TRIALS (Completed)

Forty

“Here comes the sister of the century.” Yusuf said, smiling widely, arms spread wide as though to hug her. But she knew better, for his eyes were filled with anger.

She sat on the wooden chair opposite him. “Brother mi, Ekaasan.”

He scoffed and folded his lanky arms lined with dirt. But he was still in his shirt.

So she knew he wasn’t suffering. she glanced at the room they were in: from their seats to the grey walls to the grey-ish cement floor. “Why is this place so dull? It's not even an interrogation room.”

“What do you want?”

She frowned, “What do you mean, I came to see you. To-”

“rub your victory in my face, abi?” 

She looked around, even though they were the only ones in the room. “How can you say that?
I’m the reason why you’re not yet in prison.”

One of his brows rose in incredulity. “You mean, until Ismail finds out what you really wanted to do with Barakah that day. 

She looked away. “I was trying to help her.”

“No you weren’t. You had a plan. You knew exactly what you were doing.” 

She swallowed. Did he know about the text? “The main thing now is to get you out of here. I’ve spoken to Kauthar already. She-”

“Stop that!” He banged the table, earning glances from the two uniformed men standing outside the transparent glass window. “Stop pretending. For once Atinuke, show yourself.” 

She looked down at her hands. What good would it do? She raised her head, “All I know is that, you’re not going to prison. Unless that rude doctor will go too.”

He scoffed, “Good luck with that. They’re family.”

“And you’re my family. My only family. Ismail can’t be that heartless.”

Yusuf sighed, the swell beneath his eyes becoming more prominent. “I don’t care about him. I just wanted justice for Salsabil.” He turned to her. “And for Sofiyyah too, cos she was the one who suffered the most. You too.”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t your fault. I needed to do this. I needed closure.”

“But I let greed into it.” He continued. “If I hadn’t entertained that man, we wouldn’t be here. You would’ve gone back to Kaduna.”

“I made my choice,” She glanced at the ceiling. “I wanted this.”

“You wanted to take Barakah with you, collect the money and run away.” He said, face straight. 

She bowed her head, “You saw the text.” 

“No, he told me. For some strange reason, he also had a change of heart.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “So you weren’t going to take her to him again?”

He shook his head, “I was going to send her back. I realized what a waste of time it had all been, a terrible way to mourn my wife.” 

“Oh God, what have I done?” She covered her face. 

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“No,” she shook her head and bit her lower lip. “I also wanted to punish Doctor Hidaya. She was seriously getting on my nerves.” 

Yusuf shrugged. “She was just bitter. We all were.” 

She nodded. “So, they’ll just do ojoro for us and let her go.”

“I doubt that. Kauthar will deal with her.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “How are you so sure?”

“I know.” 

•••

Vote. Comment. Share.

❣❣❣