Chapter Four

A year later.

L

"May His soul rest in peace, May Allah forgive his sins." Halima and Hauwa sat together, on the same mat in Salisu's mother's house. 

His mother had fainted twice since he was declared dead at the hospital in the early hours of the day, and all she said was that her own was finished. She had yet to wake up from her last faint. 

"Is the ambulance on the way?" Halima vaguely heard someone ask another man. She just couldn't concentrate on the conversation because her head was whirling, she was still trying to absorb all the information she had gotten, shocking information at that. 

"He'll be buried by four In Sha Allah." The breeze carried to her the rest of their conversation making Halima put her hand on her head in pain. How could she have been so stupid. So deep in her own troubles that she didn't see that she was being used all these while? 

How come Salisu did things and got away with them and she couldn't, who exactly made men Kings of the world? If she'd done this thing Salisu had done, she'd be lynched for it, she'd be used to tell other young girls to not toe the line of evil, yet Salisu could so that and everyone, including the Mallams that stayed near them applauded him. Even in his death. 

"Assalamualaikum. Peace be unto you." Halima whispered her answer to the woman crouched in front of her, a tear voluntarily running down her left cheek. She felt too powerless to wipe it off, people would think she was crying about Salisu, they'd never know she was bemoaning her fate. 

"I'm so sorry for your loss Leemah, He was a good man. Wallahi." Halima fought the urge to eye the woman with contempt, instead she bowed her head and nodded her head. In deeply etched pain. 

Noticing for herself that Halima was really mourning her husband, the woman got up nodding. She was the neighborhood gossip. 

"Who's this girl here, his sister?" She watched Hauwa shake her head from her side eye and swung her eyes back in time to catch Mrs Neighborhood gossip begin to connect the dots in her head, Halima knew the exact time she got the link, because her mouth dropped open. So open one could put a medium sized hot yam could be placed in it. 

"Toh, Allah yaji qanshi da rahama, Allah ya sa ya huta. Allah yasa aljanna ce makomar shi. (May his soul rest in peace. May Allah have mercy on him. May paradise be his abode.)." Halima muttered a liberal Ameen and watched as the woman walked to het friends. She couldn't even wait to get home. People could be so insensitive. 

She didn't blame her though, it wasn't her fault, if Salisu had not done what he did, she wouldn't be here. 

*****

"Thank you Ma." 

Halima leaned back on her bed and screamed out loud in excitement, so much that her mother had to rush in to ask if nothing was wrong. 

"My boss just took me back. Wallah, i thought I'd have to find a new job." Her mother sighed, obviously not sharing in her daughter's excitement. The fair skinned, Kano born, Middle aged woman sat on the bed close to Halima near where her head lay and shook her hair out of the small cap it was in. 

Halima could be said to be one of those children who looked like a certain parent, one hundred percent without taking from her other parent. She looked her mother's youngest sister. 

"Sadiyya am?" Halima shut her eyes and replied. Her mother never rubbed her scalp unless she wanted to pass a message across. 

"I still think you should use your degree." Halima shook her head subtly and licked her lips, considering how to tell her mother that she could use her degree but not right now. 

"I'm trying to grow Mummy. Allow me to grow." She felt her mother sigh. 

"Sadiyya. You're 24, you're 5 feet seven inches and have a head full of hair and In Sha Allah, you're healthy. What more growth do you need?" Halima shook hear head, and pushed herself up carefully yo come face to face with her mother. 

"I'm learning to grow Mummy, the growth that getting married to Salisu robbed me of and you know it. I'm learning to stop being a fool, I'm learning to build my confidence, I'm trying to- just learn to be me. Halima." Her mother pursed her lips and nodded, and instead of replying her mother got up, retied her atampa wrapper and walked out of the small room. 

Halima lay back on her bed and rolled her eyes heavenward and groaned out loud and hard. Her plan wasn't coming along, everyone thought her a fool after that wicked incident, obviously including her mother.

*******

"Jamal." 

Jamal knew he was in big trouble, but he'd sweet talk his mother as usual. He knew nothing of taking care of two girls, and intended to the Moon and back to keep his single status that way. No one, even his father could force his hand.

"Mummy, I'm sorry. Really so." His mother sighed and watched him like a hawk making Jamal fidget and look at his cufflinks in sudden concentration. 

"You forgot your children here and slept at work. At work." He raised his head immediately she said that, he knew his secretary Salim had snitched, yet again. 

"Your children need you. I'm not going to compound matters by asking you to remarry because you'd have to work on yourself before I let you foist yourself on any lady, knowing you'd be a bad husband." Jamal shut his eyes slowly, his mother's words cut deep. Really deep. 

She'd chosen her word weaponry from a really deep part of him and cut through his already bleeding scars. But he just rocked on the balls of his feet and continued to crouch in front of her in respect. 

"I might ask your father to ask you to step down from being CEO of you'll continue this way, if you'll keep up this way. Because Wallahi, Jamal, this is not the man I spent years raising. You're bigger, better than this. And I have to tell you now, I'm disappointed in you. Deeply."