BRAVE

Chapter Five

Being an early riser, Lami was awake even before the first call for Fajr prayers, Assalatu.
She turned to face Ahmadu, pulling the sheets closer to her body as the harmattan wind chilled into her bones. She stared at his face through the very little light coming from the dim lit lantern at the far end of the room.

He had very black and thick lashes that any woman would envy. His eyes were looking as though he had them shut tight, with small creases between his furrowed brows and she wished she could stretch her hands and straighten them. His nose, pointed and long fit in perfectly between his eyes and his dashing lips. She smiled at the thought of those lips.

The night before was so precious to her, more special than anything she had ever had with another man.

His clumsiness, naivety, gentleness and every other thing concerning him made the whole process special. She even felt like a new bride, scared and not sure of what to expect. The other men she had been with, it felt like a duty the whole time but with him, she felt passion and desire. In the act of love making that is. And she felt like it was a sin, a wrong deed to feel that way.

He stirred and she quickly shut her eyes not wanting to be caught staring. His hands traveled over her stomach and she shuddered as a wave of desire held her.

She expected something to happen, so she lay still like she was asleep, anticipating his next move. What he did however, she never thought of.

He held her hand and laced his fingers through hers, gripping tight. She was a bit surprised at this too. This man, so far he seemed to be different than all the other men she had been with and the thought of this made her feel warmth spreading to her chest, again.

He knew she was awake so she held on tightly too. It didn't matter now, nothing mattered to her as they laid together. For as long as he was holding her, she would hold him too and even when he let go, she would still hold onto him. Making this small vow to herself, she clutched on his fingers tighter.

He pulled her closer to him, kissed her hair and muttered.

"Catch some sleep. We have to talk later in the day"

Her heart began to hit very fast. All pessimism seemed to have been sucked into her and the little ray of satisfaction and hope she felt began to creep away, fading fast and giving way to fear and nervousness which was flooding in.

"I said to sleep, not to increase your heart beat. Now sleep"

Like a naughty girl caught in the act, she quickly shut her eyes trying to ease away the dread which she couldn't. So many thoughts were already running through her head.

What would he say? That he didn't like her or it? Would he scold her? Would she begin to see changes from him? After all, she wasn't his choice, she was his mother's choice. She shifted again and his arms tightened around her.

The worse thing that could ever happen was divorce. She couldn't expect him to just fall in love with in one night despite the fact that she suspected she had fallen for him.
Its no big issue if he divorces her.

She told her self that there was nothing about it but she knew she was lying. It was a very big deal if he divorced her. She would run into the forest and never return or maybe, she would run to the city and become a wild woman.

With such thoughts, Lami did not know when she fell asleep and only awoke to her husband's gentle taps.

While she slept, Ahmadu's head raced with so many thoughts, none of them strong enough for him to grab and hold onto, to ponder on.
So rather than think, he stared at her face and wondered if one day was enough to fall for someone.