TRIALS (Completed)

Seventeen

“Good afternoon, Mummy Caleb,” Meena greeted, smiling widely at a petite lady with a light skinned six-month-old baby boy strapped to her back. She was standing by a table filled with plates of fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, and tatashe.

“Ah, Aunty Meena,” She smiled, showing her thirty-two. “How today na?’ 

“Fine fine o, how your side?”
She shrugged, “Fine o, we dey manage.” She bent forward over a rubber bowl of water with tomatoes and pepper floating inside.

Meena smiled at her back, eyes trained at the head warmer covering Caleb’s black curls. It reminded her of Nur’s.  “Caleb no well?” She asked. 

The woman stood straight, “No, wetin you see?”

  “I see say you cover him head.” She pointed.

The woman hissed slightly, “I no want make him head black ni, for this kind heat.”

Meena chuckled and glanced at the sun overhead, beaming down at her in full force. “Na true sha, but him go sweat o.”

“Eh, I go soon remove am.”

Meena nodded. “Okay o, greet am for me when him wake up.”

She let out a loud laughter that shook her shoulders. “Okay o.”

Meena smiled and continued her walk back to her shop, wondering if her baby would be as light skinned as Nur, or as dark as her, for even Caleb had taken after his Urhobo father’s light complexion, not after his Tiv mother’s caramel one. 

Three weeks and five days, but she was still counting, still hoping. She had vowed never to call him, for this was his call to make, and if he cared as much as he claimed, he’d call. No matter what, he’d call.

When she got to the shop, she met the two bags of clothes that she had taken home for the weekend still lying outside. She shut her eyes in frustration and shook her head. From inside, she could hear the slow sweeping motion of soft broom across the cement floor. She shook her head again and pulled the door open, sending a stream of sunlight into the shop, making Bushra yelp in surprise, a hand over her eyes.

Meena rested against the door and folded her arms, “Weldon ma.” She bowed her head in mock salute.

Bushra pouted and pushed the protruding broom sticks back into their position, “Welcome Aunty.” She continued sweeping.

“It’s like there’s no work today o.”

Bushra stood straight, frowning.
“Why, we just got here na.”

“Really,” Meena widened her eyes in surprise. “just got here?” She took out her phone from the pocket of her abaya. “We left home since around 7, to avoid hold-up. Now what’s the time?”

Bushra bit her red lower lip and glanced the wall clock on the opposite wall, “To nine.”
“Ehe, and see mama Caleb whose shop was closed, now she’s there, arranging her market. See us here, even to arrange the shop…” She made a sound at the back of her throat and plopped on her seat, leaning back on the wall while Bushra tugged at her headscarf. “I don’t even want to know what you were doing since I left. Just pack up.” She motioned at the dirt of sand, paper, nylons and fabric pieces, yet to be gathered.

As Bushra resumed her work, Meena took out her phone from her pocket and glanced at the time, then the call logs. Still, no calls. No texts. Releasing a sigh, she rested her head on the wall, eyes settling on the empty seat across her that used to belong to Kauthar. 

She wondered how her bestie was faring. When she first heard about the incident, it sounded like a joke to her. So in a modern and highly secured place like Navy Barracks, people could still get kidnapped? But when she went to Kauthar’s house that Friday, and saw the crowd. She believed. She could not imagine how Kauthar was feeling, even though Kauthar kept assuring her that she was okay. Meena still refused to leave her side, afraid that Kauthar would end up doing something drastic, without telling anyone. Like last time. Meena shook her head. She shouldn’t think like that about her friend.