Shirk in Disguise

Chapter 16

It was the morning after the eventful night at the A.B.U Teaching Hospital, Zaria. Fanna woke up feeling strangely light-headed. She had prayed Fajr earlier on but had drifted off to sleep since she hadn't slept much the previous night.

A feeling of peace and tranquility which had eluded her for months due to her father's illness engulfed her. 'Poor Father...' she mused. How could she not love him so much when he was all she had? Yet someone now wanted to share the space in Her Heart's Queendom with her beloved Abba... Amidst the tribal disagreements between her paternal and maternal extended family, the shackles of poverty and other various trials and tribulations, the Father-Daughter bond had stood firm against all odds.

As if aware that his daughter was thinking about him, the old man, apparently wide awake, beckoned on her to move closer. With undisguised excitement, Fanna moved closer to her father. She really couldn't explain the feeling of joy in her heart; or was it because of the events of the previous day...?

"Good morning, my daughter," her father greeted her in a stronger voice than he'd spoken with the other day.

Fanna bowed her head shyly, a feeling of guilt engulfing her all of a sudden. She should've greeted him first. Being a well-brought-up girl, she usually never forgot to greet her beloved father first...but today was no ordinary day.

"Good morning, Father," she mouthed almost inaudibly.

"I've noticed that my daughter's mood has had a spectacular improvement..." he began.

His daughter's head quickly shot up at his utterance. Was her change of countenance really that easily detected? "Oh, that..." she finally murmured, feeling her cheeks get hotter.

However, her father's words really seemed strange. Having been hospitalized for more than a fortnight, he hadn't been able to communicate freely with her as he usually did. Surprisingly, his speech was quite fluid that day. On impulse, she picked up her phone, navigated through some settings and pressed 'Record'.

"...Or was it because of that young visitor of yesterday?" her father asked with a twinkle in his old eyes.

"Father...!" she protested, covering her face with her hands.

"Of course!" he nodded. "I wasn't born yesterday, y'know..."

Her father's words really startled her a bit. She didn't even think that he had noticed the young man's presence in the room!

"Wasn't he the 'good Samaritan' that helped us back home in Maiduguri?" her father's voice interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Yeeeees..." she barely managed to answer. Her old man's memory capacity was really surprising; so he had even recognized him!

"Well, I must say he's an excellent specie. I wouldn't mind leaving my daughter in his hands...in fact I'll gladly bless the union!"

Fanna was appalled. Her father's utterances seemed to come from above. Had he known Yusuf's mission all along or was it all a product of guesswork? It even seemed like her beloved father was reading her mind... Nevertheless, his words greatly gladdened her heart. However, her lips remained sealed for some minutes – she didn't know what to say.

After a long pause, she got up from her sitting position and moved closer to her father's bed and found his eyes shut – he seemed to be sleeping. She gave him a peck on the cheek after which she heard his murmurs.

"God bless you both, my daughter..."

"Ameen!" she mouthed silently. Her eyes strayed to her phone which was still recording the conversation. She pressed 'Stop' and then 'Save'.

On the other hand, Yusuf hardly slept a wink that day. He was exhilarated...and why wouldn't he be? He'd met the object of his ardent prayers, but the hurdle in his path was his mother's request to see him ASAP. He certainly didn't want to go ahead with her request therefore he would try as much as possible to dodge it. He prayed fervently in his heart for Fanna to accept his proposal and for Mariya's case to be taken care of. With that settled, he'd dozed off...for barely a couple of hours.

The next morning found him driving back to Mariya's parents' residence, the last place he wanted to go but which he was forced to. He reached there with a palpitating heart, apprehensive of what could be waiting in store for him. However, a different scenario awaited him.

On reaching the house, it seemed deserted. He was a tad confused because ordinarily, it should've been populated by well-wishers who had stayed over after the busy day. Or was it because of the way in which the engagement was abruptly called off? he wondered. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and walked into the house.

An appalling sight met his eyes. From the outward appearance of the house, he had anticipated an empty house but to his surprise, the house wasn't deserted at all. There were people in the house, but they certainly didn't look like celebrants attending a wedding ceremony. Some women were scattered in the compound looking gloomy and sad. He wondered why they were wearing long faces... It was quite puzzling.

He stood at the doorpost, wondering who to approach among the women in the household. Nevertheless, he greeted them all and made his way to the living room. Halfway there, he met his mother running out of the room to meet him. She looked worried and disheveled and he wondered what had happened in the household.

"Mama, what's the matter?" he asked her anxiously.

"It's Mariya...she's disappeared!"

His mother's reply really shocked him. Why on earth had the girl done such an irrational thing? For a split-second, a feeling of relief swept over him as he surmised that he'd been freed of the shackles of an undesirable union with her. However, the feeling of relief was then replaced by that of guilt – he wasn't that heartless.

He looked at his old woman who seemed terribly shaken and felt sorry for her. Without saying a word, he gently held her and led her into the house, his mere presence comforting her in her grief. Every nerve and cell of his body wanted to go back to the hospital room where he'd left Fanna with her ailing father but he had no choice. By now, he knew she must've seen the message he'd quickly managed to scribble when she'd turned to attend to her father. He just hoped and prayed for a favourable response from her.

A/N
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