"Ina kwana- good evening." She greeted falling on her knees in front of him. She'd just returned from the office and from the extra cars she had noticed at the garage, she realized they had visitors, she just didn't know it was Baba Doza, her favorite old man.
During his youth, he had been a bricklayer but he could also do many other things, he'd been very hard-working and was always looking to doing the most tedious tasks with such vigour, it had earned him the nickname bulldozer and then everyone else shortened it to 'Baba Doza' as he became older, to the extent even his family members called him that and it always made him smile, he claimed it reminded him of his former energetic self.
"Sabeerah." He said pulling her into
The weather was hot and Sabeerah was irritated with everything, not that this feeling was an uncommon occurrence but today was an exception."Sarah how long have you been working with me?" Sabeerah asked lightly tapping her nail on the huge mahogany desk in her office.The girl swallowed nervously. "Three years now ma'am.""How much longer do you think you'll keep working with me?""I hope for many more years ma'am.""You have very high expectations from yourself Sarah and it's sad that I don't share such delusional thoughts so if you want to keep working with me, you'll better get your ass out of here and go find the name of the bastard who's trying to snatch the Fadlore farmhouse from our company. Go, now!"She screamed and Sarah scampered off looking very terrified."The poor girl." Matt commented looking at the door Sarah had hurried off through
The smile on Sufyan's face broadened as he walked back to the table to join Hadassah and Firdaus."You look so happy, I don't think I like it." Hadassah commented giving him a one over."Uncle I don't like the lady or her dress." Firdaus complained with a small frown.Hadassah laughed "And Firdaus usually likes everyone, Sabeerah must have been really awful to my baby.""Hey Jannah love." Sufyan cooed at her, "she's not a bad person at all, she's simply angry at someone else and it has nothing to do with you, I promise."Firdaus simply shrugged and focused on her glazed donuts."Forget her, she'll get over it. Tell me how it went, I saw you inputing you number in her phone." Hadassah's tone was that of excitement."Yeah but trust me, t
Sabeerah was sure her face expressed the dislike she was feeling. She hated parties majorly because she hated socializing and that was what these sort of parties were for. She was dressed beautifully in a gold colored sequined gown that flowed effortlessly behind her, a maroon colored turban was tied on her hair and her face was well made up.Her date -Aakhil- had dumped her once they walked into the hall, he was by the bar with two older men and he looked like he was enjoying himself unlike her. She was sitting alone and on her forehead was probably a notice that screamed; talk to me, because that'll explain why people kept coming up to her even after she'd fend the previous ones off.Sabeerah knew she was making a mistake, she was supposed to be mixing up, looking for business associates and tune in to her charming side but she was too tired to actually stand up from her seat and pretend to smile for the rest of the night. She placed he
Sufyan parked his car in the garage and got down from it, he entered the main house. Faridah was seating on a bean bag with a bowl of popcorn, she was on airpod and watching a movie on her laptop.He walked up to her and screamed in her ear, she yelled and jumped up with a start."Brother Sufyan I hate you." She complained angrily."No you don't." He said laughing as he picked fetched a handful of popcorn from the bowl. He munched it I"You wish, don't touch that?" Sufyan warned but she took the box of Swiss rolls and ran off with it before he could even get up."Sufyan! Faridah! What's all these noise for?" He heard his mother asked from the kitchen."Your daughter is a petty thief." He yelled out. He picked up the popcorn bowl and walked into the ki
Her veil slided off her head leaving her hair exposed and her slender fingers went up and dragged it back to her hair. She was beautiful, very much so and it irked Sabeerah to lengths.Her smile was innocent and it displayed a fitting dimple and a perfect set of teeth, it was as if the sun focused on her skin leaving her melanin to glow. Her father said something that made her to laugh harder and Sabeerah knew her laugh would sound good and musical but still, she wished the lady would sound like a goat.Islam Lawal, that was her name, her father's latest girlfriend and apparently his soon to be wife. A close friend of Islam's who was a cousin to Umama had revealed to her that Alhaji AbdulMalik of Shar'ib had asked Islam to be his second wife but everything was to be kept a secret for now, Umama had promised her cousin to keep the secret but she'd had to tell Sabeerah because what in Allah's n
