Sadiya |✓

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Muhammad's hand stopped midway as he was ready to land her another whip, his reddened eyes were burning in flames. Lips curved downwards in a deeper frown before saying, "And who do you think you are to speak to your father in such manner?" Words came out lowly, but dangerously.

Asiya crawled to her son because she was too weak to stand up straight. "Omais.. don't." She warned weakly, not wanting him to be beaten up too. Left to her, Muhammad can hit her a hundred times, not her children.

Omais' eyes got teary because the sight his mother was in?... it wasn't a pleasant sight.

Puffy red eyes, torn clothes, disheveled hair, and a busted lip. He rushed to her, "Ommi are you okay?" Of course not. She avoided his question and said instead, "Don't you dare talk to your father in such manner."

Even with the way Muhammad treated them, she didn't want her Lord to be angry with her and her children for disrespecting their father. Omais stared at his mother and wondered how and why she was stopping him from saying the words that were longing to be released from his mouth.

Sadly enough, Muhammad thought Asiyah was stopping the boy from saying anything more because she was afraid of him.

A misled thought.

Omais straightened his back and stared at his father with no emotion whatsoever, though his heart was beating fast. Muhammad walked briskly towards him and when he reached where the young lad stood, the next thing Omais felt was the stinging pain on his cheek.

First was the sound that came from the impact of the slap, followed by his mother's scream.

With a palm over her mouth, she was about to utter a word or words when Muhammad raised the belt that was held tight in his hand. Long story short, Omais got lashed mercilessly that night and Asiyah was too weak to do anything as she was locked in the store room. Meanwhile, Sadiya did not hear their cries and screams until Muhammad pushed Omais out of the house, the boy was half-conscious by then.

The animal in human form went back into the house and locked the door behind him. It was midnight then, but he didn't care the least as to the condition he left his son in. He finished what he'd started and left the living room, leaving behind a bleeding wife. The mother of his kids.

*PRESENT DAY..*

“I think that was when you showed up,” Omais leaned back and rested his palms on the bench.

“Wow,” Sadiya was lost of words. That was all she could say.

Giggles and cries from the kids playing filled the entire area, the siblings decided to take a walk to the park and Omais ended up narrating all that happened that night from his point of view.

After some silence from both, he asked, “So.. what about Ommi?” Ommi. The thought of their deceased mother brought tears to her eyes but she knew better than to let them out.

She swallowed a huge ball of saliva and finally replied to his question, “dead.”

He stiffened at her words and uttered, “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi Raji'un.” At this point, she wanted to cry. But she didn't, still.

“How? When?” He started with the questions she had expected him to ask, "was it here in Abuja or Kano?"

“Here.” Sadiya couldn't say more.