BETROTHED ✓

11°

When Larai arrived at the agreed location, Yusuf was already waiting along the path that led to the stream.

He hurried towards her. "So plan A failed?"

Wordlessly, she nodded. "That's why it's always good to have a plan B, in case plan A fails." He commented. "Let's go, shall we?" He extended a hand to collect the clothes she was holding against her chest.

Larai took a step backward and slowly shook her head."I don't think I can do this."

"I want you to tell me what you want. Do you want to go back there and get married to that filthy old man who doesn't have an atom of regard for women? A man who is old enough to be your great grandfather?" He stared into her eyes. "Is that what you want? Tell me if it is."

"No." She sniffed. "It's just so hard leaving my family behind. Baaba will no doubt hunt me down. I'm afraid he is going to disown me. I don't want that..."

"Don't be scared. We're going to the city and the city is large. There's no way your father is going to find you there. Believe me, this is the right thing to do. I know they are your parents, but that doesn't give them the right to ruin your life. Soon enough, there are going to understand this. Besides, I'm not telling you to go away for good. You're only going to sojourn at my place. Someday, when everything is normalized, I will accompany you back here. Is that okay?"

"Thank you." Larai smiled. If she could think of other words greater than 'thank you', she would have used them to prove just how grateful she was to him, for walking into her life, at such a crucial point and lending her a helping hand. "If you weren't here, I can already imagine how miserable my life will be. You're God sent."

Yusuf's lips curved into a smile. "As long as I'm with you, I won't allow anyone to cause you pain in any way. Let's leave immediately, before your family finds out you're missing. My car is parked over there." He pointed to the large hectares of land in front of them. A black Mercedes Benz could be seen.

"What?" Larai's jaw dropped to the floor. "You own a car? How...how comes I didn't know? I have never seen you drive it before."

Yusuf chuckled. "Did you think I walked here all the way from the city?"

"No, but —"

"The car has always been with me. Parked in the backyard of the building I rented. You haven't seen me driving it, because the roads are terrible and this village is so small. I actually prefer to stroll about and enjoy nature. Enough of the talks, let's hurry." He increased pace towards the car and unlocked it. "Get in."

Larai hesitated; her eyes darting back to the path that led to their house. She had always wanted to leave the village someday, but she had never expected it to be without her sister and the consent of her family.

Yusuf jogged to her side and opened the door. "Hurry up, Larai, otherwise, we're going to be caught."

With one last look at the environment she grew up in, she got into the car.

In no time, Yusuf got in the driver's seat and drove off.

•

After an hour, they had completely left the outskirts of the village, but they hadn't completely left Niger state yet.

Larai's gaze was fixed on the road.

The breeze from outside fanning her and making tears brim up in her eyes. The thousand cars she saw didn't faze her, nor did the racing trees. Her mind was far from them. The only thing she could think of was how her parents were reacting at the moment.

Baaba would be furious, she knew that for a fact, and Nna would cry and blame Baaba for pushing her to take such a drastic step.

"Please understand why I had to do it." She thought she had uttered the sentence in her mind until Yusuf proved her wrong by responding.