina kwana." She said kneeling.

"You this girl, I'm tired of still seeing you in this house fah. You're grown enough to be in your husband's house by now, do you know who's wedding date we just set? Fatima! Fatima that you can give birth to, remember you even changed her diapers." Baban Mustapha said in a serious tone that had Sabeerah chuckling. It was only Baban Mustapha and her grandfather that were the extended family members she'd allow talk to her about marriage.

Fatima was his youngest child, she was nineteen and it was true Sabeerah had changed her diapers but she'd also slipped from Sabeerah's arms and had hit her head on the floor.

"Amir let her be, she's yet to find someone worth her." Baba Doza defended.

"That's what you all keep using to deceive her." Baban Mustapha said sourly. Sabeerah and her grandfather bursted into laughter.

"How's Amma?" Sabeerah asked after her grandmother.

"She's fine, she sent her regards."

"I'm even surprised that she let you come all the way from Bauchi without her." Amma was as loving and sweet as most grandmothers.

"Who'd allow her? Amma travels too much for her health." Baban Mustapha complained.

Sabeerah made herself comfortable by her grandfather's side. "So what brings you here? I know you're too busy to travel on idle visits." She said and he laughed.

"This your tongue Sabeerah." He said.

"That's how she's used it to talk all interested men away, you are too smart for your own good." Baban Mustapha said.

"Baban Mustapha is just angry you refused to marry Mustapha, don't mind him." Baba Doza said causing them all to laugh.

Mustapha, her cousin had shown interest in her few years ago and as usual, she'd rejected him but this time was because she genuinely couldn't imagine being married to him. She saw him as a brother and even if Islam had made it lawful to marry your cousin, Sabeerah couldn't even imagine herself with Mustapha.

"Well, I'm going up to refresh. I'll join you for dinner." She said standing up.

"Sabeerah you should learn how to cook at least." Baban Mustapha chided and Sabeerah with her back turned to him rolled her eyes at him, her uncle could be overbearing.

"Baba Doza please tell Baban Mustapha I don't need to know how to cook to snag a man." Sabeerah said with a shrug of her slender shoulders.

"Prove it." She heard her uncle say as she made her way up the stairs.

In her room, she flung her back aside and began to unstrap her heels, she rubbed her fingers gently on them as she relaxed on the couch.

Her thoughts took her toward Suraj -the man with the sexist friend- He'd been a little hard to find but her mother eventually did and now, what next?

She'd just mentioned him in a moment of frustration but now, she didn't know the next step. Was she supposed to badge into his home and announce that she was interested in getting to know him better with the hope that it'll lead to marriage? That was ridiculous and she had pride, a lot of it actually.

Her head throb from how much stress she'd gone through the past few days. Aakhil had looked for an excuse to get him out of town yet again and she'd had to deal with his share of the work, added to the fact that idiot had left a lot of things till the last minute and few works unfinished, the load had taken it's toll on her but she was committed to not letting it show.

Sabeerah's gaze lingered on the pile of file sitting atop her glass centre table, the work was intimidating and she knew she'd have to skip having dinner with the family. She wobbled a bit as she made her way into the bathroom to take a shower before beginning to sort out the mountain of tile that called for her attention.

Her sight darkened and she held on to the tiled walls for stability, the throb in her head was worst and there was a sinking feeling in her stomach that was making her uncomfortable.

"God! I don't want to be sick now. Maybe some other time, in a few years or so." She prayed as she steadied herself.

When the shower water ran down, she got under it and shut her eyes as she felt the stinging of the warm water as it met her skin, it made her flinch and she knew for sure she was going to be very sick.

The first thing that registered in Sabeerah's mind was surprise as her body hit the floor, then the pains came next before she felt herself drifting into a state of unconsciousness.

"I'll be hearing a lot of I told you so from Umma." She murmured as darkness finally enveloped her.

•• ||•• ||•• ||•• ||••

It was the silence that woke her up, or not but it was the first thing she noticed when her eyes slowly opened. The room was painted a bright color of white, the bed was uncomfortable and what in Allah's name was she wearing?

Sabeerah had barely been to a hospital, that was how few a times she'd actually gotten sick but she knew what it looked like and how ugly the hospital gown was. Had Umma really allowed them to put on this drab for her? And why was she in the hospital? The last thing Sabeerah could remember was going into the bathroom for a shower, how she'd ended up in a hospital room was beyond her.

There was a muted flat screen TV in her room and the channel showing was a BBC coverage on Africa and it's animals, it made Sabeerah roll her eyes, very typical. She squinted her eyes to see the date flashing on the TV and when she saw it was on the 18th of May, she gasped.

The last date she could remember was on 15th May, had she really been on this bed passed out for the past three days? As she settled herself on the bed back, the syringe from the IV fluid pricked her as if reminding her to be careful with her hand.

She didn't know she'd fallen back asleep until her eyes opened again and by her bedside was a nurse tapping lightly on her wrist. Settled on the couch was her mother looking haggard and tired.

"Umma." Sabeerah called out and her mother immediately rushed towards her, her expression was of sheer delight.

"Oh alhamdulilah- praise be to Allah." Her mother exclaimed cupping her face and planting kisses on her.

"Umma stop it." She said trying to pull away.

"It's good you're awake now." The nurse said smiling genuinely.

"How are you? Do you feel pains anywhere? Does your head hurt?" Her mother questioned frantically, a worried look returned to her face.

"No, I feel fine." And that was true, the headache was gone and so was the woozy and tired feeling from earlier, now she felt strong, enough to want to leave here immediately.

"When can I go home?" Sabeerah asked, at the back of her mind she was aware of the work she'd missed. A whole three days gone uselessly, work was going to be even more tedious than when she'd left and she wanted to get back to it immediately.

"As soon as the doctor ascertain you fit enough." The nurse said busying herself with preparing an injection on a metal tray.

"And when will that be? I don't see him here." She snapped.

Her mother frowned at her. "You'll go home when youa well but for now, you need rest."

"Toh, they're some files in my room, tell Huda to bring the blue ones for me, I need to finish up with them immediately and she should also bring my work laptop, it's in my third drawer." She gave the instructions and she was aware of the look the nurse sent her way, Sabeerah scowled at her in response.

"You must be out of your mind to have such suicidal thoughts!" He mother said with an edge on her voice.

Sabeerah groaned. "Please Umma, not now."

"Yes Hajrah, not now! Now is not the time for work, you're in this position because of how worked up you got yourself over the company and despite the warnings I'd given, you and your father refused to listen but now, look at the repercussions!"

Her mother's face was contorted into an angry one and the veins on the side of her neck was popping out as she yelled. Sabeerah knew she was saying the truth but it didn't matter, she was too grown to take orders from anyone and was long past the age of parental controls.

"I don't need you babying me to do what you want, I love my job and unlike you Umma, I am not ready to spend the rest of my life dependant on a man." She retorted, her mother flinched at the harshness of her words and even the nurse had on her a shocked expression, she stared at Sabeerah with something similar to disdain.

"You can say whatever you want to me, at this point I'm used to it but wallahi - I swear by Allah  no work related files are coming through this room and you're not leaving here until you're completely recovered!"

With that, her mother marched out of the room and all Sabeerah could do was give a defeated sigh as she sank back into the uncomfortable bed.

"What are you still here for?" She snapped at the nurse who gave a lazy look in reply, before injecting the syringe in her hand into the IV bag. Sabeerah busied herself wondering how soon she could leave here, she was stubborn but her mother was even more stubborn.