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54.
It was exactly one week since Samirah put to bed, and as Hausa tradition demanded, the baby was to be named on the seventh day. There was to be a small celebration, where a ram would be slaughtered in the name of the child (although the slaughtering was not a prerequisite for the naming). It was always a festive occasion, and a naming ceremony was just always a cause for joy and celebration, especially if it happened to be the first child.
Zeenah woke up that morning feeling giddy and excited. For some reason, the sun seemed brighter, the air smelled sweeter and even her breakfast tasted splendid. She hummed to herself as she set about cleaning, and even while she showered.
It wasn't just the ceremony she was looking forward to, although it was always a joy to celebrate and socialize. Zeenah was looking forward to seeing Khadija as well, having been unable to contain her giddiness upon hearing that she would be attending the ceremony. Th
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Broken Within 55.
The day went horribly.He'd spilled his coffee twice, and all his pens seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. To top it all off, he was barraged by a constant flow of patients so that he missed lunch.All in all, it was a horrible day.AbdulRasheed read through the file before him for the umpteenth time, dreading the way he was going to start explaining to Mrs Yusuf what her real problem was. She might get angry, he thought. She might even become hysterical or even claim he was wrong. But it was his duty to make her understand that. Part of being a doctor was learning how to break the news to patients, either good or bad.He pressed the buzzer and asked for Mrs Yusuf to be sent in."Spit it out, doctor. I'm ready for anything coming," Mrs Yusuf said, as soon as she settled into the chair before him."Good afternoon to you too," Abdul
Broken Within 56.
Zeenah debated getting up or trying to sleep for another hour. A gusty morning wind was rattling the windowpanes, threatening to smash them against the side of the building.The early morning light filtered through the drawn draperies. She loved a cold room and the tranquillity that came with it. Weird as it may be, Zeenah had always preferred the cold season to the hot season. She had been dreaming about Maama, holding a baby and smiling up at her. Who was she kidding? Ever since Samirah had given birth, she had been wondering how it would feel for her to also have a child to call hers.Groaning loudly, Zeenah tossed to the other side of her bed and stretched. She was still tired, despite the fact that she had actually slept early. Grabbing her phone, she checked the time and quickly sat up, almost hitting her leg on the edge of the bed. "Dear God! I must really have been so tired!" She picked up a wrapper from her closet and tied it over the
Broken Within 57.
Zeenah laughed loudly through the phone while applying a fruity scented lip balm to her lips. "You can't be serious, Samirah," she said. "How can you do that to my baby?""Why can't I?" Samirah's voice drawled through the phone. "He was proving to be stubborn, and I wanted to show him how stubborn I can also be.""He's just a baby," Zeenah said in amusement."I am aware of that unfortunate circumstances," Samirah said hysterically. "And yet he knows how to keep me awake for a whole night. Make that make sense woman. I'll wait until you have yours, then we can have this discussion again."Zeenah grew stiff at Samirah's words, but she brushed it off quickly, refusing to allow it disturb her any more than the issue already had. "How are you after yesterday's stress?""Oh, I should be asking you that. How are you? I'm glad you found your phone. I've been wondering who the woman you described w
Broken Within 58.
'How's work?'Zeenah typed away as she swallowed a spoonful of rice. It was a beautiful afternoon, and she had just come back from school. It's been five days already since she and AbdulRasheed had agreed to be friends, however, it was a gradual process for her. She still wasn't comfortable with the idea, but she was trying to.AbdulRasheed, on the other hand, Zeenah noticed, was as open as an open book. Even though he was yet to tell her anything about his life, he still tries as much as he could to make her feel as though she had been part of his life for a long time.She swallowed another spoonful the very moment her phone had beeped with an incoming message.'Hectic. I have lots of patients today, though, I'll be done in let's say two hours time. How was school?'She smiled before quickly typing away.'School was fine. Guess I won't be the only on
Broken Within 59.
They slept together, despite Zeenah wanting to stop that from happening, she couldn't. Not when he was an emotional mess that night, and definitely not when he had just finished pouring his heart out to her. So, instead of leaving the room like she had planned to when he fell asleep before her, she snuggled more into his embrace and drifted into a deep slumber.Morning came earlier than Zeenah wanted. She had enjoyed the night before and was looking forward to many more. As she made breakfast that morning, she scolded herself for even thinking about having another night like the night before.She was beginning to act weird, and it scared her that she was entirely changing because of him.Which was why, as soon as he had left for work that morning, Zeenah had called her therapist; Karimah."Isn't it weird that I'm acting that way? I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. What if he is worse than Abubakar?"
Broken Within 60.
It was 8:30 pm, and Zeenah was already dressed for their date night.The woman gaping right before was entirely new even to her. There was a radiating glow about her, a kind of gleam in her eyes that was had never been present in her eyes before. This was entirely a new woman. This was a new Zeenatu, this was Mrs AbdulRasheed.She smiled at the sudden thought of being 'Mrs AbdulRasheed', and she even speculated she had imagined calling herself with the same tone he had used in calling her that morning. Carefully, she adjusted the purple veil she had rolled on her head around her face and pinned the hairpin more appropriate to bring out the curve of her face. She was wearing a black Abaya gown, mostly worn by Arabian women.It was black in colour, with touches of purple pearl stones by the neck and hands, so, she paired it with a purple small veil, which she had rolled around her face. She smacked her lips gently,
Broken Within 61.
They were already in the third month of their marriage, and according to their arrangement, they had two months left until they get divorced. But, none of them speaks about it, it was as though they were both trying to forget the fact that they had agreed to something like that. All they do is enjoy each other's company and try as much as they both can to get to know more about each other.Zeenah smiled as she hailed a taxi to ride home. She had just finished her exams for the semester, and couldn't wait to get home and have a nice sleep without thinking of her pending exams. Oh! How sweet can life be without thinking about having to write any exams?The abrupt beeping of her phone made her look through it. It was Nana, asking her if she was done with her exams and when was she going to get home so she can come over. Zeenah quickly typed a reply that she was already on her way home. Over the past month, Zeenah and Nana had become friends,
Broken Within 62.
As he drove through the street, AbdulRasheed's thought drifted towards the envelopes at home. Ever since he had spoken with Zeenah about them that Afternoon, AbdulRasheed found out that he was very nervous at the outcome of the content of those envelopes. He also couldn't help the creeping feeling of thinking it was Aliya that had sent them, rather than Abubakar, as Zeenah thought.Didn't she say she'll find a way to get back to him if he doesn't do something? Perhaps, she was already making her move.Overcoming enormous trepidation, AbdulRasheed eased the car slowly into their street, and honk at the gate for Musa, who had come rushing while greeting his master."Welcome, Alhaji," Musa greeted."Thank you, Musa," AbdulRasheed replied, as he stopped a little to talk to him. "How was your day?""It was fine, Alhaji.""That's good," AbdulRasheed replied. He had wanted to ask
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