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Turning around quickly, she looked at them. They all stepped out, piercing her with a wicked, malicious glare. Ilham said, "Let me ask you, does this place look like a club to you?" Samantha remained silent, just staring at her. Khaleesat yelled at her, barked, "Are you deaf that you're just going to stand there staring at us like that? If you don't say what brings you to this house, we will give you a severe beating!" Lowering her eyes, she didn't say a word to them. Ilham yanked her forcefully and said, “Are you daft? Say what brings you to this house before we beat the living lights out of you!”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and in a trembling voice, she said, “He is helping me with an assignment...”
Khaleesat, looking as though she was about to cry from rage, jabbed her finger against Samantha's head and spat, “Your mother's assignment! You're just coming here to teach our brother immorality, right? Did they tell you he is a prostitute like you?”
Samantha’s eyes widened in shock, and she said, “I am not a prostitute...”
Ilham countered, “You are lying, you are a prostitute!”
Bursting into tears, she sobbed, “I am not a prostitute, believe me...”
Khaleesat grabbed her by the throat in a fit of rage and threatened, “By Allah, by Allah, if you ever come near the gate of this house again, we will knock your teeth out. You keep coming here to ruin our brother, you pagan bitch (*arniya*)!”
Weeping bitterly, Samantha replied in a vulnerable, broken voice, “I am not a pagan, I have my religion. I am a Christian...”
Ilham scoffed, “And who are Christians if not pagans? You are a massive pagan...”
Suddenly, the door swung open, and they all turned around quickly. He stood there, staring at them in absolute shock and bewilderment. Khaleesat released her grip immediately. Stepping forward, he demanded in a thundering voice, “What is going on here?”
Ilham and Khaleesat pouted their lips defiantly, while Samantha did nothing but sob uncontrollably. Completely overwhelmed and shaken, he let out an even more terrifying roar, “What is going on here, I said?”
Ilham twisted her mouth and said, “We are just serving her a warning to stop coming here...”
He raised his hand, about to slap her across the face, but she bolted out of the room, with Khaleesat running right behind her. He quickly rushed after Samantha, who had already managed to open the gate. He caught her by the arm, and she burst into tears anew, desperately trying to wrench herself free. Refusing to let her go, he pleaded, “No, please, I'm sorry, friend. Listen to me...”
Weeping, she cried, “They called me a prostitute...”
Instantly, his eyes turned red with anger, and completely at a loss for words, he simply pulled her into his chest and comforted, “You are not, dear...”
Seeing how heavily she was crying, he pulled her into the parlor. He spent over twenty minutes trying to soothe and comfort her, realizing just how deeply fragile and sensitive she was. She repeated that she had been called a prostitute more than five times. With great effort, he finally managed to calm her down while holding her in his embrace. Quietly, she whispered, "And I am not a pagan. I have my religion. I am a Christian." He fell silent and said nothing.
They remained like that for over ten minutes before she gently disengaged herself from his embrace, stood up, and wiped her face. Rising to his feet as well, he took her hand and said, “Please, I am so sorry on behalf of those stupid girls. I promise to teach them a lesson.”
Shaking her head, she said, "They didn't do anything to me." With that, she exited the parlor.
Closing his eyes briefly, he opened them and walked out as well. He headed straight to the main house, his face tightly contorted in anger. Only Ramlah was seated in the parlor, busy with her assignments. With a stern face, he demanded, “Where are Rabi'ah and the others?”
Glancing upward, she replied, “They are upstairs.”
He headed upstairs and opened their bedroom, but they weren't there. He then opened Mami’s room and found them sitting closely by her side.
Chapters 12–13
His face darkened as he walked in and sat down. Mami, observing him, asked, "What is it, Aliyu?" He refused to say a word, while Ilham and Khaleesat snuggled closer to Mami. Darting a fierce, burning glare at the two girls, he bolted upright as if stung by a needle and stormed out of the room, looking angry enough to fly into the sky.
Mami looked at the girls and asked, “You went looking for his trouble, didn't you?”
Ilham pouted her lips and mumbled, “We didn't do anything to him.”
Until the Maghrib prayer, Ilham and her sister refused to leave Mami’s room, which confirmed to Mami that they had committed a grave offense against their older brother. Try as she might to get them to confess what they had done, they stubbornly refused to speak.
