AMAL: hope

INTRODUCTION

* There is always a dark side.*

AMAL.

    

     " Barrister, the case of rape has been cleared he was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment with hard labour." A clerk delivered. I breathed a sigh of relief and rested back on my chair. Alhamdallah.

We all deserve justice and Insha Allah we would get it. My phone beeped, I raised it from my neatly arranged table. The table where those who were wronged gets justice. It is my husband Hafiz, reminding me to pick the kids up from school as he have an appointment today.

13:25 pm.

I drove in my black mercedes, into Al Qalam nursery and primary school. I parked under the shade of a tree and came down.

  I saw Nuzaim, Khalifa, and Fauziyya standing under the tree. Nuzaim aiding Fauziyya to open her water bottle.

  " Umma." Khalifa being the first person to sight me shouted attracting his siblings attention. They came running to me as they hug me together.

  " I warned you three to stop running right do you want to hurt your knees." I scolded them gently. Fauziyya being the most stubborn scrunched her nose. I led them back to their class to see what they taught them and snap them so I would review it with them at home. I spoke with their teacher Mrs Idayat before going out of the school. On our way to our estate I say some young hawkers on the roadside.

  " Mummy I want to eat awara ( tofu)." Khalifa said pointing at the girl with a transparent rubber filled with awara on her head.

" Me too." Fauziyya chirped in as she leaned closer to my seat.
I found a spot to park my car.

" Nuzaim are you eating." I asked him. He is the most quiet among the triplet.

" No umma." He replied and went back to his silent mode activated.

  " Zo, (come)." I beckon the girl half of her blouse off her shoulder, it wasn't a style, it was a sign how lean she was. She brought down her rubber.

  " Na nawa. (How much own)" she asked.

" Dari uku. ( Three hundred)." I replied. She removed the black nylon and started picking the awara with a fork. I started remembering the dark days, the dark night, the whisper of the echos, the trashing, the rape, tears blurred my vision.

  " Gashe, ( take)." Stretching out her hand as she pulled me out from my tunnel of darkness.

I took out one thousand naira note and hand it over to her.

" Ba changi. (No change)." She said as she glanced around as if the change will appear out of the thin air.

  I waved her off and kicked the car. As I drove of I could still see the momental shocked fully displayed on her face. I know that feeling. I was always part of the hustle.

  " Mummy my awara." Fauziyya whined at the back seat.

  " Won't you wait when you reach home and wash your hands, dirty girl." I said she inclined back on her seat.