The guilt worsened with each passing day, it gnawed at him and made him unable to function properly. It was now a week since he'd received the call and in that time Halima had regain consciousness, she had been discharged from the hospital and was now back home.Sufyan's parents and sisters hadn't been allowed to see her and neither had he, he had gone there every evening but he had been refused entry. Her number was switched off. He should let her be, he knew he should respect her family's wish and do what was probably the best for her but this guilt won't go away, it was making him uncomfortable and it was eating at him slowly from the inside.It was shocking to him, the fact that Halima had tried commiting suicide because of him. Why did she do that? He wasn't worth it so why? Why? What had she been thinking? He'd blamed himself too many times to count, he shouldn't have ignored her, he should have spoken to her and make her understand
Sabeerah knew one of her character flaws was the fact that she enjoyed pissing people off. If she noticed you didn't like something, she purposely did it just to get you more angry and she was enjoying doing that with Sufyan.His expression was even funnier, he looked like he wanted to kill her but he didn't want it to show on his face because he thought that was a very indecent thought. She wanted to burst into laughter but she remembered he'd called her stereotypical and immature and it made her want to kill him.But had he really expected her to thank him for the cake and ice cream? One, she hadn't asked him for it. Two, she hated vanilla flavored ice cream. Three, she was going to pay him back as soon as she got her card so why was she supposed to tell him thank you? What for? It wasn't as if she was on the verge of passing out from some stomach biting hunger
He re arranged his cap on his head, bending it to point to the right which loosely meant in the Yoruba tradition that he was unmarried. The rest of the groomsmen were talking amicably and laughing.Sufyan found an empty chair in a corner of the room and sat on it, he scrolled through Instagram. Sure enough, there were beautiful picture of the couple plastered on his feed.The groom was a an old friend of his from University, Ayo, and so were most of the groomsmen. It's been years since he'd seen many of them that this felt like a reunion but somehow, Sufyan still felt out of place here.It had little to do with them actually, they were all still free spirited, a little boastful about what they'd achieved over the years; the cars, houses and even wives. Sam had gotten married to Adunni who won most beautiful girl in the University for three years consecutiv
Playing loudly from the speaker was Hamisu Beaker's Jarumar Matar, everyone else was jolly as they sang along to it, the mood expressed immense joy and hers too. It was the second day of her wedding programme, the wedding Walima.The men from her family and his were at the mosque with an Imam to get her an Sufyan married in the eyes of Allah. Sabeerah was very nervous, she was seated in her bedroom dressed up in a blue laced dress, her face had been adorned with make up, her hands shone brightly, yesterday had been the Salle where all the ladies had gathered for Henna to be designed on their hands and feet by professional Henna designers.Sabeerah's Henna was a mix of black and red that suited her skin color perfectly, leaving her looking all the part of a stunning bride. Everyone around her showered her praises and the older woman paused to throw in an unsolicited advice or two, it didn't e
"That was nice." Sabeerah said.He raised a brow. "Just nice?"She nodded. "Just nice." She affirmed."You can't even admit to truly enjoying yourself, it must suck to be you." Sufyan said with a sympathetic expression.She was shocked, "you are so... I don't even know. What?""What is it again?" He looked at her confusedly."You're not alright." She said."But it's the truth, I'm sure you've not had so much fun in years like you did today, you were so carefree and you walked in water not minding that your trouser something would get wet." He pointed out.She glared at him. "It's not trouser something, it's CROCHET!""When I said you shouldn'
"Oh be fast and come out already." Sabeerah heard Umama scream from her room. She was in her closet trying out one of the numerous clothes the tailor had just brought in.Her wedding was in one month time and somehow it seemed they were behind preparations, everything was moving as fast as possible so they could meet up for the wedding.Sabeerah stared at the mirror before her as she ran her hand through the one of traditional wears she was going to be wearing on the day of her Kamu. The Ankara was sewn into a blouse and a fitted skirt that flowed down and covered her feet, it was beautiful.She finally went out of the room into her main bedroom where her mother, the tailor, her friends and two of her aunts were seated."It's beautiful." They cooed admiringly as they all surrounded her, from the side of her eyes, she saw the tailor hur
