Serendipity

Chapter ONE ( SEDEEQA )

   She's walking down the street aimlessly, the sky is bright and the day looks promising. However Sadeeqa's mood is a contrast to the clear Monday morning sky. She's just 17 and is supposed to be in school as it is 7:30am already. Her friends and classmates pass by her on their way to school.

  Her school being a public school she thought she could finally be able to stay in school at least for a full whole academic session unlike those years. But even that seemed a great deal. She finds a bench in a kiosk opposite her school. She clears the dust on the bench, sitting down gracefully trying to copying the English ladies she's seen on her neighbours TV.

  'Sadeeqa, aren't you coming to school  today?'
 
    Sadeeqa turns towards the voice which brought her out of her reverie. She sees her best friend, Salima

'Salima, how are you? You're late again today'
Sadeeqa says obviously avoiding her friends' question. Salima eyes her knowingly giving her the 'I know what you just did look' but to Sadeeqa's great relief she lets it go.
'Yeah, I had to attend the morning Islamic school. You know Abba ( Father ) will have my head if I missed it.

Sadeeqa smiles, 'Lucky me, I get to attend the evening classes'

'Yeah, lucky you' Salima says, rolling her eyes

'Hurry up to school Salima, Mr Farouq will have your head if you miss his class yet again today!' Sadeeqa says, she knows how much her best friend hates attending Mr Farouq's Maths class.  'Well, you're right. I better hurry up. I'll see you later Bestie.' Salima hurries up towards the school gate, with Sadeeqa smiling sadly at her retreating back.
She imagines Mr Farouq asking Salima about her as soon as someone fails to answer his questions in class, _'seems that is the only time her remembers me' She thinks sadly

  Thirty minutes later, Sadeeqa finally gets tired of sitting in one place. She stands up, wiping the imaginary dirt from her skirt. She adjusts her hijab and take the road leading to her home. She sighs heavily, and any one who cares to observe will see that the young beautiful girl walking slowly in the street with her head bowed has tears running like streams from her eyes.

  'Where did you come from, Sadeeqa? I told you to stay home and help me make this bean cakes.' The sound of the voice makes Sadeeqa's head snap up , quickly wiping her tears she attempts to clear any trace of tears from her young pretty face. She obviously doesn't want her mom know she has been crying. She hates others seeing her tears, Infact she hated crying at all , she felt weak anytime she cried and she knew weakness is not what she needed right now.

'I'm sorry, Ummi ( Mother ) I went to get the pepper you sent me and I list track of time', she replies in her local dialect ( Hausa )

' Oh , I completely forgot I sent you to get anything . Come, help me wash that pan, we'll use it in frying the bean cakes. I know you all must be hungry right now'. Her mom says in Hausa
'Have you seen your brothers?'

'Yes , they are playing with the neighbour's kids at the gate' she replies, removing her hijab to wash the pan her mom had pointed.

' Ok, hurry up with that. We don't want them running off to somewhere, maybe a stranger's house to eat.' Her mom says , worriedly

'Alright, Ummi'.

   Several hours later, Sadeeqa sits on the prayer mat opposite her father. He too is sitting on a larger prayer mat he appears to have just concluded observing the Magrib prayer.
'Good evening, Abba. ' Sadeeqa says in English. Her dad is educated and has always spoken to his children in English. 'Good evening, my daughter. How are you?' Her father asks, in his deep baritone voice she both fears and adores. 'I'm fine , Abba.' She replied, her head bent not daring to look straight at me out of respect. ' You all have prayed,right!?'  ' Yes, Abba. We all have. ' She replied although timidly. 'Then why are they not here with you?' Her dad asked, calmly but coldly. 'I.. I... I think they are still at the mosque , Abba. But... They will be here soon'. She couldn't resist adding.
  Just in cue, she hears her siblings voice. Her elder brother Sàdïq is heard laughing with who seems to be Adam her younger brother. Sàdïq is about 22 years already and a handsome young man at that. While Suleiman his younger brother is 20 years , and then she is 17 with a younger brother Adam who is 13 , Adam's junior is a girl , she's called Ummi because she got named after their mother Sadiya, Ummi is 7 and the reason for the gap between the two was that her mother fell ill immediately after the birth of Adam , when she was well enough she said she wanted to rest with childbirth, she said Sadeeqa and her siblings were enough for her. But, funnily enough after several years she got pregnant with Ummi and when she gave birth to Ummi she loved her so much she immediately named Ummi after her. Two years later, she gave birth to Dahir who is the youngest and hopefully the last born of the house.