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025 BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
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Rayuwa 026 IN THE WILDERNESS
SAFIA I woke up with a severe headache. There was a neighing sound, and I looked to see where it was coming from. It was my horse. Seeing him made me remember what happened before I passed out. I woke up, suddenly aware of my environment. It was already dark, and I was lying close to a fireplace. I knew I wasn't the one that made the fire, and that made me even more nervous. I knew I was breathing loud from fear, but I couldn't help it. "You need to calm yourself down." A voice said to me. It was the voice of a woman, and it was elderly. I looked around to see who was speaking, then I saw her. She was resting on a tree as if she was communicating with it. She had long grey hair, incredibly smooth skin and cat eyes. Apart from her voice and long hair, this woman showed no sign of ageing. When our eyes met, she smiled at me and stood up. "You need your energy." She said, handing me a steaming bowl. I collected it from her out of respect, but I was curious. "Please, who are you?" I as
Rayuwa 027 BEGINNING OF AN INVESTIGATION
Binta Leila's behaviour had baffled me. If she was as proud as Adam said she was, then she was surely up to something. I was very uncomfortable with her stay in the first place, but I had no power there. It was up to the Sarki to send them packing. I made it a point of duty to make sure that happened. When the Sarki told me what happened to our development plans, I was despondent. I wondered how people could willingly choose to remain in the dark with so much light shining around them. Every state in our country, Lafiya, was developed except for our island, Rayuwa. Lafiya consisted of four states, with Duniya as the Capital. Fili state, Ruwa state, Daji State, and Gona state. Rayuwa Island and Duniya City were in Daji state. Unlike the other states that had governors, Daji state had a Sarki, the Sarki of Rayuwa ruled and governed Daji State, and he was the most powerful and influential of all the rulers in Lafiya. Our status in comparison to the other towns in our state baffled me.
Rayuwa 028 SUSPICIONS AND CONFIRMATION
Adam I knew Binta was right about Leila and her cousin's stay in the Palace. The fact that Zuwaira had been asking questions about Binta made me upset. Since they were somehow my father's guests, not mine, I could not simply ask them to leave. I also knew my father would act faster if I had the proof. I had sent a guard to investigate Binta's claims. Once he returned, I would talk to my father. "Adam, good afternoon." I knew whose voice that was, and since I wasn't in the Palace, I knew there was a possibility Leila had been stalking me. "Good afternoon, Leila," I replied with indifference. The girl needed to get the message that I was no longer interested in her. "Haba," she started, "I thought we had agreed to be friends." She said and slowly walked close to me. I stepped back immediately. "Keep your distance Leila, and we agreed to no such thing. If you do not stop following me, I will order the guards to help you maintain your distance. And I do not want to see you or your co
Rayuwa 029 A VOW AND A PROMISE
Leila There was a hard and loud pounding on my door, and I was mad. I opened it out of anger, and to my surprise, I saw armed palace guards. "Miss Leila, you have been summoned by the king along with your cousin, Miss Zuwaira." A guard announced. I wondered what the whole drama was about. "Ok, let him know I'll we will be there." I was about to close the door when the guard blocked it with his hands. "We are to bring you two immediately." He said. "What!" I exclaimed, "this is an embarrassment. This is harassment. Very well then, let me tie my scarf." I left the door open for them, and Zuwaira and I prepared to follow them. Deep down, I was scared. Whatever it was, it was obviously not good because of the way the guards had come to get us. I strongly wished my father hadn't left me with these people. If he weren't too ambitious, he would have just left things alone and let me move on, but he insisted, and now I am being treated like trash. When we got to the throne room, what I
Rayuwa 030 IN THE WILDERNESS (The second and Final request)
SAFIA "What do you need my heart for?" I asked the woman. She smiled. "What is it used for?" She asked me, and I knew that was my answer. "What will happen to me if I share my heart with you?" I asked. "Well, nothing apart from the fact that I will be forever connected to you. It is not a bad thing, dear; in fact, you need me now and very soon." She replied. "For the third thing, whatever it is, here are my demands," I said, and she raised her eyebrows. "I see you are learning fast. I will listen, but I will not promise you." She said. "You will tell me why I am here and what has happened to me. You will help me get out of here. You will help me retrieve my son and protect my children and me, along with their descendants, forever." "Hehe hehe he," she began to laugh, and I felt stupid. "You are so demanding. I love your spirit. You see, unfortunately, I can grant you all but one. I am a deity, not a jinn, I have my limits, and I am weak. I am sorry, child, but no one can get yo
Rayuwa 031 SWEET ADAM
BINTA I spent the entire day at my father's compound. Nana and Kawu were worried about my mother and Aisha's journey. I tried to calm them down and assured them that they would return. My brothers' condition had not improved, and that was a serious cause for concern. Gogo was glad to see me and asked if she could pay me a visit at the palace. They had questioned me about my upcoming wedding. They wanted to know when Adam and his family would come to ask for my hand officially. I hadn't really thought about it until they asked. It was something I was looking forward to discussing with Adam. I wasn't an orphan after all. Adam needed to ask for my hand from Kawu. When I arrived at the palace, the atmosphere was different. Most of the maidens looked like they were afraid of something. They all seemed like something had happened. I needed to know what was going on. I decided I wouldn't ask anyone; instead, I would ask Adam. "Come in," I called out. Someone had knocked on my door. I had
Rayuwa 032 THE FORBIDDEN FOREST
32 THE FORBIDDEN FOREST MAI'ALJANU "We need to search for her." Aisha kept saying, and she had begun to wear my patience thin. "We have to continue going. We do not have time to waste. The boys do not have much time left." I explained to my daughter, but she wouldn't stop requesting we search for Safia. I had to stop riding forward to speak to her. I halted the horse and turned around to face her. "Where do you think we are, child?" I asked her, and she was silent. "This is the Forbidden Forest." I clarified for her, "I warned both of you before we entered, and the stupid girl galloped away. Maybe she thought she would do better alone. Maybe she did not trust us. Whatever her reasons might have been, I guess we would have to wait to find out. She is at the mercy of the deities and the spirits now." I told her and turned back to continue on our journey. I could not wait for the journey to be over. SAFIA. Sharing my heart and soul with Kurwa did not feel strange. The only differen
Rayuwa 033 EMERGENCY PLANS
LEILA I had less than two days to come up with a plan to free Zuwaira and two more days to leave this godforsaken, backward Island. I have always wondered how an Island can have so much power and influence over an entire country. It just didn't make sense. I had begun to hate Adam. He was the reason why we were in this mess. Even though he had requested that we should not be punished but sent packing, I still held on to the fact that there wouldn't have been a problem to deal with in the first place if he hadn't gotten nosey and let fate determine the rest. Instead, he had to meddle and investigate. I wondered what he saw in that dirty village girl. No matter how he tried to present her, she would always be an uneducated, unexposed literate that took advantage of a situation and dug for gold. She was nothing but a gold digger. I had to make sure I hurt them both, Binta most especially. What they did to me in Buchum village, on Rayuwa Island, will not go unpunished. ADAM The whole
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