My New Home

Chapter Six

I was the first person to wake up the next morning; I think the bliss of the other day got to me because I never woke up first, ever. I checked the time and when I saw that it was almost time for prayer, I woke Jamal. He woke up startled and asked what was wrong. He’s not used to seeing me waking early.

“Nothing”, I replied nonchalantly.

“Did you have a nightmare?” He asked.

“No". I replied him.

"You woke me up for the first time and I thought something was wrong”. He said.

I puffed and rolled my eyes. “Is it such a big deal that I woke up first?”

“It is a big deal indeed, but it’s a good thing”.  He then said his Salam.

“Shouldn’t that be the first thing you should have done?” I said immediately after replying his Salam.

“Since you woke me up, you should have done that first”. He countered.

“Alright, I’ll do that next time”. I replied.

“That is if there’ll be a next time”. He mumbled.

“You’ll see”. I hissed.

He left for mosque and I joined the women in prayer. After prayer, we did our supplication and proceeded to start the boring daily routine. I checked my phone and saw that I have several missed calls from my dad. My heart beat loudly in my chest.  My dad only calls once as he easily takes offense when his call is left unanswered. So, seeing several missed calls from him gave me a scare and I mentally thought what could have gone wrong.

I speak with my mum and siblings almost on a daily basis and the last time we spoke, which was yesterday, nothing was out of order. I put a call through to him to get to the bottom of the issue.

“Asalam alaykum sir, I missed your call. I spoke hesitantly. Hope no problem”.

“Wa alaykum salam Fateema, there’s no problem at all, I just wanted to check on you”.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Absolutely, everything is fine”. He replied then disconnected the call.

I didn’t believe his claim at all. Firstly, he called several times which was unlike him and no matter how hard I try to convince myself that he simply missed me, I can’t believe it. He also called me Fateemah instead of Fateemama that he fondly calls me.
Also, the duration of the call is the shortest I’ve ever recorded since speaking with my dad on phone, so, something is definitely amiss.

“Is there a problem? Jamaal asked, sensing my change in mood”.

I was absent minded and didn’t realize he’s back from mosque. “I have no idea about what’s going on. I replied. My dad left several missed calls and when I called him back, he acted strange. Something is not right”.

“That’s unusual. Your dad never leaves more than a call". Jamal confirmed my earlier thought.

That’s so habitual of him that even Jamal mentioned it. “I’ll get dressed now and go down there”. I decided.

“You realize Ilorin is far away from here right. Perhaps you should try calling your mum or your sister, Kabeera, to see if we can get something out of them, then we’ll know where to go from there”.

“You’re right. Let me do that”. I put a call through to Kabeera and she picked on the third ring.

Asalam alaykum sis, what’s going on? She asked immediately after picking up the call.

"Dad left several missed calls on my phone and didn’t pick up when I tried calling backed". I rushed to say without waiting for a reply.

"Wa alaykum salam sister calm down because you need all your wit to handle this" . Kabeera replied.

"Don’t put me in suspense, go ahead and tell me what’s wrong" . I replied impatiently

"Where do I even want to start?" She asked.

I bet she’s milking this, my sister tend to get carried away when she feels she’s the center of attention and she’ll definitely revel in her short term fame even if it’s a family issue we’re discussing about.
I sighed loudly to show her how annoyed I’m getting and she took the cue.

"It’s Sulaiman, our precious brother" . She began. He has been smoking and using drugs right under our noses and our dear old parents didn’t notice a thing since they were too busy fighting on which religion each child should practice". Kabeera explained.

I was rendered speechless. The Sulaiman I know is calm and always clear headed, so, he’s the last person I’ll ever associate such with.

She took my silence in stride and continued. "Last Monday, he overused the drugs and went almost crazy. some of our neighbors saw him amidst his friends where they were drenching him with water and slapping him all over to get him to return to his senses and they informed my dad. So he went to pick him up. He was rushed to the hospital and they were able to flush some of the drugs out of his system". Kabeera said in one breath.

"Are you sure we’re talking about the same Sulaiman?"  I finally found my voice and asked.

"No, it might not be the same Sulaiman but his doppelganger" . She muttered sarcastically.

"Is he okay now?" I asked ignoring her last comment completely.

“I’m getting there and if you can please keep quiet I’ll be able to give you the full story".

I was annoyed but kept mute all the same.

"After he was discharged from the hospital, she continued. we watched over him all through the day and we even take turns in watching him through the night so he can’t leave the house but he was experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms and when he was taken back to the hospital, we were told that he has been a user for very long and it would be quite difficult to get him off the drugs. So, we were advised to take him to a rehabilitation center in order to cope with his situation".

"Subhanallah!" I muttered. I wondered how long a twenty one year old could have been using to be considered too long.

"Walhamdullillah. She jested. So we took him back home and my dad made enquiries about rehabilitation centers and planned to take him the following day since it was already late and the journey is a stretch but before we woke up the next morning, my mum has disappeared with Sulaiman, and guess where we finally found them?" she asked.

" The rehabilitation center of course". I answered without missing a beat.

"No sis, our dearest mother took him to the church for rehabilitation". She replied.

"What!!! I exclaimed. Mum is used to taking things into her hands but this is taking it too far".

"That’s the story of our life. I’m even thinking of getting married too and escaping this hell hole. Do you have any cute brother in law there than you can introduce me to?"

*Will you just hold it? It’s my turn to admonish. Where are they right now?"

" Mum is still at church refusing to take him to where he needed to be and my dad is still being stubborn about entering the church to do the needful by dragging him out of there, but don’t worry, dad left the church the church entrance where he had been stubbornly waiting for a while but on his way back there with the police to make an arrest. I’ll get back to you; I need to get the door. Someone is ringing the bell". She said and disconnected the call.