After the Isha prayer, Mami walked over to his quarters. Finding the parlor empty, she proceeded straight into his bedroom and found him sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his phone. Stepping closer, she glanced toward the bathroom door upon hearing the sound of a washing machine.
Placing his phone aside, he murmured, “My Mami...”
Mami asked, “So there's a washing machine in here?”
He replied, “Yes, there is...”
She asked, “Are you doing laundry?”
He answered, “No, just singlets...”
Sitting down, she asked, “What exactly did Ilham and her sister do to you?”
Rubbing his head, he replied, “It's in the past, Mami...”
Smacking her lips, Mami remarked, “Well, that's between you all. I noticed you haven't stepped foot into the main house since earlier.”
He said, “Yes, Mami, in fact, I was just about to come over now.”
She said, “Alright. Could you go buy some fruits for me?”
Looking at her, he replied, “Okay, Mami.”
Rising to her feet, she instructed, “Don't buy any juice; just apples, grapes, and watermelon.”
He said, “Okay, Mami. When is Abba coming back?”
She retorted, “Don't you have his number?”
He simply smiled, and she teased, "Exactly." With that, she headed for the door and left.
Getting up, he went into the bathroom, turned off the washing machine, and came back out. He initially reached for his car keys but changed his mind since the distance wasn't far; he simply grabbed some cash and walked out. He walked sluggishly, looking completely unsettled and restless. Upon reaching the roadside fruit vendors, he just stood there lost in thought until they finally asked him what he wanted to buy. He looked at the vendor and gave his order.
Just then, a car pulled up and parked right by the spot. He kept his eyes fixed on the vehicle until the door opened. His heart skipped a violent beat when he saw her step out. Totally oblivious to his presence, she walked toward the fruit vendor. He stood up, peering intently into the car to see who she was with. His eyes locked directly with her Mum, who was seated firmly in the back seat. From her appearance, it was glaringly obvious they were returning from church. Averting his gaze, he stepped closer to the vendor, who had just finished packing his fruits into a nylon bag and was now packing hers.
Abuturrab kept his eyes glued to her, noting that her mood seemed visibly downcast, and he knew instantly it was because of the incident that had transpired earlier that afternoon. As if guided by instinct, she suddenly turned around. She found herself unable to stop staring at him, so he was the one who looked away, knowing her mother would undoubtedly be watching them. True to his suspicion, the mother was staring intensely at them, her eyes wide as if they were about to speak.
Stepping around, he took his bag of fruits, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his cash along with his mobile phone. He stole a quick glance at her mother and saw that she was still staring fixedly in their direction. Pretending as though he was merely handing money to the vendor, he cleverly stepped up behind Samantha, caught her hand, and slipped his phone into her palm. Then, he quickly handed the vendor his money, turned around, and left the scene.
Samantha herself felt her heart race, deeply terrified that her mother might have witnessed him handing over the phone. As she received her bag of fruits, she quickly dropped the phone inside, paid the vendor, turned around, and hurried back to the car. The moment she climbed inside, her mother hurled a terrifying question at her.
"Samantha, do you know that man?" Mumy demanded, her eyes wide and piercing.
With her heart pounding heavily against her chest, Samantha stammered, “Which man, Mumy?”
The mother snapped, “The one who just bought fruits now!”
Samantha shook her head quickly but said nothing because she was terrible at lying.
Filled with rage, the mother barked, “You are lying! I saw the way he was looking at you. I keep trying to separate you from these non-believers, but you just won't listen! What business do you have with a Muslim?”
Tears welling up in her eyes, she whispered, “I'm sorry, Mumy...”
Her mother yelled fiercely, “Sorry for yourself, stupid girl! Where is the cross around your neck? Have you gone and taken it off again?”
With tears streaming down her face, she lied, “I forgot it in front of the mirror.”
Her mother continued to scold her furiously all the way home. Samantha clutched the bag of fruits tightly to her chest, knowing her secret would be utterly blown if her mother took the bag and discovered the phone inside. Upon reaching the dining area, she set the bag down, quickly fished out the phone, hid it beneath her clothes, and hurried upstairs to her room.
Around eleven o'clock, she was kneeling by her bedside, hands clasped and eyes closed in prayer. Just as she was about to go to sleep, she felt the phone vibrating beneath the pillow where she had hidden it. Rising quickly, she rushed to the door and locked it before returning to pick up the phone. It was an unsaved number. Slowly, she answered and brought it to her ear.
From the other end, a voice murmured, “Hello, friend!”
