Fulfilling our promise.

Chapter eighteen[Disappointed]

"jiddah i know what is worrying you, you had not been yourself since we moved back to here."

"no mummy I'm good, i mean perfectly fine " she smiled.

"i want you to understand that its not like i don't like muhammad≈ he is a good boy, every mother's dream is for her daughter to have a good responsible partner in life. You see I'm doing this all because of you. I don't want you to be victim like me. I know even if i agreed for you two to get married, one day he or his relatives must make you feel bad by saying you are a girl of no family background and origin. They might go to the extent of saying he just helped you and maybe you were the one who loved him and you insisted untill he married you. " she took Jiddah's hand in hers.

"my dear daughter whatever the elder sees, the child will never see it even if he had to climbed something"

"alright mum, i remember there's something that came up we had to collect our results next week at school"

"tooo what can we do now? "

"the only way is for me to go to kano next week" jiddah bit her lower lip waiting for an answer.

"you know that won't be possible to go there alone as a female child" her mother lamented.

"i know mum, but we can go together the day before the collection date then we will come back the following day and we may sleep over at mummy jamila's house, you know" jiddah spoke innocently.

"what did i heard you say? Mummy jamila? Are you out of your sense jiddah? "

"mummy she's a kind woman besides she's your friend i don't think she will not allow us sleep over at her house, it won't hurt i.. "

"shut up" her mother cut her off.

"have you forgotten that she's the reason why we left"?

"mom? But you didn't tell me remember? "

Jiddah's mummy covered her mouth with her palm regretting. But words are like eggs, once they cracked they can neverbe mended back.

"mummy tell me about it" jiddah shook her mummy's leg.

A single tear escaped her eye and she narrated everything to her. Jiddah couldn't help but felt hatred for jamila's parents. She felt a great hate towards kano. How dare someone call her mother a w***e and call her filthy. That's too much. Her mother's pity invaded her and she believe her mother had alot of things in her mind she just refused to let them out. She had now started being scared of not being able to fulfill her promise to muhammad because now, she wants to stay with her mummy forever and ever.

"Assalamu alaykum" a girl came into their house to buy chicken. Jiddah's mummy had continued her poultry business after they had settled in the rented house they are in now. It is of small scale of only thirty layers since she didn't know whether she will make profit here in adamawa.

"Jam na how are you? Jiddah's mummy asked the girl standing up."

"Jam koo duume I'm fine thank you " the girl answered and waved at jiddah who was looking at them not understanding what they are saying.

Noy inde ma what is your name" jiddah asked, thats the only word jiddah knew.

"Inde am halima my name is halima" the girl answered and jiddah only smiled unaware of what to say.

Mi yiddi laarugo gertogal i want to have a look at the chickens"

"To okay" Jiddah's mummy opened the cage for her.

"Noi ah sorata how much is this "? The girl asked pointing to two fat chickens

"two thousand naira" Jiddah's mummy now spoke in English.

"Kaii naawi,noy gaskiya man that's expensive what's the last price"? The girl asked.

"bring one thousand eight hundred"

"alright, mi walla dalla i don't have the money now but i will bring it after isha prayer when our father comes back from the

Farm" the girl explained.

This is not new to Jiddah's mummy because there are people who are used to collecting her chickens on credit back there at kano. some will bring the money as promised while some will never come back again. She's doing the business not to gain too much but just to get her self busy.

****

"i want you to know what you will go there to do, once you arrived at hafsa's house make sure you call me, i will call her mother to confirm you are there. No going out. Just do what took you there and once you collect it, come back the following day. I wish you safe trip and may Allah bless you my daughter wherever you are." Jiddah's mummy finished her advice as jiddah had finished arranging her clothes for her trip to kano.

"thank you mummy, i promise to do as you say i won't disappoint you, i will miss you mum" she hugged her mummy tight crying as if she's leaving forever. She had never left her mummy since her birth not even for a single day.

"safe trip jiddah" she released her from the hug.

""""**

Kano.

Jiddah arrived kano yesterday late close to iftaar time. She was at her friends' house, hafsa. Hafsa and her family welcomed ger warmly and she contacted her mother as promised.

Today being the day to collect their result and the convocation ceremony, they wore tbe same clothes which hafsa's mother gifted jiddah beneath thier graduation gown. They look sparkly beautiful.

After the convocation ceremony, they were happy, jiddah passed with a second class upper same as hafsa, even though they wished for first class, they couldn't help but felt happy for what they got. On their way back, jiddah kept begging hafsa for them to branch to ikram's house.

Hafsa at first said no because they promised to come back home immediately.

"mr idris we are going to Jiddah's former house please" hafsa told tbe driver as he changed his direction.

"alright ma" he smiled.

After ten minutes ride,, he announced that they are there and they alighted. Jiddah again plead with hafsa to please help her and escort her to mummy jamila's house first, that she want to greet her and deliver a message from her mummy to her. Hafsa hesitated before she agreed because she remembered they were told to come back immediately . On reaching, they met the children playing while the youngest was laying down flat on the floor, from all indications he's fasting and hungry, as soon as mummy jamila stepped out of her room, jiddah walked to where she was standing. She slapped her on both her cheeks and began talking.

"Do you think what you did was Right? Did you think the pressure you put my mummy on will not affect me. Have you forgotten she had a daughter, oh i have forgotten I'm a filthy daughter. Yeah this is what a filthy daughter can do. It was because of you my mother left kano. It was because of you i saw her shedding tears, she trusted tou but you betrayed her because you are selfish. Did you even cared to know what to hear what transpired between her and your husband, why will you judge on a one sided story? " hafsa hold jiddah and motioned her to shut up.

"leave me alone hafsa" she fought back releasing her body from hafsa's grip.

"you see your life? You didn't answer any of my questions because you can't. Everybody in this area know who your husband is, a great liar and a cheater! Because he kept you alone in this house that made you think you are his only wife?" Jiddah consciously created doubt in mummy jamila's mind. Mummy jamila just stood faze with Jiddah's action.

" i will leave you like this but make sure you call my mummy and apologize to her sincerely before i go back if not you will not like the outcome I'm going to call the police for you and again if you dare mention my name to mummy, you won't like what will happen" jiddah walked up to her again, slapped her and dragged hafsa's cold hand out of the house.

"jiddah what you did wad so unimpressive and rude of you"

"hafsa please" she raised her hand at hafsa. Releasing a long breath that was longing to be breath out .

"hafsa i know what i did was not correct but what? Look at what this woman did to my mother, if my mother can't stand and revenge then what is my use if i don't revenge for her maybe its because it was not done to your mother thats why you didn't know how angry i was. If not because you were there, i would have injured the useless woman"

Hafsa sighed speechlessly. We are here. They alighted at Muhammad's gate.

"malam yusuf good evening " jiddah greeted their gateman.

"ah jiddah is it you? It had been long" he grinned.

"yes its me, umm please is ikram in? " she asked as hafsa joined her.

"unfortunately they left yesterday for umrah lesser pilmigrage" he informed.

"eyya when they come back, tell ikram i was in town and i decided to see her and give her this" she gave him a piece of paper where she wrote a little note and her phone number. She felt her leg so heavy and her heart swollen today is just a bad day to her. She faked smiled and dragged her feet to hafsa's car after bidding malam yusuf bye.

Assalamu alaykum. How are we ?

So back to the chapter how was it?