Choices

Chapter 17 (Nurrain)

That was the day my entire life changed. So many tears fell, so many hearts broke,mine included. Despite everybody's protest Baffa refused to budge. Ammi and Maya spoke the same language for the first time, at first begging baffa to take back his decision, when he refused they turned to me but my hands are tied, baffa made sure of that when he invoked my late father's existence, which he has never done in the years i came to live with them, even when i visit his grave every year on the anniversary of his death,baffa pretends not to notice.
Maya's dad started cursing up a storm, vowing he will never let my marriage with Maya continue, but baffa scoffed and said "not while I am alive Garba, kayi kadan ka raba auren nan wallahi!" He turned to all of us and ordered us to get ready to leave at once. Her dad responded by grabbing hold of Maya and dragging her to his side " sai dai ka dauki danka ku tafi but my daughter will never follow you"
She clung to him all issue forgotten and cried "pls don't let them take me dad! Tell him to divorce me pls! I don't want this marriage! I don't want anything to do with Nurrain plsss don't let.......
"Ai gashi nan, look at the girl you are forcing on our family! She clearly doesn't want us any more than we want her! Pls baffa put an end to this pls.....Ammi implored but baffa only shushed her,took hold of her hand and moved towards the door while saying "I will not discuss this any further let's go home we can finish talking there Fulani"
I didn't realize I was still kneeling until Yah Umar tapped my back. "Didn't you hear baffa, take your wife and let's go home" with how short he was being with me I could tell he is still angry with me. Maya was still clinging to her dad and screaming she won't go anywhere so I didn't bother getting her I just turned around and followed my family, yah Umar has already drove out of the compound at full speed when I got to my car, I had the key in the ignition,about to drive when Muhammadu stopped me and said "Nurrain I know you didn't plan   to marry Maya but fate intervened, always remember Allah's plan is the best plan" he walked off after imparting his wisdom.
I hissed in annoyance and drove off, who does he think he is! He is the one that landed us in this mess in the first place! So where does he get off advising me.
There was no one in the compound when I got home which I was glad for,  I started tiptoeing to my room but when I heard Ammi and baffa's conversation through the sitting room window I paused to listen.
Baffa was explaining why he took such a big decision to her but she wasn't convinced. "Fulani listen to me, you and I have pampered Nurrain for too long, he has become impulsive and strong-headed as a result, what he did today is as much our fault as it is his, he needs to learn that actions have consequences and he can't just do as he wish without thoughts....
"So I have failed as a mother is that what you are trying to say, shame on you,ban taba tunanin zaka iya kallo ma ka gaya mun haka ba! Shame on you" she snaps
"Haba Rukayya, you are totally misunderstanding me" baffa defends himself
"To in ba haka ba menene! You made a decision without consulting me for the first time since we got married! You clearly don't consider my wishes about Nurrains marriage valid baffa since I didn't give birth to him you are clearly showing me my limits"
"I have never overruled you on any decision you have made regarding any of our children before not just Nurrain, so why can't you trust my decision this one time Rukayya, pls Fulani listen to me and understand that I am not trying to show na fiki iko da Nurrain bane I took this decision for his betterment and nothing else"
"I have heard you but listen to me now, I will never accept this marriage, we can teach Nurrain better manners another way but I won't accept this, kaji na gaya maka!"  She barged out of the room and ran into me before I could run away, catching me red-handed eves dropping.
She walked right past me without sparing me a single glance. I know ammi's anger quiet well, she doesn't listen to anyone, the more you explain the more angry she becomes it's better to leave her be until she calms down, so I left her alone and went to my room, no one came looking for me and I was able to enjoy a quiet moment to think about my situation.
After a bath and prayers I felt better, I spent a long time praying for Allah's intervention and guidance in this difficult time.
I kept thinking in circles about what I should do next to no avail, I checked my phone several times to see if Nurah called or left a message but found nothing, why do i bother I am clearly alone in this but I promise myself the minute I get my hands on Nurah I will not spare him. The house stayed quiet all afternoon, the tension in the air was palpable, with Ammi on the warpath everyone is walking on eggshells, but at least no one came to bother me.
I lied down on the bed face up watching the fan go round and round just like my thoughts. I wondered a lot of things, how will I make up with my parents? What if baffa decides to withhold the funds for my business because he is angry? How will I get hold of Nurah and end the idiot? How do I go from being single to married in the blink of an eye? What is Maya's condition right now?
My never ending thoughts kept circling until khursum came to call me for dinner. I told her I'm not hungry but she kept standing in the middle of the room looking nervous.
"Spit it out, what is it" I snapped at her, she sat next to me on the bed looking dejected as she confessed "yah Nurrain baffa and Ammi are so angry at each other because of your marriage with Maya, I've never seen them this mad at each other, I'm scared"
"Don't worry, everything will be fine soon, Ammi is a bit angry right now, you know how she gets but she'll be fine and back to ordering all of us around in a few days you'll see" I assured her
"I don't think so yayah, Ammi has been ranting about how despite raising us both lovingly for so many years both you and baffa are showing her blood is thicker than water, she said people kept warning her some else's child can never truly be her own but she didn't listen and now she regrets it"
"Bana son karya khursum, Ammi will never say that"
"Wallahi yah Nurrain I'm not lying she was ranting so much in the living room I could hear her from the kitchen when I was making dinner, Ammi has never treated us differently what if this marriage destroys our bond"
