I See Fire

23 | Jordan was a mistake

"You're awake." Daniya sits on her table holding Hajiya Waleeda's hand "How do you feel?"

"Where am I?" Her eyes scan the components of the tastefully decorated but unfamiliar room.

They were enveloped by a rainbow room—looked like a truck of paint crashed into the room—Hajiya Waleeda admired it. Her eyes licked the glinting body of her probably recently polished wood that held the mirror and the wardrobe on her left of the bed.

A bright bulb that looked like a lamp hung from the ceiling to her head as if she'd just gotten some crazy idea like in the cartoons. It made her feel warm but still head remained a bit woozy from being in the market.

"My house."

"When did we get here?"

"A long time ago, just rest." Daniya sits beside her leg and rests a hand on her arm as she looks more and more confused as the seconds passed so she says "You passed out."

"How?" Her head hurt the more she asked questions but she didn't want to stay without knowing what caused her to be in this situation.

"You were just running and screaming before people held onto you and I caught you before you completely fell to the ground."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." She raises some tablets and a cup of water close to her face "The doctor said to give you this when you wake up."

"Why?" She frowned, yawning and covering her mouth with the top of her covered fist.

"Apparently your blood pressure was high."

"I came here to rest but here I was doing the opposite." She hisses under her breath.

"A problem half shared is half solved." Daniya  probed "I think it's best if you tell me."

How did she know what was best for a woman you only knew online for five moths? Hajiya Waleeda didn't feel like talking so she took the pills and swallowed, next going back to sleep without ever holding Daniya's extended hand of help.

Daniya sighed, shaking her head as she stood to go to the lamp and switch it off. She went out of the room to the kitchen to make some tea and read a book as she waited for Hajiya Waleeda to gain her strength.

Whatever her friend was worried about definitely bothered her but how to get her to open up was what disturbed her most. Unfortunately she was more into the story than helping but she'd always been one to help people out but she wasn't good when it came to keeping secrets so sharing secrets with her came with its cons.

It took hours for Hajiya Waleeda wake up. Daniya had finished making dinner and she'd just brought it on a tray for both of them to eat together.

She dropped the tray on the vanity and ran to help Hajiya Waleeda to sit up. She brought the try and kept it on the floor, lifting a plate for her friend first. Hajiya Waleeda swallowed out of hunger and the aroma of the food—Daniya had managed to make rice and stew to make her feel at home.

She reached for her own plate and crosses her legs, propping the plate up with her elbow that laid on her right lap that was also propelled up by her left leg.

"Do you like the food?" She carries a forkful of rice to her mouth, smiling at herself for the scrumptious meal she'd made "I thought maybe you'd feel better eating an African dish."

Hajiya Waleeda opens her mouth to answer but starts coughing instantly so Daniya has to drop her plate and give her a cup of water. She helps her tilt it towards her mouth and the coldness eases the heat of the pepper in the stew on her burning throat.

"Thank you."Hajiya Waleeda taps her chest and clears her throat and a drop of mucus slides down one nostril. She quickly uses the edge of her sleeve to wipe it before Daniya sees "Its amazing. I'm grateful."

That was a lie. The rice was too salty and the stew... well, it wasn't so bad—nice actually but filled with a thousand blended Peter peppers and fried chicken thighs to go with it.

"Haaaaa." She laughs nervously "I'm just happy you like it even if it's too hot." She wipes sweat off her oily forehead.

"Oh, it's hot." Hajiya Waleeda exhales to fan  her tongue and drinks water, dropping the spoon to flap her hands in front of her tongue. "But tasty."

They finish eating in a few chatty minutes of arguing about why having children was too late for Daniya even if she was a few years younger than Hajiya Waleeda.

"Children are a blessing."

"I'm not ready," Daniya carries the tray with their plates to the door, opening it "I already discussed that with my husband."

"Ok." She clamps her lips shut, to avoid intruding so Daniya doesn't try to disarm with questions about her own problems.

She lays back down once Daniya is out and jumps up when she realizes she hasn't seen or heard from her family in the lost time.

She didn't know what day or time it was and she suddenly felt stupid for not asking the generic 'how many days have I been like this?' Or 'what happened?' dramatically. At least Daniya told her without asking.

She turned and saw her phone and bag on the large vanity that rested opposite the bed. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and she looked drunk, her eyes sunken just as her mind inches closer to madness.

Did she really see Zayda or was she just chasing some image formed from her imagination? She wouldn't know which or why she was the only one who went through what she want but she needed to talk to someone and that someone was her husband.

She went off the bed and took her phone, presses the power button and stared at her wallpaper—her, Zayda, Nadine and Farouk at a florists shop in Marseille 4 years ago—she wanted to cry but her eyes were so tired they hurt and she did was search on the screen for the time.

03:00am—a few hours into the next day—not too far from the last but the memory lasted and she knew it'd be for long. She unlocked her phone and immediately went to dial Alhaji Abdullah's number even if meant she'd disturb his sleep.

He answers immediately and she's as pleased when he opens his mouth to ask of her wellbeing but explaining from the top only hurt but she had to.

"Abdullah," she put her arms under her breast and let her hand rest on the side of ribs "I saw Zayda."

"A-a-are you sure?"

She moves from the window to the door of the room, prancing, closing her eyes and opening them intermittently not to cry "I'm not."

"I'm not sure traveling without me was best in the moment. She might need professional help." He says under his breathe but she hears—it breaks her heart more but she pretends not to have heard—then he speaks up saying "If you think it's her I can come with a team to find her."

She didn't want to stir up more drama than she already has. If he came with several others to find someone she wasn't sure she saw and they didn't find her, they'd look stupid and her husband even more. She shakes her head and just says "No."

She reaches the door and hears steps, slowly she reaches for the door and Daniya falls to floor in front of her, embarrassed but she doesn't say anything. Daniya stands up on her own, looking at her apologetically but Hajiya Waleeda doesn't acknowledge her. Ashamed, she walks out and closes the door behind her.

Now she really went to her husbands room to sit with him as she explained what she'd just done. There wasn't really an exact way to apologize for getting caught eavesdropping.

"Ok, ok," he grunts, sounds as if he's trying to sit down "What do you want now?"

"I want to go back to Nigeria."
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-Aisha SafiyanuXO💚