Jamal faced me wearing a curious look and I narrated all that I heard. “I really think I have to travel down”. I tried again.

“Yes. You might be able to talk some senses into your mum since the both of you are closer and it seems she listen to you best”. Jamal agreed.

I, together with Jamal moved to the living room to inform his parents that I’ll be travelling tomorrow. I explained all that transpired in my home but it was his mum who replied me.

“I understand what you’re going through. She began. I pray Almighty Allah help us resolve this”

“Aameen”. We chorused.

“But my dear, you cannot travel, it’s unheard of that a new bride travels before having her first child and it’s also bad luck. I advise we monitor them with phone and see how it goes”.

I didn’t know Muslims were also superstitious. I thought
Alhaji finally faced me and spoke to me for the first time since we joined them in the living room. “I know that you do not agree to what my wife has said, your countenance totally revealed your thought. What she was trying to say is, if you try to leave this house, then, don’t bother coming back again, he threatened. Facing Jamal, he continued, you can go with her if you wish but then, the same thing applies to you. Once you step out of this house, ensure you go with your belongings, so you can at least get some things to set up your new house”.

Alhaji, Iya ewe shouted, horrified.

“Do you have something to say or are you planning to relocate with them too because you’re free to leave if you please, no one is stopping you”.

Jamal stood quietly in a corner and didn’t utter a word. Coward, I thought. When the silence is getting too long, I decided to leave first.

“Do you see what I’m saying? I heard Alhaji mutter and I slowed my pace to hear the rest of the conversation. My Faria will never walk out on me while I was still talking. Home training and parents solidarity does matters”.

I ran to my room and sobbed loudly. I can’t believe his hatred for me could cloud his judgment even in this kind of situation and Jamal, he’s a living idiot, he couldn’t even speak a word in the presence of his father and I foolishly thought he went with me for support. So much for the nonexistent support.

He didn’t come back to the room till very late in the night when he thought I would have slept off and lowered himself very slowly on the bed. I was in no mood to talk to him so I didn’t bother at all. While in my state of anger, I didn’t go to the mosque or even pray in my room.

Jamal left early again before I could wake up in the morning. I wonder how long he’ll keep up his disappearing act. I didn’t go for subhi prayer as well and didn’t leave my room to greet anyone. I’ll be giving them the silent treatment.

Faria entered my room sometime later in the midday and greeted. “Are you okay iyawo? Why didn’t you come to the mosque for salah”?

“Salah, salah, salah, that’s the only thing I’ve heard since I moved into this house. I exclaimed. You pretend not to see any other thing that goes on around you as long as I come for salah. I’ve spent less than two months in this house and I can say with conviction that I’ve had more challenges that a normal couple of ten years would have by now but you all choose to ignore it and came here to talk to me about salah again and that hypocrite, Jamal, has been running around with his tail in between his legs”.

“I’m sorry iyawo, but I want you to know that any challenges that you’re facing can be resolved by Allah. He loves it when his servants ask him for things and when you do; it’ll be granted to you. The prophet also said that if a servant of Allah performs his ablution and prays regularly, his sins will be washed off and he’ll be as pure as a new baby. So, when your sins are washed off, what will hinder your prayers from getting accepted? So the good and bad things need prayer and that’s what you need to do”.

She paused and continued. “Alhaji is a very short tempered man and he holds a very strong hatred for Christians to the extent that if not for our contemporary society, he won’t answer their greetings. I’ve lived with him since I was in diapers and he engraved it into our memories that we should never choose a Christian as our spouse, that we have differing views and ideologies. So, imagine his own son, going against his preaching and marrying you”.

“But I’m not a Christian”. I clarified.

“Your mum is. So in his book, you’re not fully a Muslim and as if that wasn’t enough, he informed him that you would be married in a church before the Alfa’s would be given the chance to solemnize you a second time, not just Alhaji but the entire family were livid when we heard about that. His father didn’t see that coming at all and the only reason he even consented to the marriage albeit lately was because of the religion of your dad. He was so embarrassed he couldn’t invite any of his friends. You can’t expect him to welcome you with open arms with all that has happened. You unknowingly destroyed his lifelong rules and he’s afraid the younger ones would follow in his footstep”.

“Have you met Ameerahs' brother Idris?” She whispered.

I remembered being introduced to him the first day I went to the second flat. “Yes, i have”. I replied.

“He’s a major flirt and the black sheep of this family”. She continued.

“Ehn but he looked so innocent”. I replied.

“Don’t fall for that look, it’s just a cover up”.

“That much is true”. I muttered, thinking about my brother.

“He’s planning to marry a lady who’s an atheist but didn’t have the gut to mention it at home but immediately Jamal introduced you, he started to speak up. Though Alhaji hasn’t heard of it, the rest of the family is aware.

“That’s such a shame”. I replied.

“In his fat laden brain, he thinks he’ll be able to convince her to revert to Islam after their marriage which I doubt would be possible. Contrary to what men think, women are very strong willed, most especially when it has to do with their faith. Back to our discussion, please go to the mosque and cry to Allah, tell him your plight and he’ll answer your prayers. He’ll surely soften Alhaji’s heart of stone”.
We both laughed after she said that, then she left my room.

“I felt a bit lighter after Faria’s visit, so I went to the bathroom to perform ablution and pray. I went back to my room and saw that Jamal has left for work because his folder and laptop is missing and I could even smell his perfume.

He’s such a child. I thought and went to the kitchen for a late breakfast.