Mrs Mahmud, Mrs Mas'ood

20.5: Muhammad and Aisha's Tale

Muhammad met Aisha for the first time in Kaduna in January, 1988.

At that time, he had been serving at the United Nations for nearly five years. It was one of his visits to his parents' house just so he could check in on them. Aisha had been in their living room, sitting beside her mother.

Muhammad was smitten from that moment and her smile literally knocked the breath out of his lungs. His mother – Zubaida – later explained that Aisha's family had moved into the neighbourhood and that Aisha was a student of the popular Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.

He had been a few months to clocking twenty-six and she was months away from turning eighteen.

Muhammad had planned on spending just a few days in Kaduna but because of Aisha, he ended up staying the entire month, determined to get to know her better. She was in Zaria more than half the time but that did not stop him from fishing out information.

Her father worked for a multinational company and he was out of the country more than he was in it. Her mother was a businesswoman who specialized in bridal packages. She bought and sold items ranging from authentic and luxurious materials down to kitchen utensils. Whatever was needed for a bride's smooth transition into her husband's house, Inayah Muhammad – Aisha's mother – had it at a very affordable price. If she did not have it, she had the right contacts.

Aisha was smart, well-read and well spoken. She had boundaries people did not dare to cross as she made them very clear. Like Inayah, she was a no nonsense person. She was the second out of four children but was often mistaken for the first and she never bothered to correct the mistake. Muhammad would later come to learn that she had gotten tired of telling people she was not the first child of her parents. Her brother, like their father, was always out of town so his face was a rare one in the minds of those they lived with in Kaduna.

They spoke for the first time on his last day in Kaduna. She had come to top up her foodstuff from her mother's kitchen and as fate would have it, he came over to drop a package. Aisha sensed his hesitation to leave once Inayah received the package so she invited him in for a cup of tea. Muhammad, who was the most introverted person she ever met, was more than grateful. The conversation was light and he opened up once the nervousness wore off. Being in her presence was nice and he found himself looking forward to the next time they would get to talk, no matter how long it took.

She broke his heart for the first time that day.

The talk about professions had come up and when he said he worked at the UN, her mood plummeted faster than he could ever imagine. Muhammad panicked and she explained why she reacted the way she did.

"Yi hakuri. I just don't like people who work for international companies and organizations." She told him. "I'm not saying there's anything bad in it. It's just that when you eventually get married and your wife isn't someone who is as busy as you are, the children end up suffering because they'll feel their father's absence even though he tries to make it up to them. I grew up wishing my father was home more than he was away. I hope you understand."

That was first time Muhammad hated his job. They did not see themselves until he came for another visit in April, a few days after his birthday. He received word that she was to be home by the middle of the month. His happiness was murdered when Zubaida informed him of a man asking for Aisha's hand in marriage. It seemed as though Aisha was thinking about giving in. The man's name was Yunus Hamma and he was a distant cousin of Aisha's father.

Muhammad met Yunus the first time on the day Aisha returned for a two week break. Watching them both converse and laugh was a painful stab to his heart. When he went over with Zubaida to greet, Aisha was clearly surprised to see him. Yunus was a nice man; a lecturer at ABU, in a department way different from hers. He was everything Aisha wanted; calm, older yet playful and home bound.