Sekinat now called upon a clear recollection of that trauma and agony she passed through after the untimely death of her husband. She ploughed the ghost of long buried emotions and sentiments. This remembrance of similar sentiment prompted same emotion which now gnawed at her relentlessly on the same day her husband had been murdered. A disturbing spectre of unease which had been the precursor of her life changing misfortune, the one now making its malevolent presence felt to her at the present moment. It hung thick and foreboding, manifesting prominently upon, her visage this morning as she stood thinking, trying to make sense of the diverse and confusing feelings.
To sooth the strange and disconcerting feelings she was having she quickly checked on both Halima and Saratu several times just to make sure they have not come to harm. Even after sighting their evident well being it did little in the way of palpable reassurance, neither did it improve her mood or sense of unease as it capered relentlessly upon her palpitating heart.
By the time she was ready to leave for the farm about 45minutes later, she had already made up her mind and leaned over to wake Halima up.
Halima-Halima she intoned in a hushed voice careful not to wake Saratu snoring quietly next to her, a line of spittle charting a straight course from a corner of her half parted lips down to the synthetic surface of the woven mat she lay upon where it formed a minuscule puddle.
-Yes mama Halima answered in a drawl, looking up at her questioningly through sleep rheumy eyes.
-I do not want you and Saratu to go to school today,Sekinat informed her daughter.
Halima sprung awake at the unexpected news
-really mama? she asked incredulity replacing the sleep induced hood of tiredness
Yes, Halima-her mother answered patiently
- stay with your sister at home, and make sure you do not go out under any circumstance today she ended emphatically.
Halima visibly overjoyed at the unexpected news answered excitedly voice abruptly raised few decibels louder than she anticipated
-yes mama we wont, she answered quickly covering her mouth, as her eyeballs alight
with barely suppressed excitement.
Sekinat after cooking and serving her daughters breakfast on a sudden whim decided to leave a piece of fried meat on each of their food as a treat. She did that in the hopes that the unexpected treat will further induce their compliance to her instructions.
Having taken all conceivable precautions Sekinat was satisfied that she had at leastdone her best to forestall any impending catastrophe upon her children. Althoughher mind was still a little unsettled, with erratic heart palpitations over herinability to pin point what exactly she was supposed to be uneasy about
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Sekinat: Muted Voices
General FictionThe war on insurgency in Northern Nigeria has created victims across different social demographic, however the voice of most vulnerable victims i.e. women and children have been largely muted or ignored by popular narrative. Borrowing inspiration fr...
