Afraid To Fall In Love

Wishes

There were noises in the room, I tried so hard to ignore the sound of doors banging and a lot of activity going on around, I felt a slight headache as I tried to open my eyes, the curtains were drown to the side exposing my face to the light.

"wake up sleepy head " Nasreen shout almost deafening my ears, to say that was annoying was an understatement.

I opened my eyes softly trying to adjust as the sunlight embellished the room, I lifted my head towards the wall clock,

"oh Allah" I groaned stretching and yawning , it was a few minutes before one, but then it was only fair because I got to sleep only after fagr prayer.

Nasreen sat down right next to me on the edge of the bed, she was already dressed in a red long sleeve fitted gown, she looked marvelous, I on the other hand was the complete opposite, I was a mess, my head was hurting, my hair was messy, I felt exhausted .

"Mamie asked me to check up on you"Nasreen said turning to look at me, rubbing my back like a little kid,

"oh i'm fine, I just couldn't sleep last night " I felt a slight rumble in my stomach as I spoke.

She turned to leave the room, stopping right before she opened the door,

"there is a new place I wanted to check out today, do you mind coming with me?, I heard they have the best ice-cream so far"

"yeah" I mumbled walking straight into the bathroom, I wouldn't miss a good ice-cream I thought as I splashed some water on my face.

I took a shower and got dressed in a pink and green Ankara six piece skirt and a peplum blouse , I took out a light veil from the drawer and went out ,my hunger was becoming unbearable, I was beginning to feel a little light headed. I went straight to the kitchen, Amani had just made her signature mixed fruit smoothie and a pan of bread and butter pudding laid helplessly on the table, begging for me to devour it.

"oh my, Amani this is some dope ass shit" I muttered as I took another bite.

"you are speaking as if it's some kind of weed" she giggled,

"this is what hunger does to you" I said rolling my eyes.

"well don't finish it" Nasreen chirped in as she stood by the kitchen door.

We went to check the new Ice-cream place after zuhur, and by Allah it was better than I had expected, we bumped into someone, he was tall, dark and handsome, not to talk of the outfit. Amani said he was Ya Mahmud's friend, but then he looked rather uncomfortable around us, and all of a sudden Nasreen who wouldn't shut up when we got to the place was finally quite, it was as if a cat got her tongue, it was very awkward I tell you, what ever was going on between those two was seriously disturbing. Amani called him Amin if I remembered correctly, she did all the talking until it was time for him to leave, the way he looked at Nasreen Ya Rabbi, I wonder what is wrong with those Two or was I the only one who noticed?

we had a very good day before we went back home.

The days had passed in a blur, and I was going to camp today, after I lied to Mamie that Papi had worked something out and I only had to go when needed, she was helpless at the mention of Papi and so she couldn't argue. Nazeer and I were going to meet there in the camp to work things out, I wasn't really the fan of breaking laws and bribing my way through things but Nazeer assured me that we weren't doing anything out of the ordinary, people do it and that it was nothing.

Everything was successful, I couldn't help but be thankful to the master mind behind everything. We drove around town making memories, it was beautiful, he dropped me off in the evening, I was going to miss him, really even if it was just for a day, as he will be travelling to Abuja on a business trip.

It's been two weeks since I got here, and everything seemed to be going perfectly apart from the beast and his ways of making me feel uncomfortable and unwanted, I hate everything about him, he is such a bully, I have never met anyone as narcissistic as he is, he and Hannan are the perfect pair, they deserve each other. Today he took my latte without even asking, not even a notice all in the name of being in a hurry to leave for work, I was so mad at him thinking of a good pay back when Papi called my phone.

My heart somersaulted in my chest, my palms kept sweating unnecessarily thinking of whether to answer the call or not. I finally brought myself to answer the phone. I couldn't tell his expression, he told me that Mal hamza was coming to fetch me for the weekend. I would be lying if I told you that my day was easy. I had been quite anxious ever since the phone call, I barely got any sleep.

What if Papi had found out about the camp issue, what if it was something serious, my mind wouldn't let me rest. That journey from Kaduna to Abuja was the longest ride ever. At some point I couldn't feel my legs, the panic was visible on my face, mal Hamza confirmed my suspicions, today he decided not to play his annoying folk music, and for some reason he was extremely quiet.

I got into the house in a rush, I didn't have to worry about any luggage because I didn't bother to pack anything, I was coming home so there wasn't any need for more clothes or any other thing I would use.

"salamu alaikum" I entered the house not knowing what to expect, everything seemed alright to me, but my mind really wasn't at ease, Papi wasn't back from the office when I came home, so I had to wait for what ever was the reason I was brought here, you can not begin to imagine the situation I was in, I was distracted half of the time. Ammi kept asking if everything was fine.

Na'em barged into the room just as I got out of the bathroom after performing wudhu,

"papi, is asking for you" he smirked

I swallowed a lump in my throat before I could mutter an "okay"

I prayed first, prolonging my sujood, asking God to make it easy for me. I got ready in a black Abaya wrapping my hair in a blue scarf. It took a lot of courage to enter papi's living room.

Today I didn't sit next to him as I usually did, I said my greetings and hung my head down.

"oh Minal, how much you have grown " he said sounding serious making my heart beat faster.

"I remember those days when you would demand a puppet show from your papi when you find trouble sleeping "he smiled

Okay now what's going on, did he just bring me here to remind me of my childhood or is this going somewhere, he was beginning to scare me .

"come sit next to me" he said ushering me with his left hand and so I did.

"I clearly remember all the dolls you had and what you named them, do you recall the chubby doll I got you for your seventh birthday, Farida right? " he asked turning to face me.

"no Papi that's Billy" I smiled as the memories played in my head"

"it all seems like yesterday, but you have grown into an amazing woman, I never even realized it "

"do you love him?" his question took me by surprise, I couldn't find the right words to answer him, is he talking about Nazeer?

"ehhm ehh" I began to stammer as he held my hand,

"come on, don't be shy, Papi is right here"

"do you love Nazeer? " papi asked again

I couldn't look at him, the question felt strange, all of a sudden I felt shy and uncomfortable, I nodded my head in affirmative.

"I spoke to him a few days ago, and his family will be here in two weeks for the official proposal and introduction "

I was overwhelmed with joy but I couldn't show it in front of Papi, I waited until I was out of anyone's sight, I swayed and spun to the Rhythm in my head. It was like I was walking on clouds, I had to pinch myself a couple of times to make sure it wasn't a dream before I finally composed myself, I picked up the phone to call Amma, she was the only person I could think of right now. The crazy girl was head over heels, she kept blabbing about how the wedding was going to be, and a lot of teasing, but I liked every bit of it.