Flawed Perfection

Chapter Nine: Unwavering Storm

30th January, 2007.
Abuja, Nigeria.

Aisha languidly stared into the darkenning evening sky that had shimmering stars filtering through, encircling a faintly_lit half moon. It was one of the many evenings heralding a serenity even the repeatedly brewing cold inside her chest could not forebear.

Several nights had passed_ nights she'd lost count of. Numerous nights that appeared only to feel like duplicates of the others_ the torment, the unpleasant sensations and the hollow sound of emptiness as it echoed.

Everyday, Aisha stared into the sky to realize her world was slowly fading into the cloud because she had no control over the blurring haze that had grown into her life.

All her life, she had been made to wait on time for closure. Now, as the sound of the adhaan impeded her thoughts, Aisha wondered how in the world she ended up entangled in a mirage that proved to be more earnest than living in an overcrowded small house.

She was cognizant with the truth that prayer had all the solutions to her misery. Zainab had taught her a couple of times that with the Lord she worshipped, she only needed to ask before everything was given to her but what would she ask for?

She had known her marriage would leave her in nothing less than shackles everyday, for the rest of her life, she still hadn't expected a screeching fear to end her even before the marriage attempted to.

But she was Aisha Ahmad Makama, an object to the evils of humanity, an ugly girl with a much more hideous story and physique.

She stared at the painting that looked just like the rest of her creations_ with a matching stench of brokenness, the pain in it so loud and thunderous, Aisha could almost feel the world dancing underneath her.

'Grey, even a man is scared of the woman you've created out of me. You must feel so proud. Huh?' She scribbled the words in black ink on a sticky plain white paper before tugging it behind the painting.

A week had visibly passed by, albeit Abdullah showed no face ever after their little encounters, Hajiya Halima_ his mother, had made it her point to never leave Aisha all by herself.

Nafeesah was always around to keep her company, Rahma_ Abdullah's younger sister had also been around through out the week before she left for Kaduna, where she lived with her son and husband.

Aisha had only met them and it was a bit unlike her to blend in so easily, but Abdullah's siblings were unlike him. Every time she was around them, Aisha felt accepted as one of thier own. Like she was already a part of their family despite all the odds.

When they left in the evening, it always felt like she was being conveyed, over and over again. She had begged Nafisah to stay a couple of times but she would always come up with an excuse. Which always got Aisha thinking_ what in the world did they think would go on between an arranged couple who obviously loathed being around each other more than anything in their lives?

She hadn't even seen her supposed groom in a week and even if she did, she was sure he would have made it known to her_ for the millionth time, he didn't want to see her again.

Everyday she breathed in this house, loneliness and fear burned through her soul_ Aisha knew there were a million possibilities she would die a gruesome death, in a beautiful mansion. When her corps dropped cold against the white marble floor, Abdullah would tower above her body with a smile she'd never seen on his face.

She wanted to end and it no longer mattered to her if Abdullah would strangle her to death. She'd never felt as deserted as she did, there was a pain that shot up in her core every evening.