Shirk in Disguise

Chapter 4

On that fateful Monday morning, Yusuf was leisurely walking to work at the Maiduguri branch of their bank. Even though he was supposedly a 'Big Man', he was still always punctual to work unlike many Nigerian bureaucrats. As he rounded the corner leading to the bank gates, it was 7:45 am. He therefore thought he'd certainly meet the place deserted...but he stopped in his tracks as a peculiar sight met his eyes.

The place wasn't deserted; it was quite the opposite! People were milling about the premises and surprisingly, they were all elderly...except a certain young lady who, though quite covered, walked with a gait that distinguished her from the other elderly people as she went from one to the other.

It took Yusuf some minutes to get over his shock. What were all these people doing here at such an early hour of the day? He wondered.

However, he braced himself and made his way past the milling crowds to the main entrance, which he found locked of course. He used his spare keys to open a side door and quickly let himself in before the people realized his presence.

After going into the building, he looked around and saw that the place hadn't been swept recently. That meant that even the utility staff hadn't done their job despite the fact that they were supposed to be on their posts as early as 6:00 am every day. In his office, dirt had accumulated over the weekend and he found it a nuisance, a bad start to his Maiduguri Assignment. Well, he didn't blame the cleaners much as they probably took their cue from their superiors. Being the tidy kind, he rolled up his sleeves and dusted around a bit using a cleaning kit he found in a closet nearby. He only rested on his seat when the office was clean enough for him.

Now what to do? he asked himself. He peeped at the crowd outside through a half-open window. They really seemed desperate and he wondered what made them come all the way to the bank so early in the morning.

That lady especially, he wondered. What could be her mission? She really seemed so odd and out of place among the other people present. He shifted in his seat to try to get a better view of her but try as he might, he couldn't see her clearly. She was covered from top to bottom and only her face was partly visible.

Yusuf closed his eyes, still pondering on the possible mission of the lady. Suddenly, as if from above, a melodious voice rang in his ears.

"Assalaamu Alaikum," came the voice.

"Wa'Alaikis Salaam," he replied, jolting back to the present as he sought the source of the voice.

He froze. The mysterious lady he was busy racking his brain about was standing by the door, lowering her gaze so he could still just see part of her face. Could it be that she'd sensed that he'd been thinking about her? he wondered. No that couldn't be... He dismissed the first thought. It was then that he noticed that she was saying something.

"...So I came to see if you could help us." She was saying.

"Um, sorry...what were you saying?" Yusuf asked her, feeling bad for taking his mind elsewhere while she'd been speaking all along. It must've cost her a lot of effort to speak for she was nervously shaking like a leaf, signifying that she wasn't used to conversing with men.

At his utterance, the young lady raised her head slightly. What's wrong with his ears? she wondered. However, being a naturally cool person who doesn't take offence easily, she let it slide and proceeded to repeat her statement.

The lady's cool attitude made Yusuf heave a sigh of relief. He'd been afraid that she'll be mad at him on realizing that he hadn't been listening to her but thankfully, she still remained calm and instead repeated what she said.

It turned out that the people waiting outside had come to collect their pension money as it was the end of the month.

Yusuf was a bit surprised at her response. "Er..." he began "Are you also retired??" he asked, wide-eyed.

"No..." she replied with a soft giggle. "I just accompanied my old father," she explained.

"Oh, I see..." he managed to utter as he heard her reply. He'd known that there was no way this lady could've already retired from government service so there had to be an explanation.

A short cough brought him back to reality. "Can you help us?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm not in charge of such areas but I'll definitely try. You've obviously been waiting for long without those in charge turning up," he assured her as he checked his watch. It was almost nine a.m.

A/N
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