52

It was quite early in the morning, Nasir was sleeping when he felt a slight tap on his shoulders, he turned and squinting his eyes, his gaze fell on Abba. “What is it?” he groaned and tried turning back to sleep when Abba pulled the blanket he had over him.

“You have to wake up, Nasir, we’re going to their house for breakfast. Humaira just sent me a text that their father said we should go for breakfast, he won’t be available for lunch and dinner today.” He replied, trying so hard to lift him.

Nasir groaned even more and clasped his eyes shut, “For Allah’s sake, Abba. You can go alone, I’m sleepy.” Despite saying Abba can go alone, he was so persistent that Nasir had to wake up. He sat upright on the bed and glared at Abba, “You’re pointless Abba. I’ve never known you could be this persistent.”

Abba threw his head back and laughed before he walked into the bathroom and yelled out his answer. “It’s an opportunity to meet Humaira’s father, Nasir. I can’t risk anything with that. A very rare opportunity.”

Nasir glared at the bathroom’s door and wished it could be taken directly to Abba. “As if you weren’t married to his daughter before. One more thing, when you’re eager to meet him because of Humaira, tame down your excitement with the thoughts of what you did to Aisha.” He walked to the kitchen and prayed he can have something to nibble on. He wasn’t able to eat something yesterday before he slept, and now that he was awake, he couldn’t wait to be in Aisha’s home to eat. He had to eat as soon as he can.

When Abba was out of the shower, he met Nasir nibbling on cookies with a can of drink. “Nasir, what are you doing?” He asked, rubbing the hand towel on his wet hair.

“I’m famished, I can die if I try to wait until we go to Aisha’s place. I’ll take my shower.” He placed down the cookies and drink before he walked over to the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Ever since Nasir uttered those words to Abba, he had been thinking about them and had been losing hope little by little. He had never thought about the possibility of Humaira’s father to hate him and not give Humaira’s hand in marriage to him because of what he did to Aisha. He prayed he won’t take it like that, because he can never get tired of pursuing Humaira until she became his.

They were driving to the area when Abba asked the question that had been gnawing at him, “Nasir, do you think their father will give Humaira’s hand for marriage to me? Maybe he won’t because of what I did to Aisha?”

Nasir heaved a sigh and stared through the window, he had been thinking about that, even for himself. He thought that maybe the crime Abba committed would stain him as well, and their father would want nothing that had to do with Muhammad Tijjani’s men. “I thought about that too, not even you, myself included. But I think what matters more is to make sure the girls love us, I think they can change his mind even if he is against it.”

Abba nodded in understanding before he swerved the steering wheel, “I really can’t think of my life without Humaira in it, I can’t even think of it. It will be baseless.”

Nasir gasped and looked at him in utter bewilderment. “I can’t remember when I heard you telling Baba that you love Humaira, he would’ve followed us to ask for your hand in marriage if your life is going to be baseless without her. We can’t risk leaving your name without the most chanted name; Humaira.”He laughed so hard when he was at the end of his sentence, and Abba smacked him playfully and they laughed together. They were all thinking about the time when Abba was an inch away from the madness, every day it was a story about Humaira and how Aisha must accept she was his Humaira.

“That girl is really hard to read, not like innocent Aisha. I can’t even say she loves me or not, she calls me Psycho though.” He spoke dreamily and fixed his eyes on the road, not wanting to see the look Nasir had on his face.

Nasir chuckled at the name before he looked at him, “Yes, she’s unreadable and not innocent like Aisha. I’m glad she’s the one you love because you guys would make a great pair. But I think she loves you, judging from the way she looks at you.”

“I pray she does. Ya Allah, Nasir, I’ve never been this nervous my whole life wallahi.”

Nasir laughed and brought his hands together to rub, he only did that when he was nervous too, and he was. He knew Aisha had a lot to tell him because he knew they must’ve discussed a lot of things yesterday with her family. he prayed they were for the best. Even though he wanted an explanation for the fact that she said her parents died, he guessed her mother married another man and they died together. He was confused, but he knew she would tell him anything without even probing her to.

