A Promise to Aabidah (#1 Natives series) #ProjectNigeria

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

           SATURDAY SEEMED TO STRETCH ON forever and regardless of the fact that he was eager for Sunday to come, AbdulAzeez couldn't help being anxious. He couldn't help but ponder over what Sunday held for him.

Was he getting the final boot or was he getting a second chance? It was hard to say, so he had prayed for Sunday. He had prayed that whatever Aabidah decided to do would be the best decision for the both of them; he had prayed for strength to handle and accept the situation in the most coolest and mature way possible; and finally, he had prayed for it to rain so he wouldn't have to go to work.

He had prayed for all these Saturday night when he had observed his last prayer for the day.

AbdulAzeez had gone to bed with the calmest mind but when he awoke the next morning he was in the worst state possible. The sky was blue and clear, and the sun shone so bright, after having to stare at gray clouds for days,  it almost hurt his eyes at first glance.

Sunday seemed to stretch even farther than Saturday. AbdulAzeez had to resume the project he had put on hold because of the constant rain, there was no call or text from Aabidah. If she had forgotten again about their prior arrangement, he didn't know. And for a place that had been receiving tons of downpour, it was awfully hot out.

The day dwindled by and with no word from Aabidah, AbdulAzeez buried himself into smearing white pain allover the outside walls of the bank where said lady worked.

After a full day of work, it was just after maghrib prayers when he suddenly got the long awaited text message.

I'm at Mama's. Let's meet.

Two sentences. Five words — those were enough to get AbdulAzeez jumping out from his bed.

He walked out of his room still pulling on an extra large hoodie he had randomly grabbed from his box of clothing. He dug his phone into his pocket, slipped his feet into his slippers and ran out of the house into the light drizzle that had just started. His mother's voice called out to him to be careful.

It was past 7pm and Mama would be preparing to close business for the night, AbdulAzeez thought but when he rounded the corner that opened up to the road he saw that the older woman was still there and the fire under her pot was still blaring hungrily. There were a few customers around.

AbdulAzeez felt his heart skid in his chest when his eyes fell upon her. He stood there under the drizzle and just watched her with his heart aching in his chest. How had he stayed alive for so long when his heart went into overdrive every time he saw her?

As if feeling the weight of someone's eyes on her, Aabidah looked up and directly locked eyes on him. Her eyes lit up and her lips stretched into a grin.

Everything seemed to disappear and it was just the two of them. Even the rain seemed to have stopped. AbdulAzeez felt his throat go dry and his heartbeat increase as he slowly made his way over to her.

Aabidah waved at him from her seat on the bench she was sitting on as he approached her, a flat plastic plate filled with awara sat in front of her.

AbdulAzeez had to wait for a vehicle to pass before he jogged the rest of the way over to her.

"AbdulAzeez," Aabidah sang, "you came! Ya kwanabiyu?"

Blowing out a breath, AbdulAzeez glanced around at the nearly empty street before taking a seat opposite her. "You called, so I had to come. It's been a long day and I've been busy, so what did you want to talk about?"

"Lack of communication," Aabidah replied as she pushed the plate towards him. "You used to love this, I hope your taste buds haven't changed."

AbdulAzeez didn't so much as move a finger. Instead he kept his eyes locked on the left side of her shoulder, watching as the flames danced with the night breeze.