The Second Path

Chapter 3

"Mallam Audu?" I muttered and furrowed my eyebrows.

I quickly moved closer to him and touched him before turning the front of his body to face the ceiling. Once I turned him to face the ceiling, I jumped and gasped.

He was dead.

He had a kitchen knife stabbed deep into his chest and his scary red eyes were wide open.

"Mallam Audu!" I shouted in shock and held my hands to my mouth. I did a quick sign of the cross, begging God to keep me safe, and looked around in fear to see if anyone was inside but I doubt there was anybody.

I turned back to look at him. I had not noticed the dried blood around him on the floor earlier because of the semi-darkness in the house.

Looking back at his body again, he was stabbed multiple times on his chest area before the knife was left on the heart area.

I knew who did this. It was inna Hauwa.

Remembering the blood on the bottom side of her hijab made me knew she was the one. How could she kill her husband? Once the people of Mansur should find out, this would lead to a serious consequence for her or worse, death.

I moved away from a dead mallam Audu and stopped once my back rested on the wall. This was going to be terrible news for Kauna once she wakes up. Her father was dead and her mother ran away.

I was the only hope she had now. But what mattered now was my life. If I stay in here too long, I may die too.

I ran out of the parlor and was about to leave the house through the back door, when I remembered something. Kauna. She didn't have clothes.

In frustration, I ran back into the house and ran up the stairs. Definitely, that was where everybody's bedroom was.

There were two doors that faced opposite the staircase and I couldn't guess which was Kauna's room. I opened the first door and checked the drawers but only came to find men clothes.

I ran out of the first room and onto the second room. Luckily, I identified women and children items around.

I quickly emptied a black worn-out school bag at the side and opened the drawer that had children's clothes. I threw everything inside the bag as I didn't have time to think about what necessary outfit Kauna needed.

As I was removing the clothes, a small grey book fell down. I stared at it and picked it up. I opened it to see drawings and few terrible handwritings. It must be Kauna's. I threw it inside the bag and zipped it up.

Immediately, I opened the room door and ran down the stairs. Time waits for no man. If I didn't want to die, I had to rush.

As I rushed down the stairs, I tripped on the last step of the staircase and fell on the ground.

"Kai." I groaned in annoyance while lying face down on the floor.

I put my hands on the ground and tried to stand up when my eyes looked below the parlor curtain. Mallam Audu was looking at me with his dead shot eyes, causing me to be more scared.

I closed my eyes in fear. I couldn't look.

I opened my eyes again, avoiding mallam Audu's eyes, and something else caught my attention. The knife on his chest. It shouldn't be there.