Flawed Perfection

Chapter Five: Serene Chaos

20th January, 2007.
Abuja, Nigeria.

The burning reek of firewood filled the air alongside visible whips of rising smoke. Gwaggo's enormous pot, dusted and washed, rested against large cooking stones as women stir fried tomatoe stew. Laughter, chatters and cries of children echoed to create a serene chaos as the Makamas prepared for the big day.

Aisha's black wavy_short hair was neatly braided into niddle sized cornrows. Flowers of deep red and black color rested against her frail hands as she languidly waited for the little moisture contained by plastered henna paste to dry out from her legs.

The henna artist was almost done with painting Zainab's feet, Hauwa and the rest of Aisha's cousins anxiously waited to get thier's done.

Aisha stared at the crowd and felt torn. She knew life was insane.

But if a simple act of curtesy had grown to change her life, maybe life suffered from dementia.

Tomorrow, everything would change.' An inner voice called.

'You're going to be fine Aisha.' She repeatedly told herself, never believing any of it. She had said that too many times, the words felt like a desperate lie rather than words of reassurance. Somewhere between stark white painted webs of lies, Aisha knew she had never really been fine.

"Aisha! Your Baba said to call you!" Her heart skipped a beat. Then two.

"Where's he?" Suddenly, there was a gaping pang in her chest.

"Outside. With our Baba, Ya Fatima's baba and..." Ruqayya_ Aisha's youngest step_cousin squinted her eyes in thought.

"It's okay, I'll wash this off and go straight to him." Aisha told her. Looking back at Zainab, she found apprehension dancing in her eyes.

Breathing hard, she washed the henna paste off her feet and walked out, ignoring the unsettling feeling that ran in and around her mind as if it were home.

"Salaamu Alaykum." Aisha said into the darkness that engulfed her the minute she walked into the room. She knew it enough to thread it with eyes firmly closed and not stumble on anything.

As a child, she became acquainted with the room because her grandfather would always feed her sweets everytime she walked in. Now as Aisha stood, fear hungrily nibbled against her skin and Aisha wondered if she suddenly loathed the air around the room because there were no sweets left, or because the years after her grandfather's demise had pulled her through the shards of adulthood. Maybe because the stench of Alhaji Makama's death still hadn't fully left the room. Whatever it was, Aisha knew she was trying to deny the reason was mainly because her father became the new owner of the room.

"Wa'alaykumu Salaam." They answered in unison.

"Ina kwanan ku." Aisha greeted.

"Lafiya." Baba Auwal answered dryly.

"Baba, you sent for me?" She asked in an attempt to break away the mystery that overlayed her heart.

"Yes. I gave Hajiya Gwaggo some stuffs a week ago. I don't know if she has guided you on how to use them." Adrenaline rushed into her bloodstreams at Baba's words. She had anticipated this summon would leave her in nothing less than crumbles yet she still hadn't seen this coming.

'Gwaggo lied. She said it was a gift from her!" Aisha said to herself.

'Who cares?! You're not allowed to speak about nasty drugs with Baba!' Another voice whisper_yelled in her head.

She cleared her throat. "Yes, she has."

"Try your best to use them. I spent almost an entire fortune on those stuffs." Baba continued and Aisha recoiled. It was the worst conversation to have. Especially not with Baba_ They had never been that close.