Paper Hearts

Chapter 1.

Eid Mubarak my fiful🥹❤️
Allah ya karbi ibadunmu na Ramadan, may we live to see the next✨
Tell a friend to tell a friend, Jannah Mia is backkkkk!!!
Love and light,
Your favorite writer❤️
Enjoy.

SAADATU'S POV

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA.

I've long accepted that I'm a hopeless case. Why you ask? It's easy to say really.

The idea of romance has always fascinated me, and I've had my own fair share of it as well. I get feelings, I easily catch them, and when I fall, I fall hard. You can say I always get my heart broken in the process, and I'm the kind of person that hates getting myself in situations I know I'll get hurt so...I avoided it. When I catch feelings for someone, I keep it to myself and wait till it eventually dies on its own. That's how I love. I don't get hurt in the process, but I do allow myself the liberty to love. I crush, and leave it as so.

Smart, isn't it? Avoiding pain when you can. And that ladies and gentle dudes is what brings us back to my initial conclusion, that I'm a hopeless case. I'm single. I've been single for as long as I can remember, and though it sometimes bother me, I never let it get the best of me. Single life is just better, it truly is.

Unfortunately, those close to me don't share the same sentiment apparently.

"Walida, your mates are getting married and you're here, stuck in your room the whole day. Wai ni, bakya gajiya ne? Kullum ace mutum na daki, 24/7! Don't you have a social life other than being stuck with your phone all day?" My elder sister, Maryam, scolded as she stood by the entrance of my room. Hands akimbo, she tutted, shaking her head like a disappointed parent. "Fisabillilah look at you still in bed. Karfe nawa ne? It's 11am and you're still sleeping! Wani irin rayuwa ne wannan ace mutum kullum bacci?" She went ahead to scold. "You're twenty-two, is this how you'll go to your husband's house and be sleeping all day?"

I groaned, burying my face in my pillow as I turned around, my back to her. My eyes remained sealed close, and I prayed with every fiber in me that she'd leave with that, allowing me to rest more but who am I kidding?

Her scolding is like a daily mantra I wake up to every day, it's the same words over and over again—I promise you, I even dream of her saying those exact same words to me. It's imprinted in my mind.

"Walida!" She called out again, her tone a pitch higher. Judging from her tone, she hadn't made a move to leave where she's standing, by the door I assumed. "Get up, baccin nan ya isa haba!" Then on her continued attempt to get me to heed to her words, she strolled further into the room, and the next thing I realize is the sunlight glaring at my face.

Another groan escaped my lips as I pulled the duvet to shield me from the sun coming in through the now open window. Her silence following the action was suspicious, and after a few seconds, I found myself slowly peeling the duvet to take a peek and see whether she's still around.

My eyes met with hers staring right back at me, unrelenting.

I sighed, resigning as I threw the cover off my body, sitting up abruptly while I flashed her a blank look. "Haba Yaya!" I whined, earning a glare from my sister. "I cannot even sleep again now? I was up till 3 studying."

"Studying or reading novels? Enlighten me please."

I folded my lips in, knowing whatever I say won't be in my favor. She's said it herself, and she knows me well enough to know what exactly I spent my time on. But, is it my fault? It's always the spirit of one more chapter that ends up with a couple more hours of reading. And if I'm being honest, I didn't sleep around 3.