Crossed Paths✅

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"The most hated person in the sight of Allah is the most quarrelsome person"
(Bukhari)

Malik Residence.
Kano, Nigeria.

"Ariana!" She heard her father called from the living room. She sighed and closed the novel she was reading. Putting on her hijab,she scrambled out of the room.

She met him with his queen having a convo. She knelt at the farthest end of the room and greeted them which of course none of them answered.

"I'm sure Fatima must have given you some papers before her death right?" He asked his eyes fixated on her.

Ariana kept quiet. What should she say? she knows definitely if she tells him the truth he will demand she gives him the papers to which she would have no choice but to give him. No she wouldn't do that!if lying was the best option to guard what's hers and her sisters then she would do that. She could remember her poor mother's words a day before her death.

'This is you and your siblings property my Ariana, guard them with all your strength and might.'

She didn't realized she had zoned out until she felt a hard sting on her cheeks courtesy to her father who was looking like a hungry lion.

"How dare you keep quiet when i'm talking to you? when did i become your playmate?" He thundered making her to flinch.

"I'm sorry Abbi." He returned to the sofa and sat next to his smirking wife.

"Now tell me! Did she gave you the papers or not!" He thundered.

"No Abbi, she didn't give me any papers."

"You're lying hypocrite! Tell us the truth! Or else you will regret it!" Hajiya Nusaiba yelled.

"I'm telling you the truth Mama i have no papers with me." Ariana softly said.

"You're lying to me! i searched your side and every rooms but found no papers or anythingrelatedto them! So they must definitely be with you!" Hajiya Nusaiba thundered.

And before anyone could acknowledge a thing, Alhaji Malik stood up and removed a wire from a socket before starting to lash it on Ariana as she cried for help.

"Abbi.. please stop, you're hurting me... i promise the papers aren't with me.... please Abbi, i'm really sorry." She pleaded crying while he lashed out the wire on her body with all his strength.

The girls came out when they heard a commotion going on, Safaa and Marwa cried begging their father to stop lashing their sister while Jiddah and Basma smirked.

"Abbi... please stop beating Ya Ariana. " The twins cried.

"Abbi... please stop... i'm really sorry... i promise you the papers aren't with me." Ariana cried pleading. She cried till her energy drained out. Her sisters cried while her stepmother and step siblings laughed.

He stopped when he was sure he wounded her in every part of her body before kicking her hard with his legs. He continued kicking her with his legs until he reached their room then kicked her hard into the room. He grabbed Safaa and Marwa by their hairs making them to start crying and pushed them into the room before locking it.

"No food for them today!!" He yelled to Hajiya Nusaiba to which she smirked before furiously leaving the room.

Back in the room, Ariana sat on the mattress sniffing as she cleaned the blood oozing out from her body with Safaa and Marwa  helping her.

"Ya Ariana!sorry. What did you do to Abbi to deserve such beating? why does he hates us like this?" They cried.

She stood up and limped to the drawer where their clothes were before hiding the papers in a safe place. She wiped a lone tear as she returned to the mattress where she met her twin siblings already asleep. She laid beside them and cried her eyes out before sleep overtook her.

She woke up after Asr. She had no islamiyya since it was a Thursday. She woke her sisters up and they helped her to the bathroom where they all performed ablution and prayed.

"Ya Ariana!we're hungry." They pouted. Ariana stared at them not knowing what to say. She heard her father saying nobody should give them food. Ya Allah!

"I'm sorry my babies, but didn't you heard when Abbi said there's no food for us? So we can't do anything about that." Ariana sighed defeatedly.

Safaa and Marwa pouted and were about to speak when the door opened with a bang. It was a furious Hajiya Nusaiba, she grabbed Ariana by her hair and scurried out of the room with her.

"Wash these clothes before the sunset." She smirked and threw her on the interlock.

Ariana winced in pain and stood up crying. She stared at the heap of clothes wondering where she would start from. Her whole body was paining her from her father's beating and her stomach was grumbling due to hunger.

She limped to where the clothes were and started washing them. She didn't finished until Isha time. She performed ablution and was about to leave when the devil appeared again.

"It's now you deem fit the right time to finish my washing right? Now go inside the kitchen now and make something quick for us, myself my husband and my kids are hungry."

Ariana shook her head and made her way to the kitchen. She made a quick jollof spaghetti with liver sauce before transferring it to a warmer. Her poor siblings must be definitely hungry, they hadn't had anything since morning, she decided to dish out something for the three of them and was in the act when the devil appeared in the kitchen frightening her.

"What were you trying to do? Huh? To get some for your filthy self and siblings? No way!" She said letting out a harsh laugh.

"Now get back to your room right now!" She thundered. Ariana begged and pleaded with her but to no avail. She threw her into the room and locked it with a key from the outside.

Ariana wiped her tears when she saw the state her siblings were in. They were crying and clutching their stomachs due to hunger and that was how they slept that night without having anything in their stomachs.