Chapter 3
803 Words
The Day They Met
Saturday mornings were always the worst.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
Too loud in her head.
Sakina sat at the dining table, pushing her food around the plate.
The house felt… cold.
“Madam, you’re not eating,” the nanny said gently.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You said that yesterday.”
Sakina sighed. “I said I’m fine.”
Silence fell again.
The nanny hesitated. “Your father called this morning—”
“I don’t care,” Sakina cut in quickly.
Her voice was sharp… but her eyes said something else.
Hurt.
She stood up abruptly.
“I’m going out.”
The nanny frowned. “Alone?”
“Yes.”
“At least let the driver—”
“I said I’m going alone.”
---
Minutes later…
The gate opened.
And for once—
Sakina stepped out into the world… by herself.
---
The streets felt different from inside a car.
Louder.
Closer.
Unpredictable.
Sakina walked slowly, her sandals tapping lightly against the ground. She held her small bag tightly, eyes scanning everything like she didn’t fully belong.
She didn’t.
A group of boys across the road noticed her immediately.
“Chale… see fine girl.”
“Ei, fresh like that?”
“And she dey waka alone?”
They exchanged looks.
Smiles that didn’t feel right.
---
Sakina noticed them staring.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
Why are they looking at me like that?
She kept walking.
Faster now.
---
“Baby girl!”
One of them called out.
She ignored it.
Another stepped forward, blocking her path.
“Ah ah, why you dey rush? We just dey talk.”
Sakina stopped.
Annoyed.
“Move.”
The boys laughed.
“Ei… she get attitude oo.”
“I like am like that,” one said, stepping closer.
Sakina’s confidence wavered slightly.
“I said move.”
“Or what?”
Silence.
Her heart started beating faster.
She looked around.
No one was stepping in.
---
“Relax,” the boy said, reaching for her hand. “We no go do you anything.”
She pulled back quickly. “Don’t touch me!”
Her voice cracked.
That was when it hit her—
She was alone.
---
Then—
“Leave her.”
The voice was low.
Calm.
But it cut through everything.
---
The boys turned.
Nii stood a few steps away.
Hands in his pockets.
Face unreadable.
Silent… but present.
---
One of the boys scoffed. “Who be you?”
Nii didn’t answer.
He just looked at them.
That look…
It wasn’t loud.
But it carried something.
A warning.
---
“Guy, mind your business,” another said.
Nii took a step forward.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Still silent.
---
The tension shifted.
The boys exchanged glances.
“This no concern you,” one tried again—but his voice wasn’t as strong.
Nii stopped.
Close enough now.
His eyes moved from one face to another.
Then—
“Go.”
Just one word.
---
Silence.
The kind that presses on your chest.
One of the boys clicked his tongue. “Make we go, chale.”
“Yeah… no need trouble.”
Just like that—
They left.
---
Sakina stood frozen.
Her breathing uneven.
Her hands slightly shaking.
---
Nii didn’t look at her immediately.
He just watched the boys leave.
Making sure.
---
Then finally—
His gaze shifted to her.
Sakina swallowed.
“…thank you.”
No response.
He turned.
Started walking away.
---
“Wait.”
He stopped.
But didn’t turn.
---
Sakina hesitated… then stepped closer.
“I said thank you.”
Still nothing.
She frowned slightly. “Are you always this rude?”
A pause.
Then—
“I helped you,” he said quietly.
His back still facing her.
---
Sakina blinked.
Caught off guard.
“…you did.”
Silence again.
---
She looked at him properly now.
His clothes weren’t expensive.
Not clean like hers.
But there was something about him.
Something… steady.
Real.
---
“What’s your name?” she asked.
A beat.
Then—
“Nii.”
Just that.
---
“I’m Sakina.”
No reply.
---
She shifted awkwardly.
“You don’t talk much, do you?”
Nii finally glanced at her.
Brief.
Sharp.
Then—
“No.”
---
For some reason…
She smiled.
A small one.
---
“Okay… Nii,” she said softly.
“I guess I’ll see you around?”
Nii held her gaze for a second.
Something unreadable in his eyes.
Then—
“No.”
---
And he walked away.
---
Sakina stood there.
Watching him leave.
Her heart still beating fast—
But not from fear anymore.
---
For the first time in a long while…
Something inside her felt different.
Awake.
---
🔥 End of Chapter Three
- Writer
