After Agony...

|Twenty one|

"Well,I am sorry I didn't mean it anyways" Laila shrugged as her cousin was sending daggers at her.

It had been like that,since Laila almost spilled the beans,Farha had been avoiding her like a plague. And it has been three days since it happened. Normally,they would fight and reconcile after just a minute,but in this case,Farha had taken it too far.
In as much as she would like to admit,but Laila felt a bit guilty knowing clearly she had cross the boundaries. On the other hand,a part of her felt like it was high time the family finally knew the truth,because she could not stand seeing the person whom they literally grew up together,basically a sister to her hurt inside.

"I said I am sorry! Could you just quit the daggers,it gives me the creeps" she spoke yet again as she began to feel paranoid.

After clearing the kitchen counter,she walked pass Farha into the living room where she met Imam and Ammiey discussing. A smile made way to her face as she sat near him with a grin.

"Ya Imam,how are you doing? Where is that troublemaker of yours?"She inquired about Maya.

He could only stare at her with a blank face,he sure does look exhausted. The fact that Huda's contact was unreachable got him worried sick,and the fact that he could not visit her was worsening the situation.

"I suppose we met earlier?" No doubt,that was a sarcastic reply from him as she crunched her face in confusion.

"But, I just greeted you-"

Ammiey emerged from the stairs as she walked in on the siblings. A huge smile made way to her face just at the sight of her two children.

"And what is going on here?"She inquired as she sat on the sofa.

"Ammiey this girl is disrespectful and I will make sure I smack her face when next she tries such nonsense"he spoke,just on cue as Farha joined the trio.

"I did nothing wrong,Ammiey I swear I greeted him"

"So 'how are you doing?' Is now regarded as a greeting to your elders? Imam questioned.

"This American movies has finally gotten the best of you and if you are not careful,you are going to be banned from watching the television" he warned as he dismissed her. She left the living room with a frown as she murmured some incoherent words whilst stomping her feet. Typical!
Just as Farha was also about to leave,Ammiey stopped her on her track.

"Baki ga yayan ki bane? Ko yau ma iskan naki sun tashi ne?" Ever since she sat Farha down and inquired what had transpired between her and Layla,Ammiey is yet to understand what is going on between the two of them.

"Ina kwana?" And with that,she hurriedly left.

The girl was starting to act strangely day by day. The duo watched her as she returned back to the kitchen.

The much awaited day had come,in other words,it was Friday. Imam was all setup as he came to drop his daughter off before they set off. It would be a lie if he said he was not in trepidation,he had no idea what the future holds and adding up to his problem,he had not been able to contact Huda for the past few days.

"Your father is out already" Ammiey stated as her husband alighted the stairs. Imam quickly got up as he walked to retrieve his father's luggage. They had decided on spending two days in Katsina judging the fact that they were uncertain of the future.

*****
Huda was still trying to adapt to her new found environment,it was for a fact that she had never visited her parent's hometown. It was still all new to her as she stared at the room in awe.

She was in her room the other day,when her mother had called upon her informing her of their sudden visit. Although she found it rather strange and surprising,her mother insured her that tradition demanded that she goes back to the village until after the wedding. Speaking of wedding,it was giving her the chills as she never imagined finding her true love.

Life so far was treating her more than her expectations and she still has the mindset that all that was currently happening is a dream that she will soon wake up moments away.

"Huda,what's wrong with you?" One of her mother's sister inquired.

She had been noticing the girl's behavior and it got her worried sick.

"Aunty Saude,nothing is wrong wallahi,I am just exhausted that's all"she declared with a small smile hanging on her lips.

"I hope so. Anyways get up,breakfast is ready and we wouldn't want our bride all skinny and slim" she joked as she patted her niece on the back before exiting the room.

Each member of the family was seated respectfully on the dinning area as they consumed their breakfast when Huda walked in with her head ducked low. She was still not accustomed to the whole attention she was getting. After breakfast,her mother walked in on her with a worried look on her face. Apparently,after she had eaten not nearly half a potion of her food,she had declared that she was full to which she hurriedly returned to her room.

"What is it Umma?"

Her mother sighed heavily as she sat beside her daughter and took her hands into hers.

"I don't think i am ready" Huda simply stated as she faced the other direction.

"I know my daughter,but you have to face reality sooner or later"

After much persuasion,she finally agreed and soon regretted it as she still felt that she was in no mood to do what Umma had required from her.