❃

Despite not sleeping yesterday until it was late and a few hours to daytime, Aisha couldn’t sleep in the morning. She had a lot in her mind and when she walked out of Humaira’s room, she asked the maid she saw scrubbing the floor the direction of the kitchen and when she took her there, she was left awed. It was the most luxurious and spacious kitchen Aisha had ever seen, and she wouldn’t mind spending more time in this house as far as she can come to this kitchen whenever she wanted.

She looked at the maid that was about to start cooking for the family and asked her to leave it, she would cook. The maid was hesitant at first, thinking when and how in the whole world can Humaira cook? But knowing so much HUmaira can have her fired from the house, she bowed and went out of the kitchen after she showed her where everything was.

Aisha was trying to bring out her ingredients when she heard footsteps in the kitchen, she turned and her eyes fell on Humaira, she walked to her with her hands rubbing her eyes sleepily. She hugged her and spoke when they were apart, “You scared me, Aisha. I thought you left or I was even dreaming when I woke up and couldn’t find you in the room. I asked the maid and she said you were in the kitchen. Are you hungry?”

Humaira walked to the small dining they had in the kitchen and sat down, it was bought for her when she was in secondary school. She was always late if she had to wait for Daddy to be out before they ate, and that’s why he brought it for her and told her to be always eating her breakfast in the kitchen and not wait for him. They would eat together on weekends.

“No I’m not hungry, I’m going to cook,” Aisha answered and turned to her ingredients, sorting out the things she needed and those that she didn’t.

From the dining table, Humaira asked, “Do you need any help? But seriously Aisha, why will you cook when there are chefs for that.”

Aisha laughed and turned to look at Humaira, “I know you can’t even cut an onion, not to talk of cookings whole meal, Humaira. I always enjoy cooking, but I do that a lot when I have a lot of things in my mind. I love thinking while I cook.”

Humaira stood up from the dining table and walked over to where Aisha was standing beside the kitchen island she cut her ingredients. “What are the things you want to think about? Let’s do that together, Aisha. And I’ll see how you cook, maybe I can learn something too.”

Aisha sighed and dropped the knife before she looked at Humaira with a thoughtful expression on her face. “Humaira, I told Nasir and his family that my parents died before my uncles got raped. How can I rectify that lie? It still feels not right to tell him that my mother was a prostitute, you get what I mean?”

Humaira nodded her head thoughtfully before she answered Aisha, “But I think you have to tell Nasir the truth, the rest of his family members don’t have to know. Leave it on him to explain it to them with something relevant, but not reveal Mommy’s real identity. You know how Mommy suffered from Daddy’s relatives just because of one mistake she committed.”

Thinking about Mommy and the kind of life she lived, Aisha thought about the conversation they had when Daddy finished telling them the story. It was Humaira that asked all the questions, and Aisha would never be even more appreciative. Humaira knew the right thing to ask and the right time to ask it. She looked at Daddy with his head hung down and she fired her first question, “Daddy, why would you divorce her when you can still keep her and you’re wife.”

Daddy looked up and set his eyes on Humaira, he knew they had questions they wanted an answer from him, but it would only make it even more difficult for him to answer their questions. “Because it’s an order from Hajia, Humaira. She threatened to curse my life and family if I didn’t do that and also if I dared set my feet in Bauchi in the name of searching for Asiya or my other daughter.”

Humaira cleared her tears and tried to be strong but they all knew she was breaking apart just like they were. “And that’s why you’ve never tried to get Mommy back and give her life? Despite knowing she had no one in her life but you? And Aisha too, she’s a daughter of a rich man but she spent the life she didn’t deserve. Why haven’t I known Hajia?”

“Hajia died a year after our separation with Asiya. Even though she was dead, I couldn’t act against her words and I know Asiya so well to know she wouldn’t take me back. I guess I was just being a coward by having an anonymous stalker that gives me the details of their everyday activities.”

“But Daddy how do you feel now, learning about the horrible life they lived without you. Now that I think about it, you’re more horrible in Mommy’s life than Hamisu Sada.”

