ENSHROUDED

25

Fatima heaved a sigh and pulled Aisha into a hug. She kept drawing some soothing circles on her back. She could heard his voice when he called and told her that Aliyu was bringing a package for her to give Aisha. She was sure the hoarseness of his voice wasn't natural, it was either he had cried or woke up from sleep. And now that she saw Aisha in this situation, she knew he cried.

"Shhhh, you're going to smudge your face with your tears." Fatima broke their hug and wiped away her tears. She took a brush and cleared the traces of her tears.

"Can I see the package now? When you heard his voice, did he sound normal? Did he smile or even laughs? Fatima, was he happy?" She wanted details, all of it. She wanted to know how he was acting, how he was living in Kano with no one from is family. Was life hard for him? Did he eat as she made him promised to? Where was he now that it was barely thirty minutes for the marriage to be solemnized? Locked up in a room as he cried his eyes out?

"Can you please wait? I'm sure what he sent has all your questions answered. we have twenty more minutes to go before it's 2 pm. Just wait and keep praying." Fatima patted her shoulder and brought Aisha to her shoulder, she leaned on and closed her eyes.

She felt coldness sliding into her soul with every tick of the clock. To eat away time easily, Aisha began counting the minutes left for her life to end. She knew the moment she got hitched with Abba there was no more happiness left for her. 15...14...13...9...7...4...3...2...1! The yodelling sound made by the women in the house as the announcer walked inside the house, announcing that the marriage was finally solemnized. "Aisha Umar Faruk and Muhammad Muhammad Tijjani are finalized as husband and wife now. It's his responsibility now, her feeding, shelter..." She slipped down on the floor and felt as her lungs were gone out of shortage of air.

This wasn't going to happen, she wasn't going to get married to Abba. No, it hadn't happened. He had Baba's name; Muhammad, that's why they called him Abba. She felt as fear engulfed her soul and she broke into silent and painful tears. Every organ of her body had gone cold and Aisha found it so hard to move a muscle, only her eyes were doing the work her lips should. She felt trapped, and now she was locked up in a dungeon she knew she had no day she would break out of.

Fatima slipped down to her height and hugged her tightly, "I'm sorry you had to experience this, but it will be khair, In sha Allah. You should stop crying please, all will be well."

Aisha hugged Fatima back and cried bitterly on her shoulders. "I love him, Fatima, I do." Her body shook with her cries, it was now she realized she made the biggest mistake for accepting Mama's plea. But like she had no other choice then, she had none now.

It took them sometime before Fatime broke their hug and cupped her face in her hands. Her questions were put simultaneously and straightforward. "Do Mama or anyone one of them know that you love him?" Aisha shook her head sideways.

Using her thumbs to clear her tears out, Fatima asked again. "Do you want them to see you in this heartbroken state?" Aisha shook her head, again.

"Do you want them to hear you saying you love Nasir not the one you get married to?" The answer was no again.

"Are you ready to answer their questions if you heard you even by mistake?" The answer was the same, No.

"Then you should stop crying, Aisha. I know it hurts, and it's never easy to part ways with the one you one. But if that's the kind of life Allah destined for you, so be it. Remember, Allah can never burden a soul with that which it can't endure. He knows that you're capable of enduring the pain, He's testing you to see how you'll react. It's nothing but a trial, so embrace it with wide arms. I want you to have in mind that whatever happens, happen for a reason, Aisha. And no matter how smart we are, we can't run away from our destiny. We can never outsmart our fate. One word I have for you, just pray. Keep praying, Aisha. Allah will never let you in pain."