In a very low voice, she replied, “Good evening.”
He asked, “Are you well? You aren't asleep yet?”
She nodded her head as if he could see her and said, “I'm about to sleep now.”
In a gentle, soothing tone, he said, “Okay. I'm sorry, dear, for what happened this afternoon. Please forgive me...”
She quickly cut in, “Oh, it's already in the past.”
He insisted, “No, I know it's still hurting you. For my sake, please forgive, for the sake of Allah.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she softly replied, “I've already forgiven and forgotten... My religion prohibits us from not forgiving, because we are also being forgiven by the Almighty God.”
Closing his eyes, he murmured, “Okay, my dear. Thanks so much. How is your night going?”
She said, “It's nice...”
He said, “Good. You're going to school tomorrow, right?”
She replied, “Yes.”
He said, “Alright, goodnight then...”
She quickly interjected, “Wait, how am I going to give you back your phone?”
He replied, “No, I gave it to you so that I can be hearing your voice.”
Smiling, she gasped, “My voice?”
He said, “Yeah, dear. Your sweet voice...”
Her eyes widened, and she let out a soft laugh, saying, “I'm not a part of this! Bye!”
He smiled, closing his eyes at the sound of her laughter, and said softly, “Okay, dear. Sleep tight.”
Gently, she replied, "Thank you..." and ended the call.
Lying down, she began inspecting the Infinix phone. Finding it unlocked, she opened the gallery. The first things she encountered were pictures of his sisters, and her heart sank heavily as she looked at them. Slowly, she began swiping past them. Most were photos of the siblings, but then she saw one of Mami and instantly recognized her as his mother due to the striking resemblance. Then, she stumbled upon a photo of him dressed in a white medical coat, a stethoscope draped around his neck, and a beautiful smile gracing his face. The picture was incredibly handsome. She found herself staring directly at his pink lips, but suddenly, the memory of that fateful night flashed through her mind, causing her heart to skip a beat. She quickly swiped past the photo. She continued scrolling through the pictures until they ended, closed her eyes, and eventually drifted off to sleep with the phone resting on her chest.
The next morning at dawn, the vibration of the phone woke her up. Sitting up quickly, she pulled the phone close and saw it was the same number from last night. Slowly, she answered and brought it to her ear.
From the other end, he asked, “Still sleeping?”
In a sleepy, low voice, she replied, “I'm awake.”
He teased, “No, I'm the one who woke you up.”
She smiled, and he continued, “Alright, I just got back from the mosque, so I decided to wake you up, even though I know you have nothing to do right now...”
She countered, “I'm going to pray, of course.”
He asked, “What prayer?”
She asked back, “Which one did you just perform?”
He answered, “I went to the mosque to perform my *Sallah* (prayer), of course.”
She said, “Well, I am also about to say my own prayers now.”
Smacking his lips, he said, “Alright then, have a safe prayer.”
She replied, "Ok, thank you..." and he hung up the phone, shaking his head with a smile.
Getting up, she knelt by her bedside, clasped her hands, and closed her eyes. She spent about ten minutes in this position before rising to go to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, ran her bathwater, washed up, and came out. Wasting no time in getting dressed into her school uniform, she went to her mother's room and found her seated at her study table, wearing glasses with the open Bible in front of her.
Approaching her, she said, “Good morning, Mumy.”
Closing the Bible, Mumy replied, “Good morning. Have you prayed?”
She nodded and said, “Yes, I have.”
Mumy asked, “When exactly is your WAEC exam starting?”
She replied, “Didn't I tell you? It's on Monday.”
Mumy said, “Good. Make sure you are studying hard.”
She answered, "I am, Mumy." With that, she left the room.
Around eight-thirty, she left the house since they were only doing revisions at school. She was being driven to school in the family car. As they approached the street where Abuturrab's house was located, he happened to be driving out in his car as well. He didn't rush onto the main road; instead, he paused to let them pass first. His eyes were completely fixed on the car, searching for where she was seated. She, too, had spotted him from a distance. Slowly, she wound down her glass window as they drew parallel to his car. Her eyes widened, and she waved her hand at him. He playfully winked one eye at her. Gasping, she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. He kept his eyes on their car until they drove past, then closed his eyes briefly, put his car in gear, and drove off to work.
