After Agony...

|Ten|

"I still can believe I missed your wedding"Sophie said with a pout.

"To be honest,you didn't actually miss anything. Like I said just dauren aure"Maryam said through the phone.

"Yeah,yeah whatever!"Sophie spoke as she rolled her eyes.

"How is Maya doing?" Maryam enquired.

"That girl is a handful I tell you! Can you imagine that just yesterday I applied black scrub just as she saw my face,she bursted into tears." Sophie narrated the whole happening to her sister.

It took Maryam a minute or so before she was able to compose herself from laughter. "I so much love this child! Are you sure we didn't switch-

Sophie knew where their conversation was heading to,and she sure isn't ready for it.

"Not again! Maryam please let's not talk about it"Sophie said. If their is one thing she doesn't like,that would be seeing her sister in tears.

Maryam heavily sighed,and after that there was total silence.

"What was that stunt you pulled?" Sophie mentioned just as she remembered her last conversation with her mother.

"Which is?" Maryam asked.

"Don't play dumb with me Mari! You know what am talking about!" Sophie said almost yelling.

"Look Safiya, I seriously don't know what your talking about" Maryam said and just then the door behind her creaked ajar.

"Mama told me you left few days to your wedding to your father's house" she informed.

"Let's talk later,my husband is back" and with that,she hung up.

To her,it was a foreign feeling because whenever she was on the phone,and Imam walks in she'd make sure she was done before she attends to him. That was strange! But she shrugged it off.

"Huda!"she yelled as she came down the stairs. Everywhere where was silent and she was wondering where the useless girl could be.

"Huda!"She hissed out of frustration.

*****

"Huda!"

"Na'am" Huda said as she sat next to her mother.

"Wai nikam I have not been seeing Imam lately,is everything alright?" Her mom asked as she was worried about her daughter not being married yet.

Huda smiled in a bid to calm her mom. "Umma everything is alright. In fact it's just work that has been pulling him down lately,that's why" she responded.

"Toh tunda kince haka am just worried you know. I want my daughter to settle down" her mom replied.

"Don't worry,soon by the Grace of Allah" she replied as she excused herself to her room where she was trying to round off a report she is ought to summit on Monday.

Speaking of Imam,she smiled a bit as she remembered how understanding he was when she informed him about her present situation and he was okay with it,in fact he gave her some tips and he even promised to be by her side when when she breaks the news to her parents. What a gentleman he is! She had thought to herself. Imam is a gentleman every woman would be proud and happy to have,and she wonder why Sophie is playing with her chance.

"It's been long" she thought to herself as she dialed her friend's contact.

"Hudaaaa! It has been long,how are you? Don't tell me your at my front door" Sophie spoke immediately she picked the call.

"I know and that's why I decided to call you since you didn't. I was gonna surprise you,but you just ruined it" Huda said as she grabbed her bag.

"Let me hang up,am on my way" she said and just then another phone call came through. Speak of the devil!

"Assalamualaikum,I was just thinking about you!"

"Waalaikumussalam,oh really!"he replied with a smirk.

"Yes,how are you? And work?"She enquired.

"Alhamdulillah,where are you?" He asked.

"On my way to a friends house" she informed him as she started the ignition of the car.

"Okay,drive safely. Bye?" And he hung up.

A smile was still plastered on her face,she drove away to the house couple of streets away.
  In less than a fifteen minutes,she made her away into the Waziri residence.

"Baba Ina wuni" she beamed at the old gatekeeper.

"Lafiya lau" he simply replied as she knocked at the front door.

This time around,it was Sophie whom came to open the door with Maya crawling behind her,the girl always craved to go outside because she was always indoors with only her toys and Huda to play with.

"OMG! Am a terrible mother! My baby is already crawling"Huda squealed as she almost immediately carried Maya. And the poor girl was trying her best to wiggle out of the hold.

"So its only your baby that you know?" Sophie joked.

"Of course,yes"

"Huda!" She immediately appeared before Sophie after a strict warning she was given and also a little beating here and there.

"Hajiya gani nan" she bowed before her.

"Yes,bring my guest here something to drink" she gestured at Huda whom was trying to hold Maya still.

"This girl your seeing here,she'll soon start crying" Sophie said as the maid left for the kitchen.

"No,don't say that. My baby is a good girl".

The duo kept conversing as they were catching up on each other before Huda decided to leave.

Meanwhile Huda took it as an opportunity to go to her room. It's been long she spoke to her mother,well maybe because it was due to her insufficient airtime,but she'd make sure to always send her money at the end of each month after being paid her salary.

She dialed her mother's contact and in no time,she responded.

"Huda Thank you so much,may Allah continue to bless you" Her mom said upon answering the call.

"Assalamualaikum,Umma" she sarcastically replied.

"And I see no reason why your thanking me" she replied.

"I have to,I have to. You see after your father's death I feared something like this may occur and am just thankful that Allah is with you" Umma replied at the verge of crying.

"Wallahi Umma,the next time I call and you become emotional am going to have to not call you,again" Huda replied as she was already sobbing by now.

"You won't understand,Huda" her mom bitterly replied.

Not wanting to dwell on the issue,she made up an excuse and hung up as she was furiously crying. She has been through a lot. She started hawking at the age of four,then when she turned ten she was taken to a house here in the city where she starting working. And since then,it's been like that.