Tears of Zubaida.

•••••TEARS OF ZUBAIDA••••• •••Chapter Eighteen•••

With each passing day, Zubaida had wondered why her father still wants to abort this pregnancy. He had made up his mind and isn't willing to hear any of her plea and that of Zainaba.

"You will ruin your daughter's life, with your bare hands!" Zainaba warned, since he's not willing to change his mind.

Zubaida thought of one person she could easily talk to without the fear of being intimidated, and that person is Mariya.

"Inna, I want to visit Mariya, can I?"

"Why do you want to visit her?" Her mother inquired.

"We had a fight and I was the cause of it, so I want to go and apologize." She lied.

"Humph, 'yan'nan when will you stop this unnecessary fight of yours?" Her mother shook her head, "you may go, but don't stay long."

Zubaida thanked her and got her hijaab. She walked quietly in that very evening as the air seems so pleasing to her. Although it blows in full force sweeping away some micro particles from the earthy surface.

"Salamu Alaikum." She entered in to the house and met her friend seated on a stool and was fanning the hot coals that are yet to catch fire.

"Wa'alaikumus Salamu." Mariya answered squeaking her voice making it sound like a song.

"Na dauka na yi laifi, sai nazo neman gafara." Mariya teased.

"Aa, ba haka bane." Zubaida took another stool and sat next to her. "This fire won't lit, stop stressing yourself."

"Really? You don't know for how long I've been trying to make it lit."

"Not with this many firewood and few burning coals, that are gradually turning to ashes." Zubaida laughed.

"Let me help you." She offered.

Mariya stood up from her stool and Zubaida sat on it, she removed the woods that were placed atop the coals, picking up some little firewood, she arranged them within every gap of the three big stones. Smoke began rising in the air, and she started arranging the bigger woods.

"What next?" Mariya asked wiping the tears that had gathered in her eyes due to the smoke that was gradually arising, filling the air.

"Nylons or any unusable plastic."

Mariya got her some santana leather and she placed it amidst the woods. She picked the matches dropped beside one of the stones and strike it which she quickly shielded with her palm so it won't go off, dropping it from the center of the santanas, making the fire blaze at once.

"There you go." She beamed.

"Thank you." Mariya said placing a size one three legged pot on the stones.

"What are friends for?" Zubaida eyed her.

"Picking each other's noses." Mariya returned the gesture.

"Not funny." She shook her head. "Mariri, there's a problem."

Mariya stopped stirring the groceries she's frying with red oil and briefly looked at her.

"Baba wants this pregnancy aborted." She wiped away the mist of tears gathering in her eyes.

"Why?" Mariya stared at Zubaida as if something was wrong with her.

"Had I known, I wouldn't have been much bothered." She shrugged her shoulders.

Mariya placed two locust beans cakes, dried ginger and garlic into a mortar and began pounding gently.

"Zubaida, I honestly don't know what to say or do about this." Mariya sighed. 

A long silence prevailed with Zubaida in her own thoughts and Mariya also trying to think of any possible solution whilst preparing the soup for dinner.

"Baba can talk to him." Zubaida spoke.

"My father?" Mariya asked.

"Yes him."

"Are you okay with it?" Mariya intrigued.

Zubaida was quite thinking over what she had said, she doesn't want any other person to know about it apart from the ones that knew already.

"No." She shook her head. "I know what to do, I will abort the pregnancy." She concluded.

"What!" Mariya exclaimed.

"Yes, it'd be the better thing to do, since that's what he wants."

"Zubaida, you can't do that. What if there are many risks attached to it?" Mariya worriedly asked.

"Anything bad has a lot of risks. I will talk to you before we leave to abort it." She answered calmly— like she's having no worries in her life at all.

Mariya walked her out after she had finished seasoning the soup she is preparing and had added water to it.

"Zubaida, please don't make a decision that will do you more harm than good." She advised.

Zubaida nodded her head and left to her home.
Seeing there's no long distance between her home and Fatima's house, she decided to pay her a visit.

She entered the house with a Salaam, lo and behold; was Fatimah kneeled before her mother-in-law wiping away her tears. The woman had being on her neck ever since she was three months into her marriage and still hasn't conceived and the sudden change in her husband's demeanor isn't helping matters.

Zubaida felt pity for her; while she's preparing for an abortion, her cousin is wishing to have a blessed one, so as to live peacefully with her in-law.

"Sorry, you had to witness that." Fatimah smiled apologetically.

"It's okay. Everything will become a story one day." Zubaida returned the gesture.

An awkward silence prevailed the room with each of them deep in their random thoughts though Zubaida found it strange, as she has known Fatimah to be a talkative no matter what. The call to prayer jerked them up.

Fatimah offered Zubaida a kettle which she performed ablution and walked back to the room to pray.

"Let me be going." Zubaida said neatly folding the prayer mat Fatimah had spread for her.

"My regards to everyone, thank you for the visit." Fatimah smiled and walked her to the door.

With different thoughts on her mind, she left home.

Glossary.

Na dauka nayi laifi, sai nazo neman gafara. I thought I had offended you, until I come to ask for forgiveness.

Aa, ba haka bane ... no, it's not what it looks like.

2️⃣1️⃣/1️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣
Thank you🙏