Her Arrogance ,His Humbleness

Chapter Nine

After 4hrs drive ,we finally reached our destination and I felt a sense of déjà vu ,it feels like I've been there before but of course I was born there and spent the earliest days of my childhood before my parents left for the reason we are soon to find out .

Uncle khaleed led the way with me by his side while Ammy ,Hajia and Manal trailed behind us talking amongst themselves.

" things have changed over here even though there is not much development yet " Ammy observed looking at a large mud house .

" yes ,can you remember Malam Garba's shop ?see how big it has become " Hajia agreed pointing at a big provision store .

They kept talking and pointing out the changes till we reach a moderate mud house , an old man of about 80 was sitting on a mat ,saying prayers with prayer beads ,there was a jug of water beside him and an uneaten plate of rice with flies swarming over it.

" Assalamu Alaikum Modibbo in yalli jam" Uncle khaleed greeted while the old man raised his head .

Seeing me he got up abruptly as if he had been pricked with a nail and limped towards me saying " Allahu Akbar Muhammadu daman zan ganka ? Muhammadu daman kana Raye ?" He wailed and I was stunned ,it is true that I look exactly like my father ,then who is this man ?

He gave me a bone crushing hug even though his hug won't ever crush me considering the fact that he is old and frail. I was too shocked to hug him back ,Hajia was just sobbing quietly while Manal and Ammy soothe her ,Uncle Khaleed was quiet also .

The man kept repeating something in fulfude language I guess he was thanking Allah for bringing his Muhammad back .He turned his attention to Hajia saying " Maryama kece haka ? " he asked and Hajia nodded.

After he calmed down we all sat on the mat while he called all the family members in the house announcing the return of his beloved Muhammad and Maryama. The occupants seemed lost while others looked unhappy to see us .

Uncle khaleed cleared his throat before saying " Modibbo this is not Muhammad this is Muntaseer your grandchild with his mother Maryama,and this is Zainab my wife and Manal my daughter ,I know you recognised me because I use to come here once in a while asking you about the whereabout of Muhammad and Maryama"

So he is my grandfather ,Allah is indeed great ,who could have thought that there will come a day when I will see the man who sired my father in flesh and blood , a sense of belonging washed over me as I thanked Allah for bestowing upon me His blessings .

" Where is Muhammadu then ?" The old man asked and we all looked solemn dreading to give him the answer that may or may not shatter him .

" Am sorry to say Modibbo but he has passed away 20 years ago " Hajia answered him while the old man started wailing at the top of his voice ,cursing himself and his entire family ,asking woe to befall him because of what he has done .It took us almost 15 minutes to make him calm down .

He cried and begged Hajia to forgive him ,telling her that he has made a mistake which he regret every day of his life ,he said that maybe Allah kept him alive to reap what he had sown and he has no words to tell Hajia how sorry he is .

Manal and I looked puzzled because we have no idea what he is talking about and Hajia just kept crying while Ammy and uncle Khaleed looked worried . We finally left Modibbo's house without entering the house because we were not invited inside and none of us make any attempt to go in .

We stayed the night at Uncle Khaleed's house which he had built a few years back , which is maintained by his old childhood friend who lives in one of the apartments in the house .