The name on the cover of my published books is M.B Alee. That is my penname. I am Mahmoud Ali Bello. So when you see M.B Alee, know that the author is marmoodarlee. This book ( THE LAST INSURGENT) will be released next month insha Allah. The date is 4th of October which coincides with my birthday. I will share a link where you will be told how to get it. THE ROOT OF A CYNOSURE will be released next week insha Allah but the hardcopy is not available in Nigeria yet. You can only get it from foreign distributors like Amazon and D2D, but the hardcopy will be available in Nigeria by next month insha Allah. THE ROOT OF A CYNOSURE is one of my favourite books ever. I personally prefer it to MARRIED TO A FINK. For those of us in Nigeria, it will be cheaper to get it here because it cost 12 dollars there and less here. Thank you.
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“Hello.” Mangal said. “Musty, how far? Hello….Hello.”
The line was cut. Mangal shrugged.
“The line if off. I will call him back later.” He said.
“Okay. I think I have made myself clear.”
“Yes Sir. I am sorry for any inconvenience that I may have caused but there is nothing going on between me and your wife but I will heed to what you have said.”
“Thank you very much. I will have to leave.”
“Okay sir.”
He nodded and walked away.
Mangal rushed back in and began to dial Beeba’s number but it was switched off. What was wrong? He hoped he would not see her. He was jittery and unbalanced.
One hour later, he heard a knock and he peeped. It was her.
“Your husband is suspicious.” He said as he opened the door. He was here. You have to leave now and it has to stop. Did you see him? He is broken.”
“Let me in first. Standing here is risky.”
“What if he comes back?”
“I saw him leave.”
“What?”
“I became suspicious when you called me Musty. I know he is suspicious. He talked to me. They have been talking to him. Nothing is hidden under the sun and he way things are going, the way I am crazy over you, sooner or later the gaff would be blown.”
“Then we have to stop at this very moment.”
She moved in.
“I know.”
“I feel so bad about it. I am scared.”
“So am I.”
“He says he would tell his friend to work out my transfer. I think that is good idea.”
“I know right because I am afraid if I keep seeing you, it is going to be difficult. It is insane Mangal. I am married and I am in love with you. Yes, it’s not just about sex. It is about you.”
“We should stop talking about it. Please leave now.”
She eyed him.
“I just need one favour from you.”
“What?”
“One more time.”
“Hell no!”
“Please. Just once won’t count.”
“It counts. We have done a lot of damage.”
“Please….” Ad her veil was off, exposing her wide hips. He paused and took off his eyes.
“Mangal…..”
“Okay, just one more time.”
They locked the door and spent the next two hours on bed. She went home and met Isa on the serving his children food.
She pitied him and was glad she finally made a decision to let Mangal go. She wanted to things to back to normal. She would resume being her old self.
“Welcome.” He said.
“Thank you. I am sorry. I had a lot of work.”
“I understand. I want to talk to you. I will not waste time.” He turned at the kids. “Enjoy your food. I and mummy want to talk.”
They went to the bedroom and he sat on the bed.
“I went to Mangal.” He said. “I went to ask him to stay away from you and planned on telling you the same. I wanted it to end today and since I never saw anything wrong, or none of the people who spoke to me said they saw anything wrong, I wanted to put it behind me and we carry on.”
That was good news. Yes, they should all put it behind.
“I told you that there is nothing going on between us but since it has gotten to this level, I have decided to stop talking to him.”
“That is good for you. You see, you are the mother of my children. The relationship between you and I can end and there would be nothing between us but that can never happen between you and your children. No matter how you hurt me, if I decide to disgrace you, it would affect my children because you are their mother and one day, someone would say, your mother did this. So, I would do anything to protect your integrity. I can forgive you and you seek forgiveness from Allah if you really want that.”
She frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“I entered a cab only to stop and go back to his house. I waited there and it took no long before you appeared. You parked your car far away. I waited there and you spent almost three hours inside. I guess it was all office work.”
Beeba began to sweat, literarily shivering and lost colour completely. The game was up. I cannot go to court and say I saw you having sex with another man because I did not see what you guys were doing inside. But I saw enough to obliterate the trust I have for you. I saw enough to sweep away the love I had for you. I am going to keep your secret for the sake of my children. There is a word for it….irreconcilable difference. We will leave at that. I have divorced you.” He handed a paper to her. “ I should have made it three but that is bidi’a. it does not matter because we can never come back together. But keeping your secret has conditions. You will stay away from my children until they have grown. I don’t want them around a prostitute.”
“Prostitute?’
“I am sorry about that. At least, some prostitutes don’t like what they do. They do it for money, because they need something but what about you? You have enough, you have a husband and I am not impotent or weak. I don’t treat you badly so why do you do it? Calling you a prostitute is too good for you. You are a slot. An animal. An ingrate. You are a disgrace to womanhood and Islam.
