Echoes of Agony

Chapter Five

The Babakura family was currently experiencing a stressful situation. There was a lot of yelling going on, and it seemed that no one was really listening to each other. Mrs. Babakura, the matriarch of the family, was particularly on edge. She was running around the house, pressing the maids to clean surfaces even if they were already clean. She seemed to be finding dust where there was none and was generally very agitated. The maids were at loss as to what to do in this situation, and Zaytun's aunties were also feeling the tension.

The reason for Mrs. Babakura's stress was the impending arrival of Alhaji Sani's family, who were coming over. She was anxious about making a good impression on the other family and was obsessing over every detail.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Babakura was in the sitting room having an important business conversation with Muhammad, while the male elders of the family chatted among themselves. His wife was worried that her son would be late in preparing himself to welcome their guest on time, but both father and son reassured her that he would be ready and would come out just in time.

Mrs. Babakura's behavior was understandable in this situation. This was the first time the family was going through something like this, and the prospect of her daughter's wedding falling apart was a source of great stress and anxiety for her.

As she passed by Zaytun's room, she remembered that she had bought her a necklace a few months ago and decided to give it to her now. She hurried to her bedroom to retrieve the necklace, which she had kept in a very private space. When she returned to Zaytun's room, she found her sitting on her bed chatting and playing games with her friends. They were all engrossed in their gist until Asma pointed at Zaytun to look behind her. The girls all greeted her immediately, and when she turned around, she saw her mother with a sweet smile on her face. She stood up to greet her, and her mother dragged her to the door.

"Allah nah, still not ready and you're wasting time chatting here," she said with an angry expression.

"Don't worry, Mama, I will get ready right now. Besides, those idiots are helping me with my stress." Her friends couldn't hear a word from them but they were all looking with curious eyes.

"Okay fine. Anyways, I came here to give you this." She held out the necklace to her, and Zaytun took it, eyes glowing with admiration for the item in her hands. She brought it up to her eye level to admire it up close. It seemed like she had received a very special necklace from her mother. She even noted that it complemented her skin tone perfectly. Her mother was equally happy and suggested that she try it on. She could not be certain, but one thing for sure was that this jewelry was very expensive.

"It's pretty, I like it a lot. Nagode sosai. Thanks, Mama."

"You're welcome."

She seemed genuinely happy as she suggested wrapping it around her daughter's neck and left so Zaytun could get ready.

Zaytun started getting ready, and her friends left her to go and help the aunties downstairs with their preparation. She wore an expensive lacey gown.

After spending two and a half hours preparing, she finally emerged from her room looking stunning. She completed the look with the necklace that her mother had gifted her, which rested beautifully around her neck. Her makeup was done in a way that accentuated her facial features, making her eyes look more foxy than doe-like.

Just as she was checking herself in the mirror one last time, there was a knock on the door. Her friends informed her that AbdulJalal's family had arrived. Her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but cover her face with her hands. After taking a deep breath, she opened the door for her friends and let them in.