"Firstly, this can only be black magic." Matt said as he walked into her office on Monday morning.She eyed him. "A very good morning to you too young man.""How are you getting married and you didn't tell me?" He asked her, Sabeerah saw Sarah's eyes widen from the corner of the room."I told you now." She said shrugging."By texting me, Matt I'm somehow going to get married to someone called Sufyan Khalid, find out all you can about his relationship with another someone called Ahlam. Really Sabeerah?" He asked.She nodded. "Yes, what's wrong?'He gave her a look of annoyance before settling himself on the couch. "You're something else.""So I've been told.""God! When did this happen? We're together almost all the time and I had no idea, I don't even know what to think." Matt said."Don't be dramatic Matt, you don'
Sabeerah was dreading this meeting, she sat down in her car and just stared at Umama's house. She'd called a meeting between Sabeerah and Hannah to resolve their issues, Sabeerah didn't have the heart to say no to Umama's request so here she was, in front of her house.She'd been sitting in the car for almost ten minutes now, a text came into her phone from Umama;Come inside now or I'll come drag you in!!She sighed unlocked her car and got down from it grudgingly. It was a Sunday and she was plainly dressed in a crochet flapped trousers and a big grey T-shirt her go to comfort wears."Why are you dressed in your sleep clothes?" Umama asked eyeing her outfit."This is a very fashionable attire Umama, you'd know that if you were fashionable yourself." Sabeerah said giving her a hug.
Her father led them both back into the main house, Aakhil walked noticeably slower making him and Sufyan stay a little back."So you want to marry my sister?" Aakhil asked. Sufyan glanced at him questioningly."Yes I want to." Was his reply."And surprisingly enough, she wants to marry you too... Interesting."Sufyan didn't say anything as they kept up their pace."Do you know the last time Sabeerah had ever actually wanted to marry someone? Six years ago and after that didn't work out, she'd never looked at any man with interest. What's the secret this time Sufyan Khalid?"Aakhil paused his stride to ask the question.Sufyan stopped too and stared at him squarely. "I don't want to know any history if it's not coming from Sabeerah herself Aakhil, thank you very much."He continued walking leaving Aakhil behind. He entered the sitting room, thi
Sabeerah was back from Bauchi and Sufyan was eager to see her again, they'd spoken every single day on the phone and it was harder with every passing minute to keep her away from his mind. She was the most fascinating woman he'd ever met, it made him want to get to know her even more."Should I come see you?" He asked on one of their phone calls that was late at night because they'd both been too busy during the day."Do you want to?" She asked."Of course, I need me the things you bought."She scoffed. "Of course you do, just saw you want to see me because you miss me, don't be averted.""Maybe I just want to see you, it doesn't necessarily mean I miss you." Her argued."Tell yourself that..."He interrupted. "Sev
"I hear you are finally getting married." Baba Doza said giving her a knowing smile.Sabeerah groaned as she snuggled under his arms, covering her face."I'm not getting married Baba."It was the night before Fatima's wedding reception and dinner, the Walima was done earlier. The rest of the young girls in the family had decided Fatima's last night before she's whisked off to her new family would be celebrated.Although the bachelorette party was thrown few days back, the girls just wanted an opportunity to party amongst themselves again. They'd rented a suite in a hotel room and had all gone there, Sabeerah as usual hadn't followed.She got the maid to bring tea and cupcakes to the mini parlor where she could hang out with her grandfather."So your mom is lying?" He aske
Sufyan's Istighar hadn't ended in a dream, it wasn't the first time he was doing Istighar on this matter but those times were between Halima and Sabeerah, his dreams always showed him and a lady but which one was it was what had always left him confused.This time again that he was left with just one option, he did not get to dream and he had no idea what to do next.He hadn't spoken to her since the day at his office, he still frequently stalked her on social media, he knew she'd been to a fashion show two of her friends three days back and that there was a ground breaking ceremony that held in Idu yesterday. Why he didn't just call her and tried to get her know better, Sufyan had no idea.Before he got her number, he was obsessively thinking of what he'd say to her on the phone if he did call but now, he was hesitant. She was a fun person no doubt, witty and sassy but it was as