From that day on, they didn't see each other in person again, but he didn't mind because they were constantly talking on the phone. As for Samantha, she completely stopped passing by his family's street just to avoid any run-ins with his sisters, preferring to take a much longer, circular route despite the distance out of sheer terror of them. This routine continued until their WAEC exams finally commenced.
She had just stepped out of the shower after returning from her third exam paper. Standing in front of the mirror, she was drying her long hair, having taken a shower without a shower cap. Hearing the phone vibrate, she walked over to the bed and picked it up. Answering it, she tilted her head slightly and brought it to her ear.
From the other end, he asked, “How was the exam paper?”
She replied, “Uhm, it was quite easy...”
He teased, “Despite all the exam leaks/runs?”
Her eyes widened, and she gasped, “No, I didn't cheat!”
He smiled, “Alright, what are you doing now?”
She said, “I just took a bath...”
He paused briefly before asking, “Okay, have you eaten?”
Shaking her head, she replied, “Nobody is at home. I'm about to cook now.”
He asked, “What are you going to cook?”
She paused as if thinking, then said, “Maybe I'll cook Indomie.”
He said, “Uhm, I'll join you in eating that.”
Her eyes widened, and then she laughed, “The Indomie?”
He insisted, “Yeah, I'm very hungry. Nobody is at home here either.”
She cooed, “Oh, and you don't know how to cook, right?”
He admitted, “Yeah, exactly. But you'll make it for us, right?”
Smiling, she asked, “Are you seriously going to eat it?”
He replied, “Yeah, of course, I'm dead serious...”
She fell silent for a moment before saying, “Okay, so who is going to collect it for you?”
He asked, “Oh, so you won't bring it to me?”
She went quiet, then replied, “No, just come and collect it yourself.”
He sighed, “Alright then, just forget about it.”
She asked, “You've changed your mind about eating?”
Curtly, he replied, “Yes.”
She said, “Oh, okay then.”
He hung up the phone, and she smiled. She finished drying her body, applied her lotion, and picked out a red and black abaya to wear. She tied her head with a scarf, sprayed some perfume, and headed to the kitchen. She began peeling potatoes, finishing up within a short time to fry them, and then prepared a liver sauce. Soon, the delicious aroma filled the entire house. She dished the food into a warmer, cleaned up the kitchen, packed the food, and locked up the house, knowing her mother wouldn't return from the church service until after the Isha prayer.
From the moment she stepped out of her gate, her heart was pounding heavily with memories of Ilham and Khaleesat. However, remembering his claim that nobody was home slightly eased her anxiety. Summoning immense courage, she pushed the gate open and entered his compound. She quietly closed the gate behind her and quickly headed for the parlor door. Turning the handle with a hesitant, trembling hand, she stepped inside and closed the door.
She spotted him lying on a long couch, wearing nothing but a singlet and short boxers. Halting in her tracks, she set the food down, forced a nervous smile, and stammered, “Uhm, here it is, I brought it for you... I'll be leaving now.”
He sat up, keeping his gaze fixed on her. Then, he rose to his feet and walked over to where she stood. She lowered her head like a guilty child. He spent over a minute just staring at her before slowly reaching out his hand and snapping the Rosary hanging around her neck. She snapped her head up in utter shock and bewilderment, staring at him, but found herself completely unable to utter a word. Seeing how intensely he was locking eyes with her with his piercing brown gaze, she slowly lowered her eyes again. He lifted her chin to speak, but the moment their eyes met, words failed him.
Quickly bowing her head again, she turned to flee, but he swiftly pulled her into his chest. In a deeply husky, low whisper, he breathed, "I... I missed you." She was paralyzed, unable to say a thing. He intertwined his fingers with hers, prompting her to slowly look up. Closing his eyes, he pressed his warm lips gently against her forehead. She quickly closed her eyes. Slowly, his lips traced a path down her nose until they met her lips. Instantly, she held her breath. Pinning her gently against the door, he closed his eyes and deeply locked his lips with hers. He didn't release her until he had taken his fill. Every single part of her body was trembling violently. The moment his lips parted from hers, she turned around in a flash and bolted outside.
Following her out with heavy, dazed eyes, he locked the gate behind her. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him through the gate and cried, "Open the gate for me!" He reached out to grab her hand, but she quickly recoiled backward. As he tried to step closer to her, she let out a piercing scream that rattled him to his very core. Lost in panic, he instinctively backed away, giving her room to escape, and she ran off.
The following day, Abuturrab was seated in his father's parlor, his face completely devoid of joy as he listened
