Behind My Walls✔️

Chapter 34

I stood motionless at the sight in front of me, paled skin, eyes blood shot with dirt embracing her. "Raliya!". I whispered yelled with my choked voice. "Raliya what happened to you?". I finally asked, finding my voice but her response was just a shiver.

I hurriedly went over her fatigued looking self and held her into the house. I couldn't mutter more questions to her, which I just asked her to take a shower. After she did and dressed up, I gave her some cookies and tea while she ate gracefully, likely because she looked like she didn't get to eat for the day.

"Raliya what happened?". I asked when she was done eating.

She raised her glossy eyes to meet mine. "Aunty... kawu!". She whispered trying to stop herself from crying.

"What happened to kawu?". I asked but to no response. "Raliya if you don't tell me, I won't know what happened".

Her shoulders slumped. "He wants to get me married to someone at the village".

"What?!". I exclaimed. Why will he get her married at the village, after he knows of her forthcoming studies? Is that why he asked her to traveled back? Will her mother even allow him to marry her off? With so many questions in my mind. "Why would he do that?". I asked.

"Because he wants money from them and he just chose me as his ticket to that". She said disgust in her voice. "It was years ago, when Ammi was still alive that he decided on that, perhaps he was concealing it with getting me to tailoring school, so that Ammi wouldn't persuade him for me to come back here, which I did, but that was just my luckiness because the person who was going to marry me then, refused kawu's proposal. But now he got another person and wants to force me to him just for money". She stated.

My memory flashed back to years ago, when he doesn't want her to come back to Abuja, saying he will get her to a tailoring school for which was just a cooked up lies.

"But what about your mom, why would she allow to that? And if you had known of his plans you wouldn't have traveled to the village this time".

She sighed. "My mom has no say on that because it is actually only the male of our family that can agreed on the ladies marriages". She paused.

I always wondered why that was taken to the extreme level, even if that was culturally accepted by many people, women are not supposed to be force into marriages because the result of mostly that kind of marriage doesn't always ended favorable to both the partners and in many cases, the women were the suffering dolls.

"And I just traveled to birnin yaro this time, thinking maybe he had changed his mind on forcing me to marry whoever.., plus I wanted to visit my mom". She added.

"But how did you get to travel back here and by this time of the night?". My question tend to quivered her.

"My mom helped me run away from the village when kawu was off sight, which I trekked through the bushes for about 2 hours or more before getting a vehicle to here".

"You trekked for 2 hours?!". And she nodded. Why will Kawu faruq be so crucial for Raliya to undergo that. All I think of him was a helpful model in Raliya's life but I never thought he will stoop to this level, just because of money. "I have no idea what to say". Just then we heard a knock and we both swiftly turned to the door.

***

The next morning, Salim and I sat patiently listening to Layla's rants about Raliya's incident, hence when they were told about it, they decided to come meet Raliya and probably console her.

"What about if we call the police on him, for Raliya's afflictions?". Layla suggested.

"I don't think that's necessary". Salim said.