She was the kid with oversized, raggy, hand-me-down things. Bullied because she couldn't fight back,made fun of because she couldn't afford the luxuries of life.
Lami was the kid nobody hates but everybody loves to pick on. Follow her on her journey...
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Amina (Lami) Ali Hassan. 7y/o. Primary 2. ________
"I'll be going out now. Lami,make sure you throw away those feathers," Sadiya said peeking into the room Lami shares with Baraka.
Sadiya had decided to sell her sick chickens,since there wasn't much that could be done. They would've died eventually. So she decided to slaughter them and sell them to women who could afford them. She would at least gain money that if managed well, would feed them for two to three days.
If anything, Sadiya was good at managing money. Her husband, Mallam Ali, had always been a goof. So she usually steps up and takes in charge when life becomes difficult.
And their life had been very difficult for almost two years now. That was after Mallam Ali lost his farm. He farm wasn't that large to begin with,but it fed them and what was left was sold to make ends meet.
But a minister personally came to Mallam Ali and said he needed his field to add to his in order to build a hospital. Mallam Ali refused,so the minister forcefully took it. There wasn't much that could be done,since the minister had a good reason. Kyauta town desperately needed as many hospitals as possible. Mallam Ali saw that fighting the minister meant fighting the people so he gave up.
Sadiya,of course, didn't let it slide. She complained the money given to Mallam Ali wasn't fair enough. So she marched to minister's office and fought everyone she laid her eyes on until the minister gave in,paid the rest of the money and begged her to leave.
****** Lami came back and saw that Baraka had woken up from her nap.
"Where's Umma?" Bakara asked.
"She went to sell her chickens," Lami said sitting down on their mat. They didn't have a mattress in their room.
"She's been mentioning that lately. She said we need the money or we'll starve. Why didn't you wake me up to help pluck the feathers off the chickens?" Baraka said yawning and scratching her belly.
"Umma wanted you to rest. There wasn't much work anyway," Lami said.
"Did Baba mentioned when he's going to come back?" Baraka said wanting to fill in the silence
"I don't know. But I hope he won't come back soon. I love sleeping on the mattress," Lami said.
Baraka burst into laughter.
"Oh you!" She laughed. Lami only flashed her teeth.
They only had two rooms in their house. Their parents owned one and they stayed in the other. The mattress in their parents bedroom was the one their mother brought from home since she was a bride. That was more than twenty years ago.
****** "Salama'alaikum!"
"Sounds like Baba," Baraka said getting up and peeking through their window.
"Lami? Baraka? Why didn't you light a candle yet?"
"We weren't going to use it anytime soon." Baraka said. She went inside their room and brought a mat. Mallam Ali sat after she spread it on the ground.
"How was Kawu?" Baraka asked after both she and Lami had greeted him.
"He's good. He sends his greetings to you both. I'm hungry, is there no food?" Mallam Ali asked.
"No. Umma went out,but she yet to come back." Baraka answered.
"Okay, I brought some bread back with me. We'll eat when she's back," Mallam Ali said.
They didn't wait for long, Sadiya returned with yoghurt. They ate the bread and drank the yoghurt before Mallam Ali started explaining.
"Habu, yaya's son had been very sick apparently. He even passed out because he couldn't breathe properly. They took him to the hospital and they were told he actually have asthma," Mallam Ali explained.
Habu had been sick since he was a child. The doctor diagnosed his sickness as a sickle cell anemia. The shots he received didn't help him. Especially during the cold season, he wakes up at night screaming that he's feeling pain in his chest.
"Yayawas so worried he forgot that he didn't send the money. But everything's alright now InshaAllahu,"Mallam Ali said bringing out the money and giving it to Sadiya.
Sadiya counted the money. It was 10,000 naira. She added her own 5,000.
"We can't keep living like this,"she said. "We need to come up with a way to get money."
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Mallam Kallamu and Mallam Kamilu,the evil twins that appear in your nightmares and your bathroom if you don't pray😹😹 AeshaKabir
