Life continued as usual, and Yaya Ruqayya got married to her husband, Abbas, and moved to her home in Tarauni.
Yaya Fatima secured admission into a polytechnic in Kano.
It had been a week since we returned from school, and I was thoroughly enjoying the holiday. I even visited relatives with Yaya Zainab since Yaya Fatima was busy with her lectures.
It was a Sunday, and I woke up with plans to visit my friend Nusaiba. Ammi mentioned that she had visited twice while we were away, so I felt obligated to go. Besides, I had a lot of boarding school stories to share with her.
After seeking Ammi’s permission, I grabbed the new hijab she bought for me in school and left, walking peacefully and feeling content.
When I arrived at their house, I stood at the front door and greeted loudly, hoping someone would hear. Soon, I heard approaching footsteps.
A tall young man with striking features appeared. His neatly groomed beard and prominent jawline complemented his long nose. Even though I was just 13 years old and didn’t know much about beauty, I could tell he was handsome. It was obvious he was Nusaiba’s brother, even though I had never seen him before; their resemblance gave it away.
Just as I was staring at him, he was also staring back at me. I couldn’t tell how long we stood like that, both lost in our thoughts. Nusaiba’s cheerful greeting broke the spell, snapping us out of our silent gaze. I felt a wave of embarrassment and lowered my gaze as he returned to the living room without uttering a word.
Nusaiba ran to hug me with laughter.
“I thought you weren’t coming. I almost gave up on you!”
“How could I not come? Even Ammi said you’ve visited twice while I was away.”
“Exactly! I couldn’t wait to hear all the boarding school stories. I even told Umma when she was leaving earlier that I planned to visit your house, but Sadiq stopped me,” she said, pouting.
“Oh, so that’s Sadiq?” I asked, lowering my voice as if afraid he might hear me.
“Yes, that’s him. He just returned two days ago. Honestly, I’m not happy about it because he keeps bossing everyone around with chores…” She trailed off as his calm voice interrupted her from inside.
“Nusaiba!”
We froze, eyes wide, thinking he might have overheard our conversation. She quickly dashed into the living room, leaving me outside.
She came back shortly, sulking. “Can you imagine? He said I should go to the chemist and buy him cough syrup. If Umma were here, he wouldn’t dare send me out!”
“Let me come with you. I’ve been itching to go out anyway,” I offered.
As we walked towards the chemist, I narrated my boarding school adventures. We were about to cross the road when, out of nowhere, a car drove past and splashed dirty water all over my brand-new hijab.
I froze in shock, staring at the mess on my hijab while the car sped off without stopping. I glanced at Nusaiba, and my eyes filled with tears as passersby stared at me, some even laughing.
“Don’t worry, let me quickly buy the medicine and return. Whoever did this, may God deal with them,” Nusaiba consoled me before rushing off.
I couldn’t stand there any longer, feeling humiliated. My heart burned with anger as I headed back home.
While walking through my street, I noticed the same car parked near an uncompleted building. Before I knew it, my anger drove me towards the car. I knocked on the window repeatedly, but there was no response. I was about to leave when the window finally rolled down.
I glared at the person inside before speaking angrily.
“Are you blind? Can’t you see when you splash dirty water on someone? And you didn’t even have the decency to stop and apologize? Is money making you arrogant? Nonsense!” I hissed and walked away, still fuming.
When I got home, I burst into tears. I ran into Yaya Fatima, who was all dressed up to go out.
“What happened, Auta? Did you fall into water?” she asked, concerned.
I didn’t answer her questions; instead, I cried even louder, drawing Ammi’s attention.
Ammi came out to see what was wrong, and I finally spoke through my sobs. “Someone in a car splashed dirty water on me!”
“Sorry, dear. Maybe they didn’t realize it,” Yaya Fatima said, helping me remove my hijab.
Ammi didn’t say much, which made me cry even harder. Yaya Fatima left, knowing I wouldn’t stop crying until Ammi consoled me.
I went into our room, found Yaya Zainab asleep, and lay next to her, crying until I fell asleep.
I woke up around Maghrib and joined the family. Abbi had returned and brought me treats, which lifted my spirits.
The next day, Nusaiba came to visit, and it took her a lot of effort to make me talk to her again. I jokingly blamed her for the whole incident, saying she caused me to get splashed. But eventually, I forgave her, and we resumed our usual chatter.
