Two Brothers, One Heart

Part 2: Chapter 84

Fatima was in the kitchen preparing lunch - jollof spaghetti, fried plantain, and fried chicken while humming to herself.

Her life was incredibly comfortable, almost like a dream come true, even though her aspirations included completing her education. Blessed with a wealthy young man and triplets, what more could she desire?

Being a homemaker was less stressful but also somewhat monotonous. Spending all her time at home, mostly by the cradle of her adorable triplets, Faynan, Fahad, and Fa'iza, was both a joy and a challenge. They were a divine gift she would forever cherish. Despite the chaos and the constant need for attention and strength.

Suddenly, she heard the babies whimpering from the room where they were sleeping. "Ummi!" she called out to her mother from the kitchen, hoping she would attend to the babies. Ummi had been helping care for them since they were born, and now, at three months old, she was still by their side. Ummi was adamant about not hiring a nanny due to her belief that nannies were untrustworthy and only interested in money, neglecting the children's well-being. Therefore, she insisted on sharing the baby-sitting responsibilities with Fatima.

"Ummi!" she called out once more, but there was no response, and the cries of the babies grew louder. Hastily turning off the gas cooker, she was about to leave when pounded pepper from a bowl spilled on her white maternity dress, which she wore for convenient breastfeeding.

She had been practicing exclusive breastfeeding, known as baby-friendly, for a month, but with three babies crying a lot, she decided to switch to artificial feeding.

"Ummi!" she called out again, this time yelling in frustration as she wiped her dress with a towel.

Hurrying to the room, she found Ummi asleep in her rocking chair, lightly snoring. The exhaustion and stress of caring for the babies had taken a toll, evident in the dark circles under her eyes.

Approaching the cradle, she saw all the babies lying on three connected beds with calico blankets and soft pillows.

Fahad was crying so hard his face had turned red, it was infectious that Faynan also joined him while Fa'iza was about to wake up.

She quickly reached for the drawer where there were cans of 'Nan' baby milk then picked their feeding bottles and swiftly made milk from them. "Ummi, you have to help me."

"Lemme help," called out an angelic voice from the doorway while she quickly looked over her shoulder and saw Firdausi standing there in a navy blue abaya with hijab and her tote bag hung on her left hand.

She quickly walked in and helped her with Fahad, while feeding him the milk then sat on a stool. The room was so babyish and spacious. There were a lot of baby stuff.

Firdausi gazed at the little boy, his eyes - lovely and innocent like his mother's. "He got your eyes," she complimented while smiling at him. "So pretty and innocent."

"Thank you," mentioned Fatima who was breastfeeding Faynan. "Out of the blue!"

"I just dropped by to see my triplet," said Firdausi as she rolled her eyes.

"Hmm. I just dropped by to see my triplet," she mimicked while they both laughed.

"I can see how stressed Ummi is. She didn't even wake up," said Firdausi in order to make the conversation engaging.

"Oh Ummi, she wouldn't let me hire a nanny but herself. They don't even let her have a nice sleep, she dozes off then this one cries and after making him sleep the next one goes," said Fatima.