Shirk in Disguise

Epilogue

So there they lay, nothing but wreckage exuding a terrible stench of burning bodies. The corpses' faces were charred beyond recognition and when the police arrived, they weren't able to save any form of identification of the victims from the wreckage.

On that fateful day, two weeks after the arrival of their baby, Adnan and Azeema had boarded a plane from Switzerland to Nigeria via the Kano international airport. At first, Adnan didn't see why they had to land in Kano, instead of following a direct route to their home in Kaduna state.

"C'mon I just want to enjoy the scenery..." Azeema cooed in her best voice.

"Really?" Adnan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course! I've really missed Nigerian lands," she replied, fluttering her eyelashes.

Unknown to her husband, it was all part of her plan with the Marabout. The old man had promised her that they'd have an accident by road which would result in her husband's death, enabling her to inherit his fortune. Blinded by her greed, she didn't even think of her baby's fate.

They boarded the plane and landed with no incident. They then chartered a car to drive from Kano to their home in Zaria, which was under the care of Bilqees and their most trusted maid, Safiyya. Adnan was at the wheel with his wife by his side while the baby was fast asleep in the back seat.

"Let's pray for a smooth trip. It's almost Zuhr time by the way," Adnan offered, glancing at his Rolex watch.

"Seriously?!!" Azeema asked quizzically. "It's gonna be alright so let's just go!"

"But at least..."

"Just go!" Azeema almost screamed at him while her eyes were trained on his. Normally, his offer of prayer before embarking on the journey wouldn't elicit such a violent opposition from her but she clearly remembered that the Marabout had explicitly stated that prayer before the journey would attract Allah's intervention and hence ruin all their plans.

Adnan stalled. Why was his wife acting so weird? When he looked into her deep hazel brown eyes, his resolution melted away. It was like she'd hypnotized him. He eased the car onto the road.

Azeema smiled ruefully as she removed her gaze from him and turned it to the road. She didn't even think of saying a quick prayer for her own safety; the Marabout had promised to send spirits for her protection and she'd foolishly believed his promises. Bilqees had also assured her that the man never failed his loyal customers.
As they were well into their journey, already on the outskirts of Kano state, the car suddenly started misbehaving. It skidded and jerked and spun out of control. Adnan, who was a seasoned driver, had never seen anything like it before. Plus, there was no obstacle in sight! Perhaps if he'd looked behind him, he'd have noticed the gust of wind propelling the car's actions.

Whoosh, Crash, Tumble...and the car somersaulted in the air and headed straight for a large Darbejiya tree by the side of the road. As the action was going on, Adnan became drenched with sweat as he spied his end. He started muttering under his breath, calling on his ancestors and Marabouts to save him. He knew they couldn't do anything for him but instead of calling on his Creator, he continued muttering and lamenting all his atrocious acts which included sacrificing his close family members and other people's babies to attain greatness and wealth. In such situations, the evil deeds of one prevented a smooth passage to the world beyond.

Azeema, on the other hand, was initially quite calm with implicit confidence in her Marabout. It wasn't until she saw them headed towards the huge tree that she started having her doubts. Behind the Darbejiya tree stood an even larger Kuka (Baobab) tree. Tales had it that spirits inhabited the Kuka specie... They're surely known to her Marabout, and would help her, she reasoned. She tried opening the car door but it was stuck. She was stuck. As her end approached, she cursed her life, Bilqees and the Marabout.