Shadows To Star [Wattys2019]

Independence Day

Asma'u and her siblings, along with their relatives, were sitting on a big mat in the courtyard of her younger brother's house. They sat there, conversing with each other, many of whom she hadn't seen in a while. They were all there for their nephew's naming ceremony. In the middle of their conversation, she heard some women gossiping from a little distance behind her and learned that they were talking about her.

"I don't mean to gossip but isn't that the woman whose son went missing?" a woman in her mid-thirties asked the group of women she was sitting with.

"Yes, she is. I heard that it happened a long time ago," one of them answered.

"They said that she rarely goes out because she is waiting for her son to return home," another woman said.

"Oh, that's like fighting a lost battle. I'm telling you, the boy has been abducted for eighteen years now. My relative used to live in the same area as her, so she told me that her other children don't even attend school. They're isolated at home because she doesn't want them to get abducted like the first one. Isn't that crazy? As if her kids are the only kids around," the fourth one said.

"That's so sad. The woman has gone nuts, I swear. How could she expect the boy to return? I mean, I've never heard of someone returning after that long. They must have killed him already. Those secret society people are the worst out there. If she were a relative of mine, I would advise her not to wait anymore. I mean, eighteen years is a long time to wait, isn't it?" the first woman said.

"That's not all, okay? The house they live in now used to be a very small house with only two rooms. So when her husband started becoming successful, he suggested that they leave that house since he could afford a bigger one. But she refused, saying if their son came back, how would he find them," the fourth woman elaborated.

"Haba Sa'ade, so now you mean to say that even though the husband is quite successful, they're still living in the small house?" the second one asked curiously.

"Ke haba, that was almost ten years ago, I think. The husband ended up convincing his neighbor to sell his house. He paid a handsome amount for the neighbor's house and added it to his own. That's why they now have a big, beautiful house."

"The poor kids, I feel for them, wallahi. Just because one got abducted at school doesn't mean the rest should be stuck at home. There's danger everywhere. I agree she isn't well at all." Asma'u listened to them as they continued gossiping about her family. Some parts of what they said were true, while some were made up. People have been saying things for ages now.

Each time she hears a different story about her life from other people who think it was easy to have a child missing, not knowing whether he is dead or alive. At first, even her close relatives believed that she wasn't well because of how she acted. Then she would even share food with her missing child in case he returned in the middle of a meal. She would also buy him Eid clothing and anything she bought for her other kids. But then she was only depressed and a hopeful mother, and she still is.

As time goes on, with the prayers of her loved ones, she stopped doing most of the things she used to do. Things like making Ahmad's favorite food or keeping an extra plate on the table for him, as well as changing the theme of Ahmad's room. She hasn't done any of these things since he turned eighteen, but she still buys him clothes. Things like these make people believe she is crazy. But her family believes she isn't; she is just a mother.

"Asma'u was just following a mother's instinct; not once did she feel that her son was dead. She had faith in Allah and had been praying for Allah to show her some sign that her son Ahmad was dead, but nothing, not even in a dream. That's why she is not letting go.