Ties

~EPILOGUE

TWO WEEKS LATER.

Jannah and Jafar stepped cautiously into the eerily quiet visiting room, their footsteps echoing off the stark, sterile walls as they prepared to meet her father. The air was heavy with an unsettling tension, and they found a pair of weathered chairs facing one another, the metallic squeak of the old hinges ringing out as they settled into their seats, hearts pounding with anticipation.

Moments later, he was brought in, shuffling along in handcuffs that clinked ominously with each hesitant step. In just a few weeks, the man who had once commanded respect and fear had visibly deteriorated; his once-proud demeanour was now replaced by a haunted look, his skin pale, and his eyes dulled, when he finally plopped down into the rusted, uncomfortable chair opposite them, Jannah seized the opportunity to voice her contempt.

"Wow, you look... pathetic." She smirked, relishing the sight of the man who had once towered over her in power now reduced to this sorry state before her.

He scoffed, a weak attempt at Bravado, "You just always have to get lucky, right?" His words cut with disdain, a jab at the scar that marred her abdomen, their past encounter.

She offered a nonchalant shrug, a defiant spark in her eyes. "Well, you know me."

With a flick of his chin, he gestured toward Jafar, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Is he your bodyguard now?" But Jafar remained eerily still, his expression a frozen mask of cold indifference, as if he were a sentinel prepared for battle.

Jannah rolled her eyes, her frustration bubbling to the surface. "For someone who wielded so much influence, I honestly don't know how you've become so oblivious."

"Meaning?" he asked, furrowing his brow, the challenge in his tone rising to meet her anger.

"Let me take you 28 years back, hm?" she replied, her voice laced with a bitterness that filled the room, the weight of their shared history hanging heavily between them.

FLASHBACK
12TH SEPTEMBER 1996
SOKOTO CALIPHATE
17:57

Amidst the bustling streets and intense heat stood Sokoto's gem, Huda Abdulfatah, who stood by the roadside in an attempt to hail a rickshaw, but despite all her efforts, it was to no avail. She was starting to grow restless as it was already late, "Yan mata, what're you doing here all alone?" A sketchy figure said from behind. Startled by the sudden presence, Huda's heartbeat began to increase its pace.

"Baki ji ni bane? Can't you hear me?" The man came again.

"Gida zani, I'm looking for a rickshaw." She managed to voice out, in order not to anger the man.

He smirked inwardly devising a devious plan in his mind, "Kyakyawa irin ki shouldn't be waiting by the roadside. Let me drop you off."

Huda nodded, declining the man's offer, "A'a don't worry. Na gode."

The man's expression started morphing into that of anger, but he tamed it down. "Haba, I'm sure ana jiran ki a gida. Let me drop you off."

"Kar ka damu, I'm fine." Huda stood her ground, but so did he, his face contorted with anger, "Let's go!" He extended his hand, attempting to drag her, but someone came between.

"Ji mana, she said she was fine. Leave the lady alone." A fine-looking, dark-skinned young man intervened. His brown eyes captivated Huda at an instant, even though his appearance wasn't the best, but his looks definitely made up for it. He wasn't demi-god handsome, no, it was anything but that. His beauty was calm, alluring even. He was everything Huda wanted in a man.

"And who are you to interrupt? Dalla, get out." The other man yelled, pushing Huda's newfound crush.

"Jama'a ga kwarto!!!" Huda's crush yelled, attracting the attention of the people around.