Loving Zarah

The Squad

The Squad

"Adda Shushu look at my own boat" Afrah shoved the paper boat unto the phone's screen and Shukrah sighed in frustration. First, her sister refused to answer her video call and instead handed the phone to her kids who were now bugging her with stuff about them that she wasn't interested in. Secondly, her nieces won't just stop calling her 'Adda'. She had tried several times to explain to them the difference between 'Adda' and 'Aunty', but all efforts were in vain. They just won't stop. And on top of that, they're attaching the 'Adda' with her long forgotten childhood nickname, Shushu. What would she do with these kids?

"Okay guys!" she finally called "I'm gonna hang up right now. Take care of your Ammi okay?"

"Okay!" the girls chorused

"Bye. Love you"

She crashed back on the bed with a thud and sighed heavily. Closing her eyes, she memorized today's to-do list.

She was supposed to iron her camo printed kimono this morning but forgot to because she woke up late.

Thankfully, she had done all her chores including re-arranging the storeroom. Check.

She has washed her hair and straightened it just like she planned. Check.

Umma had called her yesterday and informed her about Fifi's 'accident'. Apparently her sister slipped in the toilet and sprained her ankle. She had planned to call her yesterday but totally forgot and now that she did, Fifi was in 'frustration mood' and refused to answer the call.

Zarah had asked her to make some Moringa soup for dinner before she leaves for her sleepover at Humayra's. The Moringa leaves were yet to be picked. Her clothes were yet to be packed in her mini trolley. And her favorite camo printed kimono was still not ironed. And it was 4:30 pm.

Her eyes popped open as she sprang out of bed like a cheetah. 20 seconds later, she was still pacing in the kitchen. Picking the Moringa leaves will take about 30 minutes. She was slow at this kind of stuff. Zarah will be back from school by then and will not be happy if she finds out that the soup is not ready. That means Ahmad will not have dinner on time. And she was not ready for his bickering. They've not been on speaking terms for over five days now and Shukrah was already getting suffocated in the house. She wanted so badly to go back to her Umma but their house was even more suffocating. Abba will not have a proper conversation with her until she registers for the JAMB examination. He even seized her car and driver's license just to pressure her over the issue. But she has already made up her mind. She was done schooling.

Her eyes landed on the fridge and she yanked it open. She raked through like a maniac, searching for something. Anything that was edible at the moment. She was thankful there was leftover Tuwo in the freezer and so she didn't have to go through the strenuous exercise of preparing tuwo.

"Oh Thank God!" she gasped in delight as she sighted chunks of pumpkin in a ziploc. She washed them up and put them to boil. She popped some groundnuts in the food processor and began chopping some spinach leaves.

An hour later, delicious aroma of Miyar Taushe was emanating from Shukrah's cooking pot. She tasted the soup one more time before turning off the heat and running up the stairs to take a shower and pack her stuff.

Zarah returned from school around 6:30. She was pleased to find her kitchen sparkling clean. Shukrah had a habit of cleaning up after herself and that was one thing Zarah loved about her. And eventhough Shukrah made Taushe instead of the Moringa, she was still grateful. With a small smile plastered on her face, she walked up to Shukrah's room to thank her for the chores. She Salaamed and entered just as Shukrah was ironing her Kimono on the bed.