Mrs Mahmud, Mrs Mas'ood

29

February, 2022.

"Hanan was sexually harassed on Friday evening by a client we thought was respectable thanks to his reputation. Thankfully, he wasn't able to go through with assaulting her as I got there in time. She's still shaken up but she gave me the go ahead to call you this morning so..."

The mug of lemon tea slipped from Hauwa's hand. It broke once it hit the floor, spilling the hot liquid. Linda was just as frozen as her husband who held the phone through which Zayd had broken the news to them.

"I'm sorry it took the whole weekend to call." Zayd continued. "I know this is not the kind of news you want to wake up to on a Monday morning but Hanan didn't want me to call anyone until today. I hope you can understand."

It took another moment before Yusuf broke out of his trance. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat. "Is Hanan there?"

"Yes, she is. I'll give the phone to her...Nehita?"

Hauwa's vision blurred when Hanan's voice floated out through the phone speaker a moment later. "Hi, Daddy."

Linda buried her face in her hands, choking over a sob. Yusuf blinked back his own tears. "Hi, Nehita. How are you?"

"Still a bit shaken but I'm doing much better. I'm sorry we didn't call since Friday. I just needed to get through the initial shock."

Linda raised her head with a sniffle. "Did he hurt you?"

Hanan took a moment to reply. When she did, it was obvious she was fighting back tears. "Apart from a few bruises and a scarred mind, I'm okay. Like Zayd said, he got there before any more damage could be done. I'm okay so please let's focus on that."

Yusuf sniffled. "Did you get checked by a doctor? Have you visited the hospital? Are the injuries bad?"

Hauwa wiped her tears as Zayd and Amal were heard quietly telling Hanan that everything was okay. Hanan sniffled. "The injuries aren't bad. I got checked on Friday evening and I was cleared. I'm okay, I swear...Is Hauwa there?"

"Yes, she is." Yusuf raised his head to look at Hauwa. "Osi?"

Hauwa finally stepped away from the mess on the floor. She crossed the small space, took the phone from Yusuf and exhaled before she spoke in the calmest tone she could muster. "Hey, Mrs Dantata."

Hanan managed a laugh. "I knew I could count on you to say that in greeting. I know you're pretending to be calm so I don't worry. I want to assure you that I'm fine."

Hauwa's façade broke. "I'm sorry, Hanan." She cried. "I'm very sorry."

"It's fine. Like I told Mummy and Daddy, let's focus on the fact that it wasn't worse than it is right now. I'm going to take a break from work and I'll be okay in no time."

Linda wiped away her tears with the back of her hands. "We will come and see you. I can ask them for a week off today."

Hauwa nodded. "I can come with you. I'm sure Kaycee and everyone else –"

Hanan cut in. "There's no need for that."

"Hanan –"

"Honestly, I'm fine. I don't want you two to get on the road. That's why I didn't want them to call you until this morning. I swear I'm okay and I have a support system over here. You three are already busy as it is so please don't go out of your way. If anything comes up, I'll keep you all updated but for now, I'm okay. In Shaa Allah, everything will be okay."

Having nothing to say, Hauwa handed the phone back to Yusuf who told Hanan to take care of herself and call them if anything came up. After promising to do so and asking them to not tell anyone about it, Hanan hung up.