Shirk in Disguise

Chapter 35

They made the trip the next Saturday. Azeema's husband had gone on a weekend business trip and wasn't expected till late on Sunday.

Bilqees was on the wheel while her friend, early in her third trimester, was sprawled in the back seat. Fortunately for her, the baby bump wasn't huge so she didn't seem heavily pregnant. Nevertheless, she still acted the part, especially when in need of favours from her husband.

Bored with looking at the surroundings through the window, Azeema had just settled down for a rest when she noticed that they were slowing down. She looked askance at her friend but her face remained bland and expressionless.

"We're here," Bilqees simply said. "Let's just hope we're not seeing the same Marabout your husband is probably seeing!" she made an attempt at a joke.

Azeema didn't find it funny. She was preoccupied with the thoughts that they'd stopped in the middle of nowhere. All she could see for miles were huge trees and tangled undergrowth. There were no buildings, no signs of life.

"Go on," Bilqees prodded her.

"Wait, you mean I'm going alone??" she asked incredulously.

"Of course!" Bilqees replied. "Think of it as a private doctor-patient session.

"But..."

"I didn't bring you all the way here to develop cold feet at the last moment," Bilqees said with a tone of finality.

Slowly, nervously, Azeema eased out of the car. "You'll wait for me here, right?" she asked timidly.

"Would you be able to make your way home if I don't?" Bilqees replied with another question.

Azeema gave a weak sigh of relief. From Bilqees's composure, it was obvious that she'd been here many times already. She, on the other hand, was a stranger to all this. She listened attentively as her friend elaborately gave her directions to the Marabout's dwelling-place.

"Goodbye then," Azeema waved when they'd gone through the directions thrice to avoid any misunderstanding.

"Good luck," Bilqees waved back as she eased back her chair into a reclining position.

As Azeema made her way through the greenery before her, she finally saw small signs of human inhabitation. The grass was trod in some areas and some trees seemed to have been sawed recently. She really hoped she wouldn't get lost.

As she remembered her conversation with Bilqees, she cringed. During that period when she was standing beside Bilqees's car while she was reeling out directions to her, it was as if she didn't know her. She almost seemed alien.

Pregnant Azeema had to stop a couple of times to rest before she spotted a spiral of smoke some distance ahead. She heaved a sigh of relief as she felt her energy surging back. She quickened her steps and, upon rounding a bend, the squat hut came into view.

Even the sight of the hut and the fetish objects displayed around it gave her goose bumps. Quite a number of times, she contemplated turning back but she stubbornly stayed put. After about seven minutes, she finally moved forward.

While treading the short distance that would link her to the hut, she passed a number of carved masks, clay idols and even pots of bubbling liquid. Even though her mind was filled with a deep sense of foreboding, she trudged on.

As she reached the mouth of the door-less hut, she noticed that the place seemed deserted and an eerie silence enveloped the place. However, with the little courage she had left, she cleared her throat and moved forward.