THE MASKED GIRL

1

Yusuf walked into his friend's room with a paper in his hand annoyed about the decision his friend made. They have completed their five years of army training successfully and were to leave tomorrow but he was just told when he went to sign their name out that his friend had signed up for the nine months direct short service course.

"I thought we were leaving" He said and threw the papers at his friend questioning why he made the choice.

His friend ignored him and continued packing his items to move to the short service barrack.

Aliyu and Yusuf joined the army a few months after Aliyu's mother's death and not once did Aliyu go home for vacation ever since they joined, Yusuf never questioned or made him go back knowing the reason. But he thought with time his friend would have come to terms with what he is running from and continue with life.

"It's been five years"

Yusuf said again hopelessly trying to make his friend change his mind, scratch that his brother. They were practically raised together by both their parents and have been friends since forever. One of them just cannot do without the other no matter what, people think they are brothers which they practically are.

"You can't run forever" Yusuf added and that got Aliyu to stop what he was doing and snatched the papers from Yusuf.

"I plan to run forever Yusuf, alone this time. And that is why I did not sign your name" Aliyu snapped and throw the papers back at him.

Aliyu tried, he did everything in his power to overlook things but just couldn't. He knew that his mom is really gone but it just doesn't feel right to continue living without her. He is not the only one that lost a loved one and he knows that it is God's way of testing but he doesn't know what is stopping him from accepting it. Experiencing the death of a loved one is worst than every pain possible. There are times of numbness, sometimes strangeness, and sometimes denial but the sadness is always there like being hit with the news of the death all over again. The future just seems empty without her which is why he sees no reason to do things that will benefit him, he is just waiting for his time to leave the world he would have been long gone if suicide was not a sin.

"It's not like you will be attending the practice or anything. I see no reason for your staying when you are not doing anything at all" Yusuf shouted the frustration cleared in his voice.

For the whole five years of their stay, Aliyu only comes out for practice when he feels like it. He doesn't do anything or take part in any activity and always gets punished. Yusuf had to break the promise he made to him of not telling anyone of his whereabouts and inform his father to do something about it and that is when his family knows that he is in the army. His father happens to know the general and put in a word for Aliyu and that is when he started getting his late-night training in private. Others see Aliyu not taking part in the training as an injustice because that is what it is but Aliyu doesn't mind them talking cause they don't know about his late-night training. He gets to have his private training by an officer at night, sometimes on his own and sometimes by the general himself which he doesn't know the reason behind. The general soon finds a place in Aliyu's life and he becomes the only one he shares his problems with and that is why his training is never boring.

"Are you going to continue living in the barrack your whole life?" Yusuf added.

"What if I am?" Aliyu questioned rhetorically.

Yusuf couldn't handle his friend's attitude anymore. He knew Aliyu has a very bad temper and if this conversation continue he very sure knows it will end badly. So like always he become the bigger person and stopped discussing the matter.