Hearts On Fire

26: Jannah Kakangi

26: jannah kakangi

Her tyre got punctured. She parked by the road side and kept looking around, hoping to see a face she had known or recognized, but nothing came. It was dark already and the few cars that were passing alonside the road kept decreasing with each passing of the hands on the clock. She wondered what she was going to do, she had no one to call but him, and he was definitely out of the line, considering how they ended it before she left. She couldn't even call Ammi because she knew she would ask her to call Al-mustapha, same story.

The night was getting older and she was now even sitting in her car, not knowing what to do. That day when they went to Tambuwal came flashing into her mind and she wished she hadn't said those words to him, who knew that her tyre too would one day get punctured and she couldn't be able to do anything about it? Just sit in the car and wait for the wonders of god? It was already 9pm, she had to pray, eat and study. But mostly, her whole body ached and she needed to sleep so bad that she thought about to she was going to wake up the next day.

She dailled Abida's number, their head maid because she didn't have his contact. On picking, Fatima Zarah pulled a poker face as if Abida could see her and spoke, "Please is he back home? I've been calling him and it isn't going through." There was no way she wa stelling Abida that she didn't have Al-mustapha's number.

"Yes, Hajia. He is, should I take the phone to him, then? He's having dinner in the dining table." She heard the sound of Abida moving even before she said yes to her request, but it was evident that she wanted her to give him the phone, obviously.

She entered the living room with a salam and walked to the dining table with her body slightly shaking. The kind of disgusted and brisk look Al-mustapha flashed her made her wish she didn't pick Fatima Zarah's call, because she couldn't say she wished she didn't walk into the house, because there was no way she was saying no to Fatima Zarah either.

"I'm sorry, Alhaji. Hajia wants to speak with you, she said she has been calling your line but it's not going through." He was silent for a moment, thinking who that Hajia could possibly be. This woman wasn't from the palace, he would've said it was Mama Fulani. Then he recalled, she referred to Fatima Zarah as Hajia.

"Leave, I'll call her now." He dismissed her with a wave and she relayed the message to Fatima Zarah before she ended the call. He had waited for her so long that he wondered what took her so long without coming back. She left the place nearly an hour before he did, and it was already past 9. Where did she went to?

"Where are you that you stay this late, Fatima?" He knew she hated the name so much, but he just want to rile her up to an extent.

"Don't call me that, if you can't add up the Zarah then don't bother about calling my name all your life." She said immediately smacked her lips. She wanted his help here and she's throwing words at him? So smart of you, Fatima Zarah, she mused to herself and wished she could take her words back.

"I asked you something and you're totally diverting the attention of your conversation to something else. Infact, why did you call me? All that aside." He crossed his hands over his chest. He'd rather watch the meal gloriously sitting on the plate while talking to her than eat as he spoke.

She cleared her throat, looked through her window and that's when she noticed two huge police dogs walking towards her car as they barked. She got afraid, there was no other creature she was afraid of, in the whole world apart from a dog, everything will come as a second. She spoke with a shrilling voice.

"My car got punctured around..." she looked over at the area before she described directly where she was and told him, and now the two dogs were around her door, barking through her window even though she had the glass swung up.