Due For Inheritance (D. U. I)

Chapter 4

Unlike her mum though, she won’t go down without a fight, in fact she won’t go down at all. She’s a woman on a mission and will eventually come out victorious. The only drawback to her story was that her mum had gone back to her creator and funny enough, she died of the same breast cancer that claimed her father. If the couple were related, she would have thought that their disease was hereditary.

After her mum’s demise though, her father’s relatives took her back and sponsored her tertiary education, something she has been extremely ungrateful for.

Tomorrow is a new day; Hayatullah diverted her thinking as she prepared to go to bed. She would need to prepare for other bouts of tongue lashings from her step children and if she go to bed early, she would be calm enough to tolerate them. 

*******
Haleemah placed a call to her friend, Adanna to ask of the savings she had kept with her. She didn’t trust the bank enough to keep her money there and that’s because they charge way too much interest. She also couldn’t keep a piggy back, since she would know the location and might break it open as she wished. But Adanna was her aunt’s friend whom she introduced her to as a thrift collector and of all her family members, her aunts proof to be the most sincere and generous which was why she chose to believe her and go with Adanna.

No one in the family would have imagined that Haleemah had gone broke but she is. She has no grown up children like Hauwa, Ali or Aabid who could work at the company and bring in some funds. Even if Hauwa was as miserly as the church rat, she still spare some change to give to her mother and Ali who was the black sheep of the family compensate his step mum from time to time for raising him. Aabid does the same for her step mum and Aisha didn’t mind that Aaidah is lazy or her own children are yet to start working but they would join the company soon since they were through with their National service and help their mum out. That simply means Hajara and Hauwa are set financially while she and the newbie, Hayatullah are left to fend for their selves till the property is shared.

If the family lawyer, Matt had been humane, he would have done his job perfectly and provide them with their weekly needs like he does when Abdulahad was around.

Adanna didn’t pick up Haleemah’s call after several tries, so, she decided to call her aunt but she received the same response. Her heartbeat began to thrash loudly in her chest. She had an inkling of what was about to go down or is already happening but she didn’t want to believe it. Eventually, she advised herself that it might just be a coincidence that their numbers were not going through at the same time. ‘The network service in Nigeria isn’t that reliable’, she thought and decided to wait it out till the next day.

Haleemah pretended that everything was going on fine while she gisted with her co-wives. “Hajara, I think we have to do something about this Matt’s issue”, She started. Don’t you think he has other motive apart from the investigation he talked about?”

“Are you telling me that?” Hajara asked rhetorically. “I think the investigation stuff is simply a ruse to cover up his misdoings but one thing I know for sure is the fact that, he would have to end the supposed investigation one day and then he’ll vomit all that he swallowed.”

While she talked, Aisha pretended to be absorbed in the book she was reading, but it was obvious she wasn’t paying attention because she had been on the same page since the discussion started. She finally succumbed to the gossip temptation, closed her book and move closer to ask. “What made you think it’s a ruse?”

“I think he’s just stalling till he can generate enough income from AbdulAhad’s money. Didn't you realize that it was during the period of Alhaji’s disappearance that he performed Hajj? He didn’t just perform Hajj but he went to Umrah as well”.

“Hmmn, for someone that doesn’t observe his five daily prayers, he’s sure holding on to this pillar of faith very seriously.” Haleema contributed.

“That doesn’t mean he used AbdulAhad’s money, he won’t even dare. He upholds the law and he surely knows the punishment to committing such offense.” Aisha reasoned.

Haleema snickered. “If he knows the law, then, he also knows how to manipulate the law and you know that the law can be very unfavorable to the weak. If it was Shariah law now, we could speak confidently”.

“I still stand on the point that he didn’t use our husband’s money. He might have planned to perform Hajj earlier but didn’t have the chance. You also know as well as I do that if he asked for permission to go when our husband was around, he would have granted him the permission as well as relieve him of his duties.” Aisha defended again.