Daddy used his both palms and cleared away his tears. “I know, I feel like the most heartless person in the world. I know she got into prostitution to provide for Aisha.”

Aisha looked up at him and for the first time, she spoke. “Daddy where can we find Hamisu Sada? I need to tell him all that Mommy wanted to tell him and even more.”

Daddy smiled sadly, “You can’t see him now, not because your status doesn’t reach him but no, I won’t allow you to. I searched for his information years after our separation with Asiya and found out he had joined the politics. Presently, he’s a minister.”

Humaira made a snarl sound and he knew her so well to know that she won’t let that slide. “Humaira,” he called, and all of them looked up.

Daddy chuckled softly and said, “The bad one, not the god girl.” Aisha laughed, but Humaira groaned.

“I know your crazy mind is plotting on how to teach him a lesson right? Don’t even try doing that Humaira. He can have you behind the bars forever. But one beautiful thing and how karma does her job well; Dawoud is his son.”

Humaira didn’t know when a squeal escaped her lips. “Oh my god, the real natural karma does more work than I do. I wonder how he would feel if he knows the daughter of Asiya was the one that enshrouded his son’s hideous crime.” Now that she recalled, Dawoud’s name was Dawoud Hamisu Sada.

“Who’s Dawoud?” Aisha asked, not having a clue of whom they were talking about.

“He’s my ex-boyfriend that killed Rafiq and have Abba being the number one suspect of the murder. Remember?”

“Oh yeah, I do. Karma is real, Humaira.” And they laughed.

Daddy smiled seeing as they laughed despite being sad about the story he gave them, he smiled. These were the daughters Asiya gave birth to Twenty years ago. But the ironic thing that happened was that; Humaira acted more like Asiya despite living all her life with him. And Aisha, she got all of his characters. He knew if it was Humaira that lived with Asiya, they would’ve burnt down the whole state of Bauchi. He laughed at the thought.

“What are you laughing at, Daddy?’ they asked in unison, and he sobered up and looked at them.

“Ask those guys to meet me during breakfast. I’m going to Lagos tomorrow but I would be back before midnight. I can’t lose the chance of seeing Aisha’s ex-husband and Humaira’s would-be groom.” He didn’t know why he wasn’t angry at the guy that married Aisha and tortured her life before he divorced her, he knew it was bound to happen, it happened for the reason mainly so the twins would meet. And he won’t hesitate to give him Humaira as a wife.

“Daddy! Who’s the would-be groom? That Psycho?” Humaira whined and all they did was laughed at her.

“You know you said he’s cool right? I can just tell Daddy that and you’ll be a bride very soon.” Humaira smacked Aisha’s shoulder and she laughed out loud.

“What are you doing now? Or maybe you’re telling him in whispers?”Seeing how flushed she seemed, Daddy knew she loved him. This was the way she looked the day she told him about Rafiq a night before he was murdered.

“You all should go and sleep. Aisha, please don’t adapt to her bad-girl behaviour while you live with her. Be the good girl your mother raised you as.”

“This means it’s my father that raised me as the bad girl too.” Daddy chased Humaira out of his living room and they had a proper goodnight with Aisha before she left. Aisha wanted a room of her own because she felt like she was going to make Humaira uncomfortable living in her room, but Humaira was so persistent that she had to sleep in her room.

She felt a vehement convulsion of her body and it brought her out of her reverie. She looked at Humaira with a confused expression, “What is it, Humaira?’

Humaira took her hands off her shoulders before she answered her, “The maid just came and informed us they have arrived, but you’re busy thinking about everything and nothing. Daddy sometimes buys me two clothes of the same colour and design. Let’s wear one of those duplications. I usually hate it when he duplicated my clothes, but now I see maybe he buys the duplicated garment having you in mind.”

Before Aisha could talk, Humaira had dragged her out of the room and they left to her room giggling at thought of utterly confusing the two men. Life was beautiful, and Aisha wanted to freeze time lest it moved and brought more pain.