ENSHROUDED

14

This was the fifth time he was reading the letter, the amazing thing was how he heard her voice in his head as he read the words she had written. He smiled brightly, of course, he would love to help her pack her clothes, that's the greatest pleasure he would have to experience.

Dr Aliyu entered his office with a file of a patient and placed it on his table. "Dr Nasir, this girl should let you work. You can't be smiling all day in your office." He teased and laughed when Nasir glared at him.

"And this file?" Nasir dismissed the conversation as he began taking a look at the patient's file.

"I have too many patients now, that's why I have the girl taken to you. Please, do this for me." She was just a little girl of about 7 years old, Nasir consulted her while in his head, he wanted nothing but to drive back home to Aisha. She had this effect on him. Whenever he was away from her, he wanted nothing but to be around her.

He finished all the works he had in his office he locked the office and drove directly back home. Without even taking off his lab coat, Nasir knocked on the door and entered the living room with a faint salam.

No one was around in the living room, he knew they must be in the kitchen, and he predicted right. The moment he entered the kitchen, he saw Aisha and Mama baking expertly, they had lunch already placed on the dining table. These were snacks, and he wondered to whom all those snacks belonged to.

"Assalamu Alaikum. Good afternoon, Mama. I missed you so much." He uttered and softly hugged Mama, planting a small peck on her cheek.

Mama pushed him off her softly and he laughed. "You've been away for only hours, and you're here ranting off my ears about how you missed me. Lunch is ready, you can go and eat."

"I'm not hungry, I can wait for you to finish. Between, who are you making the snacks for?" He asked, and now, their eyes met with Aisha. Both of them silently wished he can do to her what he did to Mama, even more. The thought was dismissed, as they smiled at each other.

"Good afternoon, Dr." Aisha greeted and he nodded his head at her.

"I'm storing these snacks for Aisha in the freezer so she will fry them whenever she wants. She doesn't like taking breakfast so much, I think it will help. You shouldn't stay with hunger, Aisha."

Aisha laughed and kept on folding the ends of the samosa and taking the folded ones to the fridge. She'll take them with her tomorrow morning. She had already fried the ones they were going to eat today.

"You've said that numerously, Mama. I won't stay hungry, I promise." She spoke and laughed. Nasir moved beside her and took one of the samosas and immediately started eating.

"You're really happy about leaving tomorrow, right?" He hushed only for her earshot, and she shook her head, glancing squarely at Mama.

"I'm not happy, but sad. Mama said the driver is taking me there, are you busy at work?" She hushed back, pretending to be intently engrossed into her work, as Mama made the batter.

"No, I'll take you there. It's Friday after all, Aliyu will be there to help when I'm needed." He hushed back and took another samosa before he went towards the fridge and took a can of drink.

"Mama, I'll take Aisha to Katsina tomorrow," He uttered out of the blue moon, and they all turned to look at him.

"Isa will take her, you don't have to squeeze yourself too much, Nasir," Mama said dismissively and turned back to her work.

"No Mama, it's not a great deal, I'll drive her there. Won't you join us?" In his mind, he prayed Mama said no, and when she shook her head, he wanted to scream out of joy.