Tears of Zubaida.

•••••TEARS OF ZUBAIDA••••• •••Chapter Twenty-Six•••

The sound of her giggle made him smile as though she could see him, who thought one day she would be so free with him.

"Ruqayyah." He called.

"Yes?" She answered adjusting her laying position on the bed and held her phone more firmly.

"Do you remember when you said you were going to tell me few things about you each week?"

She was quiet for some nanoseconds and then sighed. "I do. But I said you will just ask two questions and I will give you a suitable answer."

"Did I hit a nail?" He asked concerned with the sudden change in her voice.

"No, why?"

"Nothing. Are you sure?" He asked again.

She nodded her head like he could see her and then said no upon realizing he couldn't see her.

"Okay, my first question is -"

"Which other question?" She laughed, "remember I said two questions per week, and you've already asked two questions." She rolled her eyes.

"Ruqayyah." The way her name lolled out of his tongue felt foreign, as though he was the first to pronounce the name.

"Aleeyu, bye I have to go." Without waiting for a reply, she disconnected the call and tosssed the phone on the bed.

That's Ruqayyah all the time, one minute she's happy and jovial, the next minute will be the opposite. The funny thing is it's more common when she's with Aleeyu; just a while ago she was so free and amicable around him, and now she's annoyed at him for no reason. Perhaps his persistence on knowing her past as if she also persists on knowing his.

Their visit to Wardanga didn't turned out to be how she expected it, yes, her father almost recognized her, but couldn't come to a final decision and so it slide away. The thought of the trauma they are going through now is another thing to ponder on, as her father blames himself for everything. As he says all the time...

"First it was Ruqayyah, and now, Zubaida."

A message popped on Ruqayyah's screen, like she expected it was a message from Aleeyu.

She hissed annoyingly at the message, that's one thing she dislikes about him, always apologizing for things which he didn't even commit.

Choosing to ignore the message, she plugged the phone to charge while she brought her Qur'an and began to read, three more Juz, and she's done compiling the Qur'an; just like she had planned her Ramadan.

Seated on the beanbag that was at the far end of the living room behind the dinning arc was Amina, that's her favorite and hiding spot in the house. It always has a silhouette background, which she finds calming and perfect for her to sit and read at anytime.

She didn't notice the figure of Hajja before her until the book she was reading was snatched away from her.

"Dawart3ne, Zaria ro len3min." She said dragging a dinning chair and sat down.

Amina was quiet for a while trying to comprehend the message before it dawned to her she was using kanuri to speak to her. She muttered and ohh and answered.

"Wuwa Zubaida a do?" She asked.

"A'a, nalle a k3la k3rt3 a ro len3min." Hajja nodded.

Amina stood up and left to the room where she met Zubaida using her phone.

"Zubaida, get ready. We are going to Zaria." Amina said slumping on the bed.