Bound ✅

Asylum Patients and Tuwon Madara

****please vote and leave comments*****

"Well. I didn't want to say until we talked privately. She has an offer, her former employer asked me to tell you they'd be coming soon to ask for her hand in marriage." Her mother's words broke the calm that was all over.

First there was a calm and a few seconds later after the information was absorbed, pandemonium broke out. Salisu's mother got up from her chair and raced to where Halima was sitting, grabbed her by the neck and bit her shoulder. She continued to choke her until she was pulled off by a joint effort of Halima's parents.

Her father was furious. "Maman Salisu, have you gone mad?" The older woman didn't reply, she just continued to cry as though Halima had taken an important thing from her.

"Your daughter is wicked. Your family is heartless wallah. I promise you, you will not hold this wedding while I'm alive. Over my dead body!" Halima's mother got up and got in her face.

"You will do no such thing. And if you try too hard, you'll meet yourself six feet under." It was as though she added fire to burning embers, Salisu's mother began to scream in her face.

"You mother of a prostitute! What would her barawo future in-laws say when they hear she went and got herself raped by three men. Three. Her womb is accursed that's why she's like this." Halima's mother raised her left hand and descended it on Salisu's mother's cheek and ear.

"Let me tell you since you don't know the meaning of empathy." She began in Hausa. " My daughter is one of the best things. Wallahi. Best things that has happened to me. She doesn't deserve to be raped any as much as the prostitute on the road, they both are treasures. But if I hear." She put her hand to her ear. "That you made even a karami move, wallahi, that death you're looking for, you will find it. And in folds." She turned around to find her slippers leaving Salisu's mother to hold her stinging cheek.

She went back to her in the silence that followed and said 'Quote me. I said so." Then she dragged Halima into her room and slammed the door.

"You! Why do you wait for that dog to bite you? Take off your hijab lemme see the wound." Halima mechanically unwrapped the long, large veil she had draped to Jumaah service. She could not speak, so many things had robbed her of speech.

"Just take a look at this. That asylum patient!" Her mother spat angrily. She shook her finger in Halima's face angrily.

"Never in your life allow someone bite you. See how she has marred your beautiful skin." She touched the marks that Salisu's mother's teeth had left on Halima's skin.

"Mum?" Her mother stopped smoothing her skin out.

"Yes?" She walked to her side drawer and brought out some shea butter in a transparent plastic container.

"Did they really say so?" Her mother nodded as she rubbed in Shea butter into her skin.

"What do you think we talked about on the day of the opening of your store?" Halima shook her head. That day if had seemed like they met after a long time apart. She'd marveled at the way they slapped each other's hands as they laughed in excitement. She did not know this was what they talked about.

"Wow." That was all she could say. This meant that even after all she had told Jamal's mother, she still wanted her for Jamal. It rankled Halima. So she sat quietly and in deep thought.

*******

Halima greeted the security after he opened the gate.

"Ina Wuni Hajiya." She smiled at him and swept the skirt of the Navy blue jilbab she had hastily thrown on after a nap. She adjusted the hand of the hijab as she signed in.

"Is she in?" She inquired about Jamal's mom. The security man nodded and she smiled at him and walked away.

When she reached the door, she sighed again and questioned herself. She stopped walking, and stood near the gazebo not even seeing the different roses that flayed in the cool evening breeze.

"Halima?" Jamal's mother jerked Halima out of the deep reverie she was in. She adjusted her hijab in shyness as she drew closer.

"Why did you not come in?" Halima shook her head, and squatted to greet Jamal's mother. She didn't reply, she was in too deep watching Halima's face.

"Amira told you?" Halima nodded, still mute. Amira was Halima's mother.

"Why aren't you answering?" Jamal's mother asked with a smile. Halima swallowed a wad of saliva before answering.

"I guess I'm still in shock." The older woman stopped and turned to her. She tilted her head in question and rolled her eyes.

"What shock?" She tilted her head in Halima's direction again. They resumed the walk to the gazebo through different species of roses  fragrance permeated the air.

"Well. Considering what you know." Halima spread out her hands in a bid to make her understand. The older woman let a corner of her lips raise in silent scoff.

They walked in silence through a batch of ixora flowers. A batch of climbing vine, moonflowers, created a  roof just as they reached the gazebo.

At the gazebo, surprisingly, a basket full of food was set there, when Halima moved closer, it turned out to be gullisuwa and tuwon Madara in the basket. They'd been well packaged that they looked different.

"Sit." Halima shuffled into a seat, adjusting the folds of her jilbab. She watched Jamal's mother sit too, she leaned into the love seat that the low coffee table between them divided.

"Now." She sighed out as she adjusted herself. "I don't want to talk about Jamal. I want to talk about you. You know, I've known you awhile now, I've watched you even when you think I'm not watching, I've seen you in situations. And i think you're the best fit for any good man. The incident that occurred is just a blip in your radar, you shouldn't let it haunt you this much. You're destined for greater, bigger things.

So, why limit yourself? Why make yourself an eaglet when you could be a falcon?" She picked a gullisuwa from the basket and chewed it slowly. Swallowing carefully before trying to speak again.

"I see when they do things for you. You feel like you do not deserve them, I'm not in your mind, but the workings of it shows that you feel like because of that." She flicked her thumb and index finger together to make a sound.

"That you're dirty and all. Allow yourself to be happy, allow yourself to live life, Allah gave you a good anchor. Amira. Make good use of life." Halima nodded slowly. Her words had pierced a part of her that no one had ever reached.

*******
I don't think you guys understand the brevity of what was done to Halima. The pwman was raped by three men who still walk the streets, her father blames her, her fmr MIL is a rape apologist, the world she knows will blame her.

No one, no ome at all deserves to go through all of that. My anger is, if Halima was blamed for being raped? How about the three year old girl that was raped a few days back to the point where she died? How about her?

Halima can only smile and achieve her goals because her MOTHER worked hard to give her the best treatment. Her vagina tore, it was sewn up twice. It is why we should be angrier at people who say 'what did you wear?', 'what did you go to do there?'.

Dear Rape apologists, it's not about whatever a woman wears, it's about the rapist who decides that their evil nature must show.

That little rant was inspired by a question I received yesterday. So, please if you see me pet me, buy me food, I need it.

How are you all though? How's life? The heat or cold?

See y'all soon.

God bless yall.

TheOmoope.