I need you to leave right now. I will help you pack your things and send them to you. I should have let you do that but I don’t know what will happen if I keep seeing your face for the next thirty minutes. It is the grace of God that has made me kept my cool but deep down, I feel like killing you. I can do it if you don’t leave now. Please leave.”
She could not cry at that moment. She felt as if Zuma Rock was put on her head while molten brass was being used to bath her.
She saw something in his eyes she had never seen. Even though he was calm, the dangerous note in his voice and eyes were scary.
“I am sorry.” She said and ran out. Immediately she got into her car, she burst into tears.
“Mummy, are you going out again?” she heard Haneef say after her. She started the car engine and began to drive.
The world looked so dark and cold. She kept driving with no sense of direction until she pulled over and let crying hoping she would wake up to realise it was just a nightmare.
She managed to call Mangal’
“He saw us. It is over. He divorced me. He is broken but I am shattered beyond repair. I just lost everything because I let myself derail. I don’t know if I can live for long with this but I hope I have the opportunity to repent. I am done……”
Mangal just held the phone and zoned out. He had stopped hearing her.
All she heard was his exclamation.
“Goodbye Beeba and repent now before it is too late. I have taken a decision that…fits me.”
He ended the call and smashed the phone on the floor. He walked out of the house and began to walk. He did what he had ever imagined he could do. There was no excuse. There was nothing like putting blame on her or anyone. Yes, she started it but she did not force him. He was as guilty as she was.
Thirty two minutes later, he was standing on a cliff. He felt the only punishment he deserved was to take his life. It was before he jumped down he remembered that suicide was a straight ticked to hell. No matter the circumstance, it was not allowed to take his life because the life did not belong to him. But he remembered this too late. He had lost balance and he fell off. As he fell off, he knew it was the end of Mangal Muhammad.
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Leena had a few seconds to remember her parents, siblings and Adam before she felt herself drowning. The water was cold and dark. She never knew she was going to end up like this. She had hoped to die and get buried and not under the river and float like an inflated balloon.
The last image that came to her was that of Mufty. She hoped he would come to realise his mistakes and eave that sect.
She began to sink until she was completely submerged. She felt something drifting out of her and she knew she was dying.
Then she felt something else. It was a pull and the next thing was air passing through her nose. Water gnashed out of her mouth and she began to cough.
It was a girl who had grabbed her and pulled her to the surface of the water. She could not identify the person. It was dark, and she was almost out of her senses.
The person helped her to a canoe before she was pulled up.
It was after the person began to compress her chest and pump water out of her she realised that it was Aisha.
Aisha had seen what happened and she immediately jumped in. She lived in a riverine area so she was accustomed to the river and was a very good swimmer.
The man who pushed her into the river laughed.
“Do not try to escape next time.” He said.
They kept paddling, rowing the canoes with the sad girls for over one hour before they arrived at a bank of river and began to stop. They now put on their flashlights, holding their guns and continuously warning the girls to behave well or get shot.
Leena felt better but still shocked. Aisha sat close to her. Both girls were wet and it was cold. Aisha was more used to it but Leena was shivering and felt sick.
“Welcome to Harabul Kusum.” A fat man with very big tommy said. His face was full of beards, and he wore a black turban. A rifle hung on his back and three armed men flanked him. He was waiting for them and he seems very happy to have them. “ Masha Allah. Girls that have been saved from a dirty world and brought into a pure world of Islam. No more taghut insha Allah.”
“Allahu Akhbar!” An insurgent shouted.
“Allahu Akhbar ! Allahu akhbar!” They echoed.
This was sickening to most of the girls. How could they be praising God when they were doing the things God forbade? Where they just delusional or deceiving themselves?
They began to force the girls out of the canoe and ask them to line up for assessment and documentation.
The girls were made to line up.
“What is that?” One of the insurgents observed as he saw a silhouette. He sent a beam on it and they realised that it was one of the girls trying to escape.
The fat man removed his rifle and set it on her.
“Let me catch her Bamba.”
Pauw! Pauw!
He fired two shots and the girl screamed before she dropped.
“No catching.” The fat man, Bamba said with a smile. “The other girls need to know that it is dangerous to try to escape.” He returned his rifle. “You are all going to spend three days here before you are moved to your husband’s houses.” He began to send a beam of light on the girls. He produced halitosis and his breathing sounded like a snore. He was dirty and rough. His hair and beards were unkempt.
He paused when he got to Leena. He spent a few second admiring her before he smiled.
“I like you. Pray I pick you.”
Leena felt a bang in her heart.
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Hmmmm….Mangal committed suicide after everything. I still don’t know what the part of Mangal and Beeba has to do with this story. Maybe it is just a diversion to teach us some lessons. Are we going to see more of Beeba? Do they have any connection with what is happening here? Is Mufty going to find her and kill her for infidelity ? Has marmoodarlee forgotten about Adam? Someone should ask that guy . I don’t like stories with no direction. From Adam, he jumped to Mufty and then Mangal appeared and began to dominate the chapters……Okay, let me be patient. If he can update every day, it will take no time to connect everything if at all they are connected.
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Thank you very much.