Abandoned Hearts

Chapter 1

SALIM
Abuja, Nigeria

"Alhamdulillah! I'm finally done"
He said to himself with an exasperated sigh. He shut down his laptop and closed it, then checked his wrist watch for the time.

Ya Allah! 6:00pm already!
Hajja is so gonna kill him today. He thought to himself

Suddenly, his phone rang and he hesitated a bit before checking the caller id, he smiled after seeing who it was.
"Speaking of the angel" he said before answering the call because answering the call late calls for more query from his Hajja.
"Ina kake ney wai? Have you seen the time? What is it that you're doing in that office that is taking you so long?" Hajja yelled from the other end, worry and anger laced in her voice.

He swallowed thickly, "I'm so sorry Hajja ta, I had a lot of meetings today, but I'll be home soon, ina ma hanya".

"You better be!" She said, her anger at bay. He knew he had to get home soon if not he would face the consequences, which is clearly receiving cold shoulder from his Hajja. He and his mom share a very cute relationship, they are basically like best friends who have fights and they would resolve easily.

He knew he made a big mistake by promising his mom that he would be coming back early, which is what we call "impossible".

He packed his stuffs, switched off his office lights and bid goodbye to some of his staffs that were somewhat rounding up their works.
He got into his BMW X6 and drove through the busy roads of Abuja while listening to an Islamic podcast on Spotify. That's a weird obsession!

HE is Salim Abba Tukur, CEO of A.T enterprises, the first born of his parents and currently 26 years old. Most of the family's responsibilities lie  on his shoulders because he lost his dad;  Abba as they call him, in a plane crash 6 years ago. The news of his dad's death left all the family members devastated, especially Hajja; his mom. But with time they all realized that
"your recompense is with Allah and when Allah takes something away from you, he compensates it with something better, but only if you are patient and you seek reward from HIM"

His mom remained strong for their sake, helped them stay strong and also handled the business for two years before handing it over to Salim; when he was done with his masters.
Salim has 3 younger siblings; Safiya who is 22 years and the twins; Faisal and Fu'ad, 19. The twins are literally opposites, Faisal is an extrovert while Fu'ad is an introvert who would rather spend his free time in his room reading books as per a typical medical student.

Their mom; which they call Hajja, protective, overly caring, and sometimes strict.

***********************************
Luck was on Salim's side because he arrived home at 6:28pm basically because he was speeding.
As he entered the living room he met an annoyed and worried Hajja seated on the couch with her legs crossed shaking them a bit. One thing he is sure of is that he is in deep shit!

He sighed and went to sit with her on the couch to which she didn't even spare him a glance.
"Hajja" ignored.
"Hajja" ignored.
"Hajjaaaaaaa" he whined but she still ignored him.
"Haba Hajiya ta, Hajiya Fatima Mai gadon zinari, the apple of my eyes...." And that was how he continued singing praises to her till she gave up and smiled.
"Now that's more like my Hajja, wallahi Hajja I lost track of time and there was a lot of work on my desk" he said.

"I know I know, I can never stay mad at you no matter how hard I try" she said while pinching his cheeks.
"I know I know, I'm such an angel".

"Anyways is my apology accepted?" He said with a pout.

"Yes! Apology accepted mallam Salim" she said with a toothy grin showcasing her pearly whites and golden tooth she got from Makkah.
"Okay, I will just pretend as if I didn't hear that *mallam* part" he said shrugging.
"I hear you oga, go freshen up quickly and pray, dinner is ready!" Hajja said to him as she walked to the kitchen.

"Toh Hajja" with that he stood up and went upstairs to his room, he took a shower and wore a black t-shirt with  pyjama pants, prayed Maghreb then went down for dinner.

"Yaya when did you come back?" Said Safiya.
He shrugged "not long ago" he replied. They sat next to each other on the dining table waiting for the twins and their mum.
"Omo! Where are this twins sef? Dem wan starve person?! Safiya said clearly angry.

"A hungry man is an angry man"

"We're here!!!"the twins announced their presence. Well not "they" only Faisal said that.
"Haba ya Safiya as an amarya to be you shouldn't be getting angry over small things" Faisal said trying to get on her nerves as usual.
He only received a deadly glare as a reply.
"You guys shouldn't start your banter abeg, I take God beg una!" Salim said making the siblings laugh.
"Ya Salim Ina wuni" (Ya Salim good evening) the twins said at the same time.
"Lafiya Lau, I already know y'all are doing good, abeg call Hajja let's start eating" Salim replied sarcastically.

"I'm here already ai, just because you're hungry doesn't mean you will be getting angry at my twins" Hajja said playfully.

They enjoyed a dinner of Nan bread and beef sauce plus coconut Milkshake that they all love!
After dinner, everyone except Hajja and Salim left for their respective rooms. The two went to the living room and talked for a while before Hajja said she was retiring for the night. She was on her way to her room when she remembered something and stopped in her tracks.

"Aha! Before I forget, I want you to get me some stuffs at the supermarket tomorrow, I will send the list to you tomorrow morning".

Wow, just wow. He planned on having tomorrow for himself as it was a Saturday, but that ain't happening no more.
"Okay Hajja, Allah ya kaimu" he said with a forced smile, either ways he would have to do it because this is Hajja we are talking about, the woman that sacrificed her time for them, the woman that took care of them at their lowest.
"Allah yayi maka Albarka" (May Allah bless you) she said with a smile and proceeded to her room.

************************************

Chapter 1 done!
We know this chapter is kinda boring but this is just the introductions and whatnot, we're gonna take a peak on Saleem's life and Rukkayya's; hopefully in chapter 2. Then everything will just unwrap, yktv.🤭

Thank you so much for reading this chapter! It means a lot to us. Do share with us what you think about this Chappie.

Please and please 😙

Vote

Comment and

Share

 

With love..💋
Rabi'a
And
Xoxo_shatuu