Amna drops the phone with a thousand thoughts swirling through her head. She removed her head tie and put it on the table. It can't be mummy, she said to herself.
She squinted, staring at her phone. Her heart beat was accelerating in the rising and sudden realization that her husband may be cheating—not that she cared—but why not divorce her?
She tried the number again and it was switched off but she didn't bother. The theory she was going to put to the test was in her mothers house. It's a Saturday. If her mother is not at home she'll know who the woman on the phone is.
The woman definitely sounded older than her and like her mother. It didn't also mean she was the one if she wasn't at home. She could be at a supermarket or her friends house. But she didn't believe that. They had to be together. That, she was sure of.
She ties her head tie to another style and slings her veil on one shoulder then heads out to her car—no phone—no bag—she was here to set up someone even if it can blast in her face and she'll be embarrassed but she had to know.
She drives all the way to her mothers house and doesn't wait to press the horn when she jumps out of the car and raced to the gate, knocking.
"Romeo zo ka bude kofa," Romeo come and open the door. She stood akimbo waiting for the young man to open it.
Romeo has worked for her family since she was a child. He had a crush on their old maid Rashida so her and her cousins began to call him Romeo. No one would remember his name was Dahiru in the past twenty years.
After the divorce her mother took him to her new house and let him work for her. She'd always been his favorite employer so his loyalty stood with her.
He opens immediately with a smile as he moved back for her to enter "Aunty Ami kwana biyu." Long time Aunty Ami.
"Mama fa?" How about mum? She asked without entering.
"Ta yi tafiya." She has travelled.
"Ka san inda ta je?" Do you know where she went to?
"No aunty Ami." He shook his head.
"Ok," she turned back and went back to her car. Before he locked the gate she screamed "Don't tell her I came."
"Toh," ok. he waves goodbye.
She goes back home with a surprising happiness. If she was really with him then that was good enough a reason for her to force him to divorce her.
Her absence also wasn't enough. He also said she travelled so this was time for a trip of her own. Now that her father knew her husbands whereabouts she begged him to take care of baby Suleiman so she can visit Faisal.
After he left he also left her an address. He told her to never visit unless there was an important reason. She might've actually cared enough to listen to him and not fight him for the decision to live away from her. Today she doesn't know why but she suddenly realized it was stupid.
"Maman Nadine?" Alhaji Abdullah opens his eyes when he hears movement in his room. "Ke ce?" Is it you?
"Ni ne." Its me. She answered, dragging a box to stop in front of her wardrobe. "No meetings today?"
"Babu fa," No there isn't. He sat up and pushed the top of the blanket down to his lap then used the remote beside him to turn off the AC. "I've just been going up and down to find Zayda."
She dropped her shoes on the tires and went to her side and entered the blanket, too tired to change her clothes or do anything.
"Have you been able to track her?"
YOU ARE READING
I See Fire
ChickLitFather, mother and children all have secrets. A child finds out and decides to use it to help them. She decides to run away but without forgetting to write each of them a letter so who's going to find what first? It's a fight to the death. Everyone...
