ENSHROUDED

18

22nd May, 2015

On my way back home

1:16pm

Just like everyday, it had been a week already since I started being her rider. Not for once had she let us have a decent conversation, and I'm not going to give up. We always rode silently back home and to school, but she had never uttered more words apart from; "Goodmorning, Sir." And when I dropped her off at our meeting spot, she would look at me with a small smile on her lips, "Thank you sir." That's all. I loved the way she spoke, and I'll make sure to make her speak more, In Sha Allah.

"Are you free this evening?" I asked out of the blue moon, she looked at me with a bewildered expression on her face. It meant as if she wasn't expecting me to ask her this question and was looking around my car to check wether I was on phone.

"I'm asking you, not on the phone. Will you be free this weekend, or you have other plans for the weekeend?" It took he time before she shook her head, and I felt relieved.

"I'll come and pick you up by 4:30pm, our usual meeting point?" She nodded her head yet again, an I dropped her off. I could see, she was fighting her mind for accepting to go out with me, but I wished and avowed she never regretted.

I was on the spot when it clicked 4:30pm. Nana asked me where I was heading to, I could only smile, because I had the intention of hiding Madina from anyone that knew me, and I was doing just fine, since I didn't tell Mama.

After like five minutes, I saw her walking towards my car in an abaya, she looked as beautiful as I could ever imagine. The abaya was light pink in colour, and by Allah it suited her skin color. As the dying sun shone on her face, Madina pulled up her hand and covered her face, squeezing her lips.

She sat down in the seat and looked at me with a small smile on her lips. "Good evening, Sir."

I groaned a little, and Madina took her time staring at me. "For godsake, Madina, you can call me Sir when it's school time, but not moments like this. Call me Nasir, that's my name incase you don't know."

I guess the face I made made her laughed, she gleamed when she laughed. Her voice sounded like a melody to my ears. "I can't call your name, Sir. Can we go with Sir?" There was amusement in her tone, and she looked even more beautiful.

Through my peripheral view, I could see her looking at me. She had smile planted on her lips, like she admired what she saw on my face. I wanted to look at her to, but I didn't want to interrupt her. "Where do you think we should go? This is my second time in Katsina, the first time was when Nana was brought here. I had to dodge school because of her wedding."

"You seem to have a good relationship with your sister, I would love to see het someday." Okay, a decent conversation would come. I felt the look she still had on my face.

"You would see her someday Insha Allah. Now, where do you think we should go?" She seemed to be ruminative for a while before she looked at me with a glint of what I assumed to be happiness and peace.

"Let's go to Jibia, there's a park over there; Chama park. I used to be there when My Dad was alive. The last time I was there was months before my Mom died. Can we go there?" She seemed to be escstatic about this place, and I would love to take her there. I checked my phone map and drove silently there.

She guided us towards the park when we entered Jibia, and her voice had risen with her enthusiasm about this park. The drive was only a few minutes more than theirty minutes. As we arrived at the parking lot, she looked at me with teary eyes, and pointed at a place where a car was parked.

"That's where my Dad used to park, and he would always say; I love it when I'm here, Madina, it provides me some peace." She tears and suppressed back her tears,  letting a small smile on her lips.