GO TO HELL, CAPTAIN (Preview)

11: ECCENTRIC ODD BIRD

ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA.

"...it's really fun before the teacher finds out and then the punishment will follow right after." Benazir smiled, reminiscing her days in primary school when everything was normal without having to fake anything. She's just finished telling Layla everything about her in just five minutes.

"It sounds like fun." Layla commented lamely, her back to the headboard while Benazir lie down on the bed in her pajamas and phone thrown beside her just to talk to Layla.

It was quiet for awhile, Layla thought the girl is finally asleep as she is getting quite sleepy herself but she asked in a thin voice barely above a whisper. "What do you do for fun?"

Layla smiled at the question. She does a lot of things for fun but the main one is stealing people's car. "Me? I go for long long drive with people's car without their knowledge." She intentionally didn't use the word steal because why should she? She is talking to an innocent lass here, she wouldn't want to corrupt her.

"That sounds like fun too. Will you take me sometime?" The little girl's eyes fluttered up to look at Layla's taut face.

She always wonder why she never smiles and when she does, you are sure to know that it doesn't reach her heart. She only moves her lips and tilt the edge for you to think she is smiling but she really isn't. Is that what loneliness causes? If so, she is going to try her hardest to not be lonely no matter what. Layla finds no joy in anything she does, that she is sure of. She doesn't want a life like Layla's anymore, she is too sad for her own good. Not just anyone's mentality can take it.

"Definitely not. It's not good for little kids like you." Layla pinched her nose in a warm gesture that did zealously calmed her.

Teems once told her she is the only person that gets Layla to be comfortable and lose herself without knowing. She is starting to believe her words because Layla just playfully pinched her nose!

"I'm not a kid." She pouted, crossed her arms beneath her chest with a small huff she couldn't get out since she isn't anywhere close to being mad.

"Whatever you say, darling."

Another silence ensued and Layla started dozing off a little when Benazir chirped again. "Your hair is long and pretty. Why do you leave it uncovered? I mean, it's not good for a Muslim girl to leave her hair open in front of non mahrams."

Taken a bit off guard, Layla's head is blank. She doesn't know how to answer such question when she's always ignored them asked by any other person. She cannot exactly say something sarcastic to this kid for she might think that's the real answer to the question. She browsed through her head to sort out this smart girl's question then come up with something lame but an answer to satisfy the colleen nevertheless.

"I'm a Muslim by name, I guess. Not really a practicing one if you could name it that." She shrugged her shoulders like it's no big deal.

She wasn't brought up by practicing parents so it's not expected of her to grow practicing right? Her mother never covered her hair too those days and goes out with jeans and T-shirt to anywhere she wants to go. Her father also prays at home, not bothered by what other people say about their thin practice on Islam. They never talked to her about seeking more knowledge on their religion and she grew up like that.

She cannot exactly put all the blame on them though. They died when she was just eight years old.

You cannot just change who you are after seeing your parents doing the same as you are doing. And not when she is not ready to change. Not when she isn't ready to turn back to her Lord afraid it might be too late already. Her head is literally empty except for the two surahs she knows by heart and pray using them every time she prays. What more could she need though? A Muslim should pray, fast and believe in oneness of Allah and his Messenger right? She is doing all that.