ENSHROUDED

26

She sat silently on the bed she thought of hers, in the room they said was hers. But all she could recognize in the room were her clothes and the portraits Nasir sent to her today. She held the journal to her chest and stared at the set of trolleys lined up for her at the other side of the room. They were the life, the traditional gifts of clothes coming from a groom to his bride. But her lefe was practically bought together with her because it was Mama that bought it all.

She yawned and felt sleepy all of a sudden, Fatima had stayed with her until it was 9:30 pm and it had been an hour since she left. Aisha pulled out the bedside drawer and placed the journal before she looked around the room. Slowly, she walked to the bathroom and had her bathe before she walked out with her hair drenched. She opened her wardrobe and pulled randomly out of her nightdresses. By the time she had turned off the light, she was already feeling dizzy.

She thought about Nasir and slowly snuggled her head into the pillow. She pulled the blanket over her head. All felt weird, she hadn't been in this house before, and she had so much missed her old room. She knew the feeling, it was the kind of feeling she felt the day she first slept in Nasir's house. It felt all alien and like she had been in a dream. She pushed away all her thoughts and slowly drifted into a slumber, even though not a peaceful one, her eyes closed nevertheless.

Abba had been in the house for only twenty minutes. He had bathed and ate what he assumed to be their dinner set on the table by Mama's women. He wanted to go and sleep, not see the face of this girl; but he couldn't. She had been I his thought ever since he woke up today, and when he heard the imam solemnized the wedding, he had never felt as ease like today. He felt as if this is what he had been waiting for.

Silently, Abba walked towards Aisha's room and he found it locked. He felt a huge blow aimed at his ego. This girl even thought of locking her room? What did she think of herself? Did she think of herself as some sort of irresistible fairy? He hissed and walked away to his room. On the bed, he kept tossing and turning on his bed, all he wanted to see was Aisha. He had seen her picture, which Firdausi sent to him. She looked beautiful with makeup on and her bridal dress.

He had a night of disturbed sleep, and as he heard the adhan proclaimed for Subh salah, he pulled himself out of his bed. Abba walked down the hall and knocked on Aisha's door. He knocked for the fifth time until she groggily towards the door and unlocked it. She stretched herself and looked at him with lips pursed into a pout. "Good morning," She drawled and left him at the door, walking directly to her bathroom.

Abba wanted nothing but to hug her, she looked irresistible in her sleeping dress. With eyes barely opened, lips pursed into a pout and the way she stretched herself; he gulped down a lump in his throat and walked to the mosque that was only a few feet away from the house. When he came back, Aisha had already prayed and she was back on her bed, cuddled together with her blanket as she slept like a baby.

He walked silently into the room and looked at how she slept peacefully. His eyes wandered around the room and he caught a glimpse of the frames she had already hanged, courtesy of Fatima. She looked beautiful in all the pictures, and no matter how Abba hated to admit it, he knew Aisha was beautiful.

He pulled out the vanity stool and sat down opposite her, barely an inch between them. He wanted to admire her face while she didn't know he did. He stared intently at her face, it was the only thing visible to the outer world in her body, she had the whole of her wrapped in her blanket. He smiled at himself when she made a babyish sound and turned to the other side of the bed.

It took him sometime before he walked out of her room and carefully closed the door for her. He went directly to his room but sleep deserted him as much as water deserted the Sahara. He turned and tossed on his bed but there was nothing in his mind apart from Aisha's face as she slept. He got tired of lying on the bed and stood up. He had his bathe and called Mama, he knew she was awake by now. The people that came to the wedding hadn't left yet.