LAURA

CHAPTER FOUR

I left the sweeping without finishing it wore my hijab and shoe and left for Innas place of business because I know she will be there.
When I got there I met many people there waiting for her to sell masa and miyan taushe to them, I decided to help her before telling her anything. But she stopped me ’ Thank God you are here please take this masa to your mother I have been so busy that I couldn’t take it to her’  she said while passing the black nylon to me. I collected and left for the market praying I will meet Umma there because I don’t want to start looking for her today.
I was about to cross the road that leads to the market when I saw some people gather by the road, I did not bother looking at them or going to ask what happened. I got to the stall Umma usually stays but did not see her there I was about to go searching for her when I saw baba zulai the village gossip coming to me she stopped me and started saying ‘ this girl you are here and a car has ran over your mother and killed her’
I felt my world stopped moving for few seconds. The only thing I could say was ‘Where’
This woman kept blabbing without stopping, the only thing I could comprehend from what she was saying was on the road before the market.
I don’t how I got to the road I just know I was asking people who gathered there where is my mother. Only one man was able to answer me ‘ laure the man that hit your mother left with her corpse because she already died immediately’ I asked again ‘what do you mean he left with her corpse’
Another man answered ‘she was chasing after from some children when the car ran into her. And she died immediately the man suggested taking her to the hospital so maybe she is still alive he just left five minutes ago’
I felt so much angered at that time and said ‘ so all of you nobody could stop him from taking my mothers corpse is that how much you people don’t care just because she is a mad woman. The least you people could do for me is let me bury my mother properly.’ I did not notice I was already knealing down while crying until I felt somebody try to help me stand that was when I noiced mama was the one its obvious somebody has gone to call her.
She stood me up and hugged me while crying too. I don’t know for how long I was hugging her but after sometime she broke the hug. That was when I noticed everbody looking at me with pity in their eyes. That was when I heard baba voice too Aishas father, telling Mama to take me innas house she is there too waiting for us.
I don’t know how we got to innas house but I just know I was walking and mama guided me.
Seeing inna brought back more tears to my eyes she was crying too we just hugged each other and started crying together knowing we are now alone.
People started coming into the house to mourn with us. The only thing I did through the day was get up pray and then continued crying. Inna too was like that. It was Mama that forced us to eat the food she went home to prepared for us.
That was how one week passed with people coming to the house to mourn with us and baba was outside where he attended to male guest how came to mourn with us while mama took care of inna and i.
Through this one week not even once did my Father or stepmother come. It was on the eight day when people who came to sympathize and mourn with us stopped coming that was when my father came to take me home claiming he has changed the date of the wedding to next week.
I cried and begged him to allow me stay with Inna and mourn my mother for atleast a month before he get me married. Inna tried talking to him but he did not listen to me.
And It was on that day I knew he was getting me married to my nightmare Salisu Danger anty zainabs brother.
I tried to talk to my father that I don’t want to marry him but that made him to slap me. My father has never raised his hand on me until then. He then told me ‘even if you kill yourself I will get your corpse married to him, you should be happy and thanking zainab and her brother because wants to marry you"

That was when I knew my fate was sealed only Allah could help me.