"Don't say that, it will never happen. Nothing can erase ammi's love for us, she's just angry, she'll calm down. Don't worry I'll fix everything, trust your big brother okay"
"Okay, I trust you but please do it fast I can't take this tension for much longer, baffa is forcing all of us to eat dinner as usual but Ammi is about to explode, and even yayah Umar is being quiet. You and Maya have to come to dinner it's baffa's order, he knew you'd refuse so he told me not to take no for an answer, so where is she,we have to go before baffa comes looking for you himself "
"Maya isn't here khursum, she is at her parents"
"But baffa said you two came back together " Khursum said.
"I thought so too cookie but it turns out your brother hasn't finished disappointing me today" baffa said from the doorway causing me to jack up from my reclining position on the bed.
"Baffa she refused to come with me and....
"And what! I expressly told you this marriage is not a sham and you must take it seriously and you turn around and left your injured wife alone in that house with that father of hers that didn't hesitate to hit her in front of us, what do you think he will do to her when we are not around, have you no common sense! Oya take you car keys yanzu ba sai anjima ba and go and bring you wife home!"
"But baffa she doesn't want to come with me, you were right there when she said so" I tried to reason with him.
"I won't repeat myself Nurrain, bring her with you or don't bother coming back home" he laid down the law and left instantly.
"What are you going to do if she refuse to come?" Khursum asks
"She will come cookie, I didn't get a choice regarding this so she doesn't get a choice either" I took the car keys and headed out only to find Ammi and baffa In a showdown she was fuming at the mouth "that girl will not come to this house Abubakar, it is enough! I have tolerated too much, you said there won't be a divorce I agreed but I refuse to live in the same house as her! I won't do it"
"Haba Rukayya, get a grip on yourself you are talking so harshly to me in front of all our children, this is not done! Listen to yourself, what is the point of staying married if they are going to stay apart" baffa counters
"Why are you trying to force Maya down our throat when you know neither Nurrain nor I like her, everything has already been explained to us, she was supposed to marry Nurah but that drunkard messed up,you know this so why don't you just let her stay with her family and we can forget about her. Once you have punished Nurrain to your satisfaction we can wash our hands off her and her family completely"
"Fulani we are the elders here so how can we act like kids! If marriage is a joke to this young stars we should correct them and show them the magnitude of marital responsibility, you know this dear please calm down now and think with a calm mind"
"So you won't listen to me again, okay don't heed my words" she walked up to me and called my name.
"Baffa has shown me what he really thinks of me so I want an answer from you Nurrain, do you consider me your mother"
"Of course I do Ammi, never doubt it" I answered quickly
"Then know this, if that girl steps into this house I will leave this house forever" she vows and moves to leave but I held on to her hand before she could get out of reach.
"Ammi at least please you don't do this to me, baffa might not understand me but you are my mother,you understand me more than anyone else in the world so please don't talk about leaving, my world has already tilted on its axis today with this marriage pls don't destroy it completely, I can tolerate anything other than your anger so please Ammi never say that again"  I begged.
" I have said my piece the decision is up to you now" she said
"Baffa please talk to Ammi"
" Fulani please be reasonable, why are you being so hardheaded about this" baffa chipped in so did khursum and
Yah Umar but Ammi wouldn't listen.
"Enough! I have made my decision so Nurrain should decide his mother or his wife!"
"Don't hide behind his wife Rukayya say it clearly you want Nurrain to decide between my decision and your decision! So you can have a reason to say we don't value you because you didn't give birth to him! You have made up your mind to misunderstand me so nothing I say will have an effect on you, taurin kanki yayi yawa Rukayya but last time I checked I am still the head of the family and my decision will be respected in this house, Nurrain will bring Maya to this house and you will find a way to live with this Rukayya, you might not like it but you'll do it"
"This is my house too Abubakar don't I have a say at all"  Ammi counters
"You do, you have every right but so does Nurrain, it's his home as well and his wife belongs by his side! Nurrain wuce ka tafi ka dakko Maya I will handle your mum don't worry about a thing "
Ammi burst into tears and went back in, khursum and yah Umar went after her I tried to follow but baffa stopped me.
"It's getting late, go and get Maya and remember what I said earlier don't come back with out her"
"But baffa with Ammi in this condition it won't be right"
Baffa used his right hand to rub at his head and said "Just do as I say Nurrain " he sounded so exhausted "ammi will eventually calm down but the weight of the sin of running away from your responsibility to Maya as her husband is a burden you can't bear my son, Allah (swt) has placed the responsibility of a wife on the husband, regardless of how you came to this marriage that responsibility rest on you now, so ammi's anger can be quenched but don't fail this test son or you'll never be able to redeem yourself. Go ahead now or you'll be late" he went back in without waiting for my response and soon enough the shouting resume, his voice and ammi's voice rang across the courtyard, I closed my ears to it and got in the car.
Baffa is right Maya's responsibility lies with me and I shall fulfill it but I will never accept Maya as my wife, she is nothing more than a noose wrapped around my neck choking the life out of me. She barged into my life and destroyed my family's happiness I will never forgive her and Nurah for this! Never!

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Hmmmmm do you think Ammi and Maya will be able to coexist in the same house? What about our bride and groom how do you think their relationship will be...... I'll be waiting for y'all in the comment box

PS: This chapter isn't edited so pls overlook any mistakes