ORNAMENTS ✅

Chapter Twenty Eight

Dasuki State, Nigeria.
2022.

The moment Nabeel carried Sauban on his shoulders, taking him to his grave, he promised himself that he would find the culprit—the one who had done this to his brother. He would bring them to justice. Everything still felt like a dream to him, from dropping Sauban off at the plaza, going back to pick him up, and now, walking him to his grave.

The Janazah prayer had been performed, and Sauban was buried, but everything felt hollow after the tears had fallen—tears that Nabeel had tried so hard to hold back. He had made himself a promise not to shed another tear until he had caught the person responsible.

Nabeel sat by Sauban's grave, long after everyone had left, including Yazid and Abba. He wasn’t sure why he was sitting there, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave. Sauban was down there because he had been killed like a sacrificial lamb. As a Muslim, Nabeel knew it was his brother's time to go, but why had it happened like this? Sauban had carried himself with pride, but someone from nowhere had tarnished that, leaving him discarded like some street animal.

The call to Maghrib prayer echoed in the air, and Nabeel glanced at his watch. It was already past 6 pm. He took one last look at Sauban’s grave.

“I’ll go, but I will make sure to catch the culprit. Allah ya jikanka,” he whispered. He walked to a friend's house and borrowed his car. There was no way he could go home. If he did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to leave again. He could only imagine how Nini was holding up, and the constant stream of people offering condolences. He wasn’t ready to deal with that yet.

He drove back to the plaza, but the shop was closed. He took the number from the business banner on the door and dialed the first number. After a few rings, someone picked up.

“As-salamu alaykum,” the voice greeted.

“Wa alaykum as-salam,” Nabeel replied.

“I’m Nabeel. I came by your shop earlier to drop my brother off... you know...” he trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

“We’ve been trying to contact you,” the voice responded. Nabeel felt a strange sense of urgency, Who is we? “The police and I,” the person continued. “Please come by the station, the one near the plaza.”

“Okay, I’ll be there shortly,” Nabeel answered, before driving to the police station.

Inside the station, Nabeel greeted the officer, a man he recognized. They exchanged pleasantries before getting down to business.

“We secured CCTV footage, thanks to the shop owner here,” the officer said, showing Nabeel the video. “We have a man we don’t recognize, along with two other men, as you can see.”

Nabeel shook his head.

“Can I have a copy of the footage?” he asked.

“Mr.....?” the officer said, his hesitation noticeable.

“ Nabeel Shamaki,” Nabeel completed.

Thank you. Mr.Shamaki, I know it is not fair but we are trying our best we'll find them, rest assured."

“The issue is what if i met any of them by mistake and fail to recognize them? Please i beg of you do this favour. Please Inspector,” He steadied his voice because it was threatening to crack. “If i left my home and everything just to seek justice for my brother, you should help me shouldn't you?”

The Inspector sighed.

"You said you are Nabeel Shamaki right?" The shopkeeper asked.

He nodded in affirmation.