Eternal Bliss With You (#1 ETERNAL SERIES)

3- People✔

MARAM

One minute Maram was impatiently tapping her legs against the floor while her sister drove, the next minute she was fleeting from the car when it came to a halt.

"Call me when you arrive, okay?" Hafsatu yelled after her little sister who was running like a thief whose pant is on fire.

Maram didn't hear that though.

How could she when her bus was about to take off? Heaven knows what she'd do if she missed the only bus going to Taraba for the day. She couldn't afford to go later in the week.

"We're almost there," she pants. "Just a little more."

Her suitcases were exhausting the energy she had gained from the cup of milkshake Hafsatu had forced down her throat earlier in the morning.

She looked for the sign of the buses going to Taraba while moving steadily. Sighting the signboard a few metres away, she accelerated her speed of movement.

"Madam, are you going to Kebbi?" A middle-aged man asked her as he offered to take her bags.

She shook her head. " No."

Waving her free hand in the air, the bus driver who was about to close the trunk of the bus, halted in his actions.

"Thank you," she breathed.

The driver took the suitcase from her, placing it alongside the rest of the luggage in the trunk of the bus while she entered the bus.

The bus was almost full. Only three seats were empty, and she took the one further from the window, placing her handbag on her lap. A deep voice made her look up to see two men also entering the bus. They took their seats, one of them beside her, and the other sat in the empty seat in the last row.

The bus soon started moving, and she muttered the travelling prayer she had learnt from the lecture she had once attended with Hafsatu.

اللهُ أكبَر ، اللهُ أكبَر ، اللهُ أكبَر، سُـبْحانَ الَّذي سَخَّـرَ لَنا هذا وَما كُنّا لَهُ مُقْـرِنين، وَإِنّا إِلى رَبِّنـا لَمُنْقَـلِبون، اللّهُـمَّ إِنّا نَسْـأَلُكَ في سَفَـرِنا هذا البِـرَّ وَالتَّـقْوى، وَمِنَ الْعَمَـلِ ما تَـرْضى، اللّهُـمَّ هَوِّنْ عَلَـينا سَفَرَنا هذا وَاطْوِ عَنّا بُعْـدَه، اللّهُـمَّ أَنْـتَ الصّـاحِبُ في السَّـفَر، وَالْخَلـيفَةُ في الأهـلِ، اللّهُـمَّ إِنّـي أَعـوذُبِكَ مِنْ وَعْـثاءِ السَّـفَر، وَكَآبَةِ الْمَنْـظَر، وَسوءِ الْمُنْـقَلَبِ في المـالِ وَالأَهْـل

Transliteration.

{Allaahu 'Akbar, Allaahu 'Akbar, Allaahu 'Akbar, Subhaanal-lathee sakhkhara lanaa haathaa wa maa kunnaa lahu muqrineen. Wa 'innaa 'ilaa Rabbinaa lamunqaliboon.
Allaahumma 'innaa nas'aluka fee safarinaa haathal-birrawattaqwaa, waminal-'amalimaa tardhaa, Allaahumma hawwin 'alaynaa safaranaa haathaa watwi 'annaa bu'dahu, Allaahumma 'Antas-saahibu fis-safari, walkhaleefatu fil-'ahli, Allaahumma 'innee 'a'oothu bika min wa'thaa'is-safari, wa ka'aabanl-mandhari, wa soo'il-munqalabi fil-maaliwal'ahli}.

Translation.

{Allah is the Most Great.
Allah is the Most Great.
Allah is the Most Great.
Glory is to Him Who has provided this for us though we could never have had it by our efforts.
Surely, unto our Lord we are returning.
O Allah, we ask You on this our journey for goodness and piety, and for works that are pleasing to You.
O Allah, lighten this journey for us and make its distance easy for us.
O Allah, You are our Companion on the road and the One in Whose care we leave our family.
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from this journey's hardships, and from the wicked sights in store and from finding our family and property in misfortune upon returning}.