When Stars Collide

C'est fini

"No events? Are you running a funeral program?" Hibba pursed her lips, trying to keep her anger at bay. She inhaled secretly and exhaled, feeling her anger abate slowly before smiling towards her aunt who asked the question.

"I don't want any large crowd events. Besides, Salman and I are just starting out together, we need all the funds that we have to live comfortably." Her aunt laughed mockingly, clapping her hands as though she'd never seen a more stupid person or heard a more stupid response. Her next words proved her thoughts.

"Oh, you think we don't know who the Baazinye family is? Tueh! If you don't want us to eat from your money tell us, Alhamdulilah we're not beggars, Allah gave us our own money. Your husband to be's  family is rich and can handle the expenses, why-" She stopped halfway because Hibba's aunt who had taken her in after the death of her parents shushed the other aunt, it helped that she was older.

"Hibatullah. Did the groom put you up to this? We have never married a girl out of this house without funfare, you're too expensive to be married out so solemnly and quietly. Do you really want this?" Hibba stopped twisting the ring that Salman had sent over with his mom- who had forced Hibba to begin calling her Mami as well- an oval cut small diamond sitting on a two smaller mossamite.

"Salman didn't put me up to it, I-" Salman's mother had offered to hand them a few millions to have a seven hundred person wedding for three days, Hibba had respectfully turned her down and Salman asked his mother to give them the money to buy a house in a asokoro. They agreed on the money being for the house.

"Toh, don't come back here crying that he doesn't treat you well because you turned yourself into chaff when you could be diamond." Hibba didn't respond to her other aunt's taunts, only asking her to speak to her uncles for a good date to introduce the families.

She stepped out of the house an hour later, after turning down lunch of rice and beans, she walked to the street end and flagged down a tricycle, fought her tears as she got into the small vehicle, the afternoon breeze dried her eyes and she felt some respite from feeling like she should flog her aunts.

"Abuja?" She picked a comfortable looking car and sat in front. Paid with cash and filled the passenger manifest, the driver walked away from her and Hibba took out her phone almost immediately to talk to Chichi.

Chichi picked up on the second ring, but Ummi's voice was what Hibba heard over the line for a few seconds until Chichi took the phone back.

"This your pikin too sharp, e don pick my call like three times today. She wants me to be single again, because who would believe I am not married when a toddler is picking my calls comfortably." Hibba laughed inspite of herself, wiping stray tears from her eyes.

"So, how was it?" Hibba sighed and she heard Chichi tell Ummi to sit and wait for a cup of juice. She heard rustling that indicated that Chichi was sitting again before recounting everything her aunts said to her, she didn't leave a thing out.

"You know why our elders say that, if you want to be a good person, evil people will not let you. I already promised not to beat anybody this year again but see how these people are testing me?"

Hibba could not help it and laughed at the image of Chichi sitting on her aunts and giving them a good beating. She laughed even harder, looking around to see if anyone was concluding that she'd gone mad.

"Chichi, don't kill me please. They eventually agreed. Salman will go see my uncle in a month, so we'll know the wedding date then. I don't even know how they knew I was dating him." Chichi tutted and finally stopped being so angry. Eventually, they talked about other things as the car filled up and they began the long journey back to Abuja.