HEART OF GOLD

CHAPTER 9: A MEETING OF TWO VICTIMS

A rowdy atmosphere, a busy street, the noisy honks of bye passing vehicles sounding in the background, the speedy movements of the not so gentle bike riders as bye passers move about to and fro, keeping the road busy. These characterized the busy street of Minanata in Magagin Gari Area of Sokoto.

Sure, this would've been a good place for business for Miriam but for the distance between this place and where she resides which was too much to be covered by her trekking feet.

It's a day after the incident with Alhaji Sani. Miriam chose this area as her sales location today to enable her to pay her sister whose residence is in this neighborhood a visit. 

The assurance from Tony the day before did only a temporary help in putting her worried mind to rest. Judging by his expression and reactions, no doubt, Tony felt her pain and was willing to help but exactly how much of a help could he be, judging by the present situation of things?

She had a sleepless night, characterized by incessant rolling and turning over on the floor with thousands of horrible images of possibilities filling her head and keeping the network of her mind on overdrive. She was gradually losing her sanity. So, she decided to see her sister, her close confidant, the only person to whom she could freely lay bare her heart who would understand her perfectly since she had similar experience and they both are of the same background. 

Painted in cream colour, with a family portrait of an older man carrying a child of not more than a year and a much younger woman standing beside him and a child of say three years standing in front of them, all on smiles except the infant in the hand of the man, the room was spacious with a modern family sized bed sitting to the left when viewed from the door, the end of the bed rested on the opposite wall opposite. A beautifully furnished wardrobe sat at the left before the bed. Hung on the wall opposite the bed, a little below the family portrait was an forty-three inches flat screen television.

For a room belonging to the third among three wives, the room screamed luxury.

The form of a small child was lying on the carpet floor a little distance from the bed on which sat Aminatu with an infant playing on her lap and Miriam with her face downcast, putting on the demeanor of someone with the weight of the entire world on her head.

"Miriam, are you OK?" Aminatu asked, placing the back of her hand on her forehead.

"I am fine."

"But you are not looking well at all, what is wrong? Is all well?" she said with a voice heavily laced with concern. After waiting a while without response, she asked, now a bit agitated, "is Baba (father) OK? Miriam please talk to me."

"Baba (father) is fine_"  Miriam spoke out forcefully which made  Aminatu sighed, letting out the pent-up air she never knew she was holding.  "_but all is not well oh, Baba (father) has decided to marry me out oh,'' Miriam continued in a rush, almost voicing it all out in one word.

"Not again, Baba (Father)!" She shook her head in frustration stretching the word 'Babaaaa', "Anyway, I knew it would come to this but didn't think it to be this soon."  She stared at Miriam with a mixture of pity and concern as she adjusted the baby playing on her lap.

"Yar uwa sosa (Dearest Sister), I am afraid oh," Miriam supplied.

"Kada ku ji tsoro masoyi (Don't be afraid my dear), all will be well" Aminatu admonished, patting her shoulder.

"How can you be so sure?" her voice lowered.

"Have you forgotten that I am a victim too? See Miriam, the truth is that, at first, it was very hard to cope as I was often being picked on by Miji na's (my husband's) other wives and daughters_" she lifted her head in a dreamy stare then raised a huge smile  crawled on her face, "_but now, things have changed. 

"When I gave birth to my first son - something the other wives could not do over the years - my husband started treating me like a queen, always shielding from their attack whenever he could. 

"And then, Allah (God) gave me another son_" she raised the baby who had been playing on her lap all along and cuddled him to her chest "he started showering me and my children with gifts. You see, even though there are still challenges, I'm not complaining because it could've been worse." 

She  turned to Miriam, "Masoyiya ta (my dear), I am convinced that everything will be alright."

"You don't even know who the suitor is and you are telling me that it will be alright!" Miriam fired. 

"Now that you've mentioned it, who is the suitor?" 

"Alhaji Sani" she spat out with a voice laced with so much contempt. 

"Alhaji what!" Aminatu's eyes popped out. "But he currently has 5 wives. Why are men like this?" She said, barely loud enough for Miriam to hear. 

"You see what I mean?" Miriam quipped.

"And Baba (father) is not even helping matters at all, I don't know why he is doing this."  Aminatu sighed.

A moment of silence ensued.

"Miriam, my sister, our lives as female children in this part of the world is like a script written out for us to act; it is like a path already cut out for us to follow. It has always been like this and there is nothing we can do to change it but to accept it and hope for the best." 

"But he is an old man of about 75 years and I am only 11 years old nah," Miriam whined.

"I know Miriam, believe me, it concerns me a lot, but what else can we do?" 

"Ash!" Aminatus screamed at the baby who seemed to think that pulling his mother's earring is a very good sport.  "Majeed stop that, it hurt," She scolded as she gently pulled his hand off the earring.

This brought a tiny smile into Miriam's worry filled face, "Yara ba su da laifi (Children are so innocent)."

After a little moment of silence, Miriam spoke again in a voice so low that Aminatu could barely hear,  "I have a friend oh, he is very kind to me. He is an engineer, he promised to help."

"And how exactly will he do that?" 

"I don't know oh."

"Any way, as I said earlier, let's keep hoping for the best." 

Miriam stood up "Ya 'yar uwata (my beloved sister), let me come and be going oh, before Papa will start thinking that I have run away." 

"Ok masoyi na (Ok my dear), stay well,  Allah Ya albarkace ku, Ya taimake ku, Ya tsare ku (may God bless, protect and help you)."

"Amin (Amen)" Miriam took up her empty plastic basin and made for the door.

A/N: What do you think Tony is up to? Drop your reply in the comment box below.

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Stay safe.

DeMountainMan.