RUWAIDA ✔️

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Barira frowned hearing a Salaam from the living room front door. Tho, it would seem much unislamic to shove a guest, she really didn't need any of her neighbors coming in to distract her with endless gossips. She needed to make everything ready before the awaited guests make their arrival. Just the way Mahmoud had acted after returning home with bags filled with groceries, she knew she needed to do her own part satisfactorily.

Obediently, Abdul who sat in the living room stood up and pulled the door ajar, slightly stepping backwards for the person to walk in, and in realization, he suddenly smiled. "Ahh Aunty Hadiza welcome, ina yini (good afternoon),"

She smiled back and laughed at the same time. Her forever cheerful charisma suddenly enveloping the room. "Afternoon Abdul, where's your mother," Even from the blissful scent of fried rice and a whole lot of spices, Hadiza could tell that her sister was in the kitchen, but nevertheless went on to ask. It's just how many Hausa people are. She kept her bag on the sofa and made her way towards the kitchen. "Such an intoxicating aroma, I don't know, is someone getting married," the door opened as she walked in amidst her teasing laugh, revealing a joyous looking Barira, gracefully grinding tomatoes and dressed in a casual blue attire.

"Barka dazuwaaa Hadiza, how are you,"

"I've been good Alhamdulillah, I just came to check on Waidatu. Aunty Tala told me how she'd been doing, how's she now," Hadiza suddenly looked worried, dragged the small wooden stool and sat herself on it. She took the cup of Ginger that Abdul passed to her and smiled in content.

Barira reddened painfully as she placed down a bowl and emptied the contents of the local grinder. She slowly looked up and opened her mouth to speak, but Hadiza went on impetuously that repealed Barira's attempt to speak.

"Innalillahi you're scaring me, is she still in the hospital? Where is Mahmoud,"

"No...she had been discharged days ago, she's just been very moody since yesterday, I think she's disturbed about her condition...dije Billahi I don't know what to do, she's being in her room all day," Barira replied, not minding how painfully disturbed she'd sounded. She just needed someone to help her talk Ruwaida out of her slow taking depression.

Hadiza kept mum for a while, she sat with arms folded and stared at Barira, a contort to her lips that showed anxiety. "Of course, you know this is really not easy for her, let her be for sometime Hmm, InshaAllah, she'll get better and everything will fall in place, karki sa damuwa aranke. (Don't worry about it so much),"

Even with her still in fear, she still managed to pull up a facade, as she smiled at her younger sister's words. For the rest of the little time that remained before Zuhr, Barira and her sister cooked the dishes together, peaceably conversing about one thing or the other. And when it was time for Zuhr, Hadiza went into Ruwaida's room and had a decent conversation too, leaving Barira to arrange the plates herself.

Later after they all had prayed, Mahmoud came back and asked for the dishes to be sent to him by Abdul in the mosque just a walk from their house. To his bewilderment, the guest turned out to be more than the number he thought, and he couldn't be more grateful to his wife for making the food quite plentiful. But he knew their little lining room would be very uncomfortable. He had a bad feeling about how they'd all dressed so well!

It was only the one that looked much like the gentle doctor that he found familiar. But the rest had only being wholly intimidating. Getting a call from one Alhaji Sanusi Bashar, he wondered how first they got his contact. But the cheerful and happy voice of the man as he spoke over to him on the phone didn't raise any alarm. It had only made him excited to see them.

After having little chats, the atmosphere suddenly changed into a rather much serious conversation, that without doubts took Mahmoud off guard. And after two and two he straight away understood their plea, and he asked for sometime to think, and then will be fast in sending them a reply.

They left looking satisfied to how Mahmoud and his neighbor, the Imam of the masjed had welcomed them. And they knew with Allah's guidance, they'll soon come along with the vessels of kola-nuts, as tradition had pertained.

Mahmoud walked back into his house, with two young boys rushing in behind him, holding the now empty food containers. They placed them down by the cemented area which had a water tap situated by its edge.

He closed the door behind him with a salaam, and Barira along with her sister who held Barra slowly answered him, the background music of the Tv dimming down. "Are they gone already? School classmates," Barira asked and smiled, wondering why he'd looked surprised, happy and a bit nervous. She could only pinpoint a few she'd thought to be what he felt.

He smiled and nodded, turning to Hadiza as they exchanged pleasantries. His yawed his gaze back to Barira, deprived of ways he'll start telling her what he discussed with the Yamma family. He signaled towards her, seeing Hadiza had slowly turned her attention back to the Hausa movie that played on the old television. But Barira looked skeptically at him that made Mahmoud almost giggle.

"Er, Barira I want to talk to you," he stood up seeing she mixed the rest of the 1-2-3 milk and passed it to Hadiza. Before walking behind him to the kitchen.

"What happened Mahmoud? Was the food too pepperish?," sha asked, her eyes a bit dilated as she poured water into a plastic cup. "I warned Hadiza not to add more paprika but she said it would do, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience," she added apologetically, then thrust the cup to him.

"No, the food was really nice, they actually loved it," That made Barira sigh in relief and she leaned over the wood workplace.

"Oh Alhamdulillah! Then what's it?,"

"You remember the nice doctor that came to see me here last week," she gave a quick nod, her mind blank of any explanation for his mood. "They're his family, he sent them to ask for Waidatu's hand in marriage...," he started and looked up to see her reaction. He drank a few sips from the cup and placed it where she'd taken it from.

"I'm sorry what," her voiced cracked gently, with her eyes narrowed in confusion. It couldn't be what she heard could it?

"I was also as shocked, I mean, he knows very well how she's coping these days, and they seemed really happy about this, they didn't even mind my background, with all their exquisiteness," he said and then tried to smile again. "I had asked for time to think before making any decision, after all, this is my daughter we're discussing here,"

Barira cleared her throat as she suddenly regained composure. "Did you tell them that she's suffering from leukemia,"

He raised his face up with a slight shake of his head. "I didn't, it's The boy's place to tell, I just didn't expect such news from them,"

Barira smiled too, that painful smile which will make you see her words even without her saying them. "I didn't expect a situation like this for my daughter's marriage...such unreal circumstances..., and why does he want to marry her ," she asked, instantly curious.

"I think it has to do with what I told him when he came,"

She hastily looked up to stare at him directly. "What's that? Did you talk about Ruwaida,"

"No, He wanted to help for all of Ruwaida's medications but I said no, I didn't know him at all at that time, and I had thought I could manage on my own and arrange the fees,"

"Why will you do that? Look how she's loosing weight...the doctor was just trying to be a Good Samaritan, you should have agreed Mahmoud,"

He placed his hands together, and a worried look returned to his face. "She's our responsibility not his, why should I make him take all the burden? Just because he wants to do good,"

"So now he's trying to make her his responsibility? I'm shocked," Barira said bitterly, her hand reaching for her forehead. She suddenly felt a wave of dizziness over cloud her.

"I'll talk to Baba Saidu God's willing, I'll tell him about the proposal," Mahmoud suggested, taking out his phone from his caftan pocket. "Talk to Ruwaida about it, let's see what she decide,"

He dialed something on the phone, looked at her briefly and then went away, leaving Barira standing in the middle of the small kitchen , feeling rather extraordinarily confused.

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Silentwriter 🦋