ENSHROUDED

31

Aisha pulled her frail legs down and she stared at her legs. She dreaded this moment. the time she was going to set her eyes on Abba again. This weekend she had spent alone was the peaceful and loveliest weekend she ever had since she came to Taraba. Today being Monday, she had to wake up early and get ready for school, she knew Abba would be there at any time. She got to her bathroom and showered, different thoughts were making a shamble out of her brain. She didn't know what was the right thing to do.

She got herself ready and slung her bag on her collar bone before she got out of the room. She made a quick sandwich with a smoothie and was eating when her phone rang. Aisha got startled at the sound before she recalled that she had finally got a phone. The number was already saved as Abba, and she shook before she picked the call. "Goodmorning, Ya Abba." She greeted and finished eating her breakfast.

"Come dow, now." She nodded her head vehemently as if he could see her. She got down and locked the door. When she got to where his car was parked, she stood still.

"Do I have to tell you to enter?!" He clamoured and Aisha trembled towards the car. She opened the passenger's seat and there sat Nuriyya, in all her grace and beauty.

Aisha gulped down a lump in her throat and walked to the back seat. She sat down and Abba ignited the car on and they drove silently to the university. They first dropped Nuriyya off in her department before Abba drove to Aisha's. They hadn't shared a word since at one until he parked at the HOD's office and turned to look at her. She was fiddling with her fingers as she always did when they were together.

"Get down, I'll call the HOD to do all the necessary things for you. Call me when you're done." And she nodded softly before she got out of the car. Abba stared at her retreating back and sighed, he was sure he had scourged this girl. But he couldn't bring himself to treat her in any other way than he was doing now. It felt wrong and right at the same time.

As he said, Aisha found it easy, and it was evident that he surely spoke to the HOD. She got into her first lecture and when she was done with her lectures, she dialled his number with shaking hands. She was afraid of what his reaction would be because she called him, but he was the one that asked her to call and she had no other way to get back home but through him.

"Good afternoon, Ya Abba." Her voice slurred, in fear and panic.

"What is it?" As usual, his voice was harsh and found the rudeness laying there as well.

"You said I should call when I'm done." It was the only thing she could utter, afraid to say anything that would anger him lest he yelled at her.

"You have to wait for two more hours, Nuriyya will be done by then. Don't call me again, I'll call you myself." And he ended the call before she even had the chance to say a word out. She stared blankly at the phone and smiled ruefully, as she predicted, coming to school was the opener of more pain.

She found a decent place and sat down, it was getting to 4 pm and she was hungry and sick at the same time. She slumped her head on her knees and felt tears pooling the brink of her eyes. What was she going to do now? She was trapped with this monster and she had no other way out. She watched as students passed by, some were laughing, some were smiling and some had a neutral expression on their face. A feeling of deja vu struck her heart and she closed her eyes immediately.

She wanted everything in this life but not to reminisce the moments she had spent in ATBU Bauchi, those were the worst moments of her life and also the moments that served as the keys that unlocked her current life. It took Abba more than the two hours he had said before he called and asked her to walk down to his faculty.

She was clueless even of the place she was, how would he expect her to locate his faculty? She stood up and met the guard she saw. She asked him and he told her where the faculty was situated. Aisha trudged to the faculty, she was sick and she knew it. She felt as if she would faint anytime from now. Her joints were aching and fever was engulfing the whole of her body. By the time she made it to his car, she held the door for support before she opened the back seat and sat down.