BOUND

Chapter 2: The Accident

Assalamu alaikum warahmatullah.

Dear readers. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

So let me be completely honest. After the last chapter, with not even one vote or comment, I was completely demotivated to post another chapter.

But well, here I am posting another one. Because I love to write.

I would really appreciate it if you would support me on this journey by leaving behind your comments, and votes. Let me know what you think of the story.

Enough of my rambling, I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter.

***

The hustle and bustle of a big city was what woke her from her deep slumber. She had not known when she had dozed off, for the bus' seat was very uncomfortable, doing very little in the way of soothing her aching limbs, so when she hadn't found a comfortable enough position to rest in, she had simply reclined further into the seat and rested her head against the cold glass of the window on her right, pulling her hijab over her eyes to cover them from the light. She had not joined in the passengers' light conversation, but pretended to be asleep instead, and the last she knew before exhaustion settled in and sleep took over was they had gone passed several small villages and towns, but the bus hadn't stopped.

Now, jerking awake from a dreamless slumber, she sat up fully upright, unaware of where she was for a brief moment until everything came flooding back. Still woozy, she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes and looked outside the window. The sun was at its peak, shining true and bright notwithstanding the time of year. She presumed it to be early afternoon, which meant she had slept for several hours. However, it was the heavy traffic and congestion which met her eyes that amazed her. Their bus was stuck at a three-way intersection, sandwiched between a truck and minivan, and the honking and shouting exchanged between the vehicles and vehicle owners which had initially roused her from sleep was causing more chaos than relieving the flow of traffic, and with each vehicle unrelenting to stop and make way for the other, the traffic was at a standstill.

With no way of moving forward or changing route, all the bus' windows except hers had been pulled open to allow air into the now sweltering heat of the bus, but the exhaust fumes emanating from the jam-packed vehicles was making the air hazy and difficult to breath. Using the ends of her hijab to cover her nose from the smoke, her eyes scanned the area to see if there were any signs or billboards which displayed the name of the city, but she couldn't see any, and not before long after her curiosity had ventured far, the traffic eased a little and their bus was able to proceed ahead of the traffic, and shortly afterwards, they pulled up and came to a stop at a large car park, larger even than the one she had boarded the bus from. They had arrived at their destination!

The occupants of the bus trooped out slowly from the vehicle, each yawning and stretching from the long journey they had had. She was the last to alight, her legs wobbling after the long hours they had spent crammed in the bus' confined space. By then, all the passengers had dispersed, and only the bus driver and conductor remained, with the exception of the other woman who had been in the bus earlier with her. She now stood a short distance away from the bus, waiting for an elderly man who stood by the driver's window speaking to the driver profusely in Hausa to wrap up his conversation. As she alighted, the woman's eyes flickered to her, before shifting to appraise her clothes. For a single minute, she appeared to want to say something to Adiyya as Adiyya inched nearer her, but for some reason, changed her mind.

Too fatigued to even think, or contemplate why the woman was showing particular interest in her, she limped past her, each bone in her body aching with the exertion of being put to use. Her last meal had been the day before, and her stomach was now grumbling with the pangs of hunger. As she walked towards the entranceway, she saw a woman frying tofu in a large wok, which she now found herself heading towards. Purchasing the tofu along with a bag of water from a child hawker, she headed out of the car park, but came to an abrupt halt when she saw the vastness of the city stretched in front of her.