Whimsical beauty ✔️

Chapter 16

Dinner party

It is a grand event. Afterall, Hafsat Alkali (Iya) had arranged it all with the help of esteemed high profilers. Islaha was too happy to help. As is Shaheedah. And now, both women waltzed around the venue in mouthwatering shades of orange and red.

Pretty wore a purple gown with lilac edges. She looks like a floating perfection despite the veil that covered the top half of her dress. Hm, when women reach a standard of creativity, there is no stopping their brilliance to shine even if the dress code is drape! Pretty is one of those women. Today, she had proved that she can't be competed with, just watched.

And then there is Maree! A blood red gown that looks like an abaya because of the free way it was tailored, is her pick for the day. Seriously, it brought out no shape whatsoever except the ever contours of the chest area which cannot be hidden unless one wear a really big hijab that must be made of sack or something. Anyway, as usual, Maree did not try much. She simply used what she had to shine ever brighter. Some people are hard to compete against. And Maree had proved just how much.

Iya wasn't left behind in this celebrations. After over twenty years, Iya is attending a dinner celebration! She couldn't miss the event of her beloved grandson and the love of his life right? Admittedly, she is also here to make sure Saif does not run, hide, or display any sort of unseemly behaviors. She wants to make sure Amal shines as well. So, she wore a simple Atamfa, which was even tailored with the bubu style with only stones aiding the patterned decorations. Despite the simplicity of her look, it made her look like her. Regal, bright and sophisticated. Of course her veil is bigger than Pretty's, just that people will still look it over to find out what is underneath because for God's sake its Iya!

Other people packed the venue in bright colors as well but the most vivid of which is the sky blue and red anko which is the dress code of the day. The younger generation tried their best to look uniform in those colors while others went wild. But this is how it is. Dinners in Hausa land almost always go like this. It doesn't matter if it is cocktail or just dinner. There are sets of people who strive to stand out and others who are there simple to take note of that.

Anyway, the atmosphere was good when the mc announced that the bride is here and that everyone should please be seated. Remarkably, the people were ushered to their seats after about thirty minutes. Then the mc put on the song that was specifically made for the couple, their wedding song. It is a song that had an edgy music with a lilting tune and a soft hurried voice to accompany a most beautiful melody. People were surprised and couldn't help but listen to it.

Mostly though, everyone's attention is by the door awaiting the bride's arrival. The question on everyone's mind is, will the groom make an entrance? Will he shame the young bride by refusing to attend when clearly, the dinner was meant for two?

It isn't surprising that they thought that way. Whispers have been going around about how the groom is being forced to go along with the wedding. Who exactly started that rumor is yet to be apprehended. But it already took hold. Now the wait made the gathering even more exciting.

And then the bride's entourage arrived! The first batch are the flower girls consisting of children like Hani and Ju. They all looked adorable in their pink party gowns with a white goggoro.

The second batch consisted of the teenage girls like Anisa, Zahra and Salma among others. They wore a dark pink lace with dark purple goggoro. Wow! They looked like little stars, twinkling in the glittery surrounding.

And then...

The bride.

Who was at her side? It was the groom!

She barely reached his shoulder length and that was even aided by her heels. She wore a gown though, that was gold in color. The upper material is sheer while the inner one is a different shade that brought out the true golden glow. Her hand is decorated with a stupefying henna, making her long slender fingers look like a work of art. Her head, is covered with blood red goggoro which completed the dark makeup on her face, giving her more than just a matured air. The smoky eye her makeup artist gave her brought out her big eyes which for once did not look like they were too big for her face. In fact, they looked so beautiful, people wondered if it was her at all.