LOGINDISCLAIMER; THIS BOOK IS NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18. BE WARNED. 'I don't remember coming here' Saudah wondered, turning again towards the mud huts. A thick forest surrounded the place, its lifeless trees making ominous shapes in the deepening dark. This was no place of comfort. A sense of forbidding clutched at her chest. Suddenly, she saw a man on a horseback, galloping towards her down a narrow path cut through the woods. She stood transfixed, unable to do anything but watch and wait. The man was wearing a deep dark robe, very unlike the dress worn by human beings. On his feet were pointed nails. A dark, hooded cloak flapped wildly as he drew nearer on his black steed, his piercing eyes glaring at Saudah. He drew the horse up to a walk, never averting his eyes from hers. They were the scary steel-dark eyes she had never seen before, which seemed to beckon her against her will. "What do you want?" Saudah screamed, her voice shrill with terror. "What do you want from me?" she screamed again. Something magnetic then pulled her towards the man; it was an invisible hand that pushed her from behind.
View MoreAsiya was in the kitchen cooking a meal of spaghetti when she heard a silent, ominous sound. A moment later, she switched off the central air conditioner; and heard the sound more loudly from Saudah's room. She then left the kitchen and peeped quietly through the door's knob only to see a big, black snake almost as thick as a child's arm and perhaps a yard longer."Mummy! Mummy!" Asiya's terrified shriek broke the serenity of the day and Saudah's twilight state. Saudah was suddenly startled out of sleep and saw the snake raring it's head in her direction."Help! Help! Help! Snake! Mummy, Snake!" She cried out in horror. Hajia Balkisu, who had also been awakened to Asiya's hysteria, quickly went the way of Saudah's room and pushed the door open. She then saw a big black snake raring its head in Saudah's direction. It was the one in vapour shape; and it had been with her for almost half an hour. The bed was still lumpy with the pillow she had tucked under the blankets. The
She responded to its touch. The invisible one could feel it in the way groaned. The trembling in her body told that strange creature of her gathering excitement. She could not recall the last time she had shivered in someone’s arms like that. She realized that its hand on her body was completely steady. Somewhere inside her, there was a cloudburst. A hot rain poured down, drenching regions that had been patched and dry for what seemed permanent. Suddenly, there was a rain forest where there had only been desert. The raw power, the driving need, and the exquisitely painful anticipation that shafted through her was the pulse of life itself. Its laughter was fraught with nervous energy. It then sent sparkles of light through her. In the next moment, the small sound transmitted into a sweet, anxious murmur. It kisses became extravagant, quick, eager.True to the incoherence of the scenes of that dream, she could not really think clearly. The fragrance
Saudah woke up that Saturday morning and realized that that all she had seen herself do was a mere dream. She dreamt of dancing naked in the market place. As she opened her eyes and strained to read the hand of the alarm clock on the bed side table, it was already time for the madarasah she had joined just last week. She realized the strange feeling that always follows every dream. Rubbing her eyes with palm, she threw her feet over the edge of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom.After switching on the light, she stared at her own reflection in the mirror and scowled. Her admirers were right, after all---she was irresistibly beautiful. Taking a quick shower, she dressed casually and stepped out of the room with her bag strapped along her shoulder. She was wearing a black hijaaband stepped out of her room. She arrived to a bloomy living room filled with laughter and happiness.“Good morning everyone,” she greeted as she sat beside her elder sis
''H-e-l-p!'' Saudah screamed. She had woken up at night to find herself sweating profusely. The shock of that dream suddenly brought her to a sitting position. Her head throbbed, with severe headache. She was very dizzy and delirious. It was then that she looked around the environment she was.''Are you okay? How do you feel? Can you see me? Talk to me please.'' It was her mother, who was sitting beside the bed she was.''Take it easy with her.'' She heard her Dad's voice, but couldn't make out where it was coming from. ''Saudah, can you talk?''''Y-e-s'' she croaked, feeling her lips crack a little.She was still plagued by the dream she had, migraine and aches of different kinds in some vital organs of her body. That night, the dream had reflected her in a wedding feast. She saw a long, peal-studed train of a creamy candle light satin wedding gown cascading in graceful folds behind herself, as she glided to a halt in front of the alter. She saw herself