“This one that you’re taking his side, hope…” Hajara left her sentence unfinished while fake-scratching her throat.

“Oh please don’t go there, our eldest is as pure as a day old baby, she would never do what you were thinking.” As Haleema said that, she couldn’t help but doubt her statement. She trusted her Aunt too and see where she found herself but she quickly diverted her attention and cautioned herself that she was just being paranoid.

Aisha just rolled her eyes and ignored her last statement. “Anyways, as I was saying”, Hajara continued. “A little bird told me that he just opened a law firm six streets over. If he wasn’t spending Alhaji’s money, tell me where a salary man got enough fund to open a law firm which is mostly formed by two or more lawyers?”

Aisha wanted to argue again that he might have had the fund but not enough time to set it up when Abdulahad was around because her husband tend to be a slave driver and when you work under him, you have to devote both your working and free time but she kept quiet and looked on.

“That’s absurd, Haleemah replied to her question. Wherever he got his money from is none of my concern as long as our Inheritance remained intact and I trust him not to try what we’ve been thinking. If not out of loyalty, he knows that we’re a force not to be reckoned with”.

“Whatever, Aisha dismissed”. Their conversation wasn’t as interesting as she thought, so she slowly shifted back to her position and picked up her book to continue reading or eavesdropping.

Their children soon came back with various demands and disrupted their flow and everyone had to retreat to their various quarters. The momentary chat had succeeded in distracting Haleemah from her previous worry and since that was over, she decided to face her demons and try calling back again but received the same answer. This time around, she took it more seriously and thought that her fear is coming to reality and she needed to find a solution fast.

She left her children under the care of her senior wife and set out to pay Adanna a visit. Since she married Àlhaji and reverted to Islam, she had always taken her religion with levity even though she argued fiercely with her family whenever they questioned her faith. But today,  before leaving, she observed her two Rakaats of Nafl Salah carefully and chanted the little Adhkaars she knew even if they weren’t related to the situation at hand and on each step she carried while going, she was busy chanting her Adhkaars while also repeating the phrase ‘don’t let it be true’.

When she eventually got to Adanna’s place, her fears were confirmed. The entrance gate has been locked with a big lock and she was told by a passer-by that the building has been closed for renovation and the tenants sent packing. Immediately she heard this, she almost lost her balance and the passer-by steadied her while looking at her in pity before leaving. Her aunt and Adanna stayed in the same building, so if Adanna is absent, so is her aunt. Big, hot tears unconsciously slipped out of the corner of her eyes and her head remained downcast. After a few minutes of shedding tears with no one to console her, she finally looked towards the heaven thinking that, the first time she asked something from Allah sincerely, he had denied her and her senior wife’s,  Aisha’s, insistence on performing two Rakaats of Salah whenever in distress is just a scam. If it truly works, then her friend and sister wouldn’t have evaded her.

She decided to quietly go home and swallow her pride to ask her senior wives for help for she and her children’s survival up until the properties are shared and she could stand on her own. Afterwards, she’ll live her life as she pleased after all, she doesn’t enjoy performing any of the Islamic duties for that matter.

Praying five daily prayers is a hassle, fasting itself is the biggest form of suffering and paying zakaat? … as if.
Her resolve was firm on her way home. She doesn’t enjoy practicing Islam anyway, she had done it because her husband gave it as a condition to marry him and now he’s dead. As soon as she got what she wanted, she won’t give a damn. She’ll only keep her muslim appearance in front of her family because she had fought them long enough when they disturbed her after marriage so she would need to keep pretending. There are many acclaimed Muslims all over the world who doesn’t even know the time obligatory prayers are performed, talk more of observing the prayers after all.

Haleemah got back home and keeping her emotions in check, she ranged the entrance bell and it was opened for her. There was pandemonium in the mansion that wasn’t there before leaving and as she moved towards the central leaving room and saw what was happening, her heart skipped several beats.

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