27/05/2024
FÖRCÈD TO MARRY AN ÖLD MAN AT AGE 14
WRITTEN BY: SAFIYA T IDRIS
EPISODE 10
Bako felt like kîckîng his daughter out of his house. How could she!
How could she run back home to tell him that Alhaji Bello tried to tóuch her. Wasn't he supposed to tóuch her?
They would be getting married soon for crying out loud. A little tóuch here and there won't hûrt anybody.
What would Alhaji Bello think of her now? Won't he think that they have raised a dîsrèspectful and fóólish child?
"Will he change his mind about marrying Halima?" Bako asked himself as he began to shàke in fèar.
"Halima, what have you done?" Why are you trying to gàmble with my life?" Bako asked the same question that his own daughter should have been asking him.
Who was gàmbling with who's life?
"How did he tóuch you that was so bàd that you had to run back here like a màd woman!" Bako thûndered and his daughter moved back in fèar. Written by Safiya T Idris.
"Haba mijina (my husband) at least Alhaji... should... have..waited until after the weddi..." Uwaliya swallowed the remaining words as a thûnderous slàp landed on her cheek, sending her face flyîng from one side to the other.
A loud scrèam escàped from Uwaliya's mouth as she felt the burnîng sensation on her face.
Her children scrèamed along with her and they started crying as she began to cry. It was an emotional sight but it was not new to them.
Bako was already used to hîtting his wife but Uwaliya never got used to being hît by her husband and their children never got used to seeing their father hîttîng their mother.
Who get use to paîn anyways.
"Uwaliya I have warned you never to open that hóle on your face when you have nothing meaningful to say.
"Why should Alhaji wait till after the wedding when they are still going to be doing the same thing after the wedding.
"If they do it now or later, is it not the same thing? Besides, your daughter said he was only tóuching her. What is wrong with that!" Bako shouted.
Their neighbors began to come out of their houses one by one when they started hearing the noise from Bako's compound, but none of them could enter the compound because they knew how cràzy Bako could be sometimes.
He had warned his neighbors never to come close to his compound whenever he is quàrrelling with his wife and he showed them an example of what he could do when he emptied a bucket of dîrty water on some of them one day.
Since then, Bako's neighbors had learnt to watch from a distance.
So, no one could come to Uwaliya's rescue as she and her children cried.
Halima felt responsible for her mother's pain and tears as she sat quietly beside her, feeling guîlty.
She didn't even know if she had done the right by running away from Alhaji Bello's house anymore.
Maybe if she had endured, there won't be chàos in her father's house right now.
Her mother and her siblings wouldn't have been in tears.
"I am sorry baba." Halima apologized in tears.
"Tell me how your sorry will repair the dàmage you've caused me!
" You better pray that Alhaji shouldn't change his mind about marrying you, if not, this house will be too hót for you." Bako shouted before he angrîly walked out of the compound.
"I am sorry mama." Halima said to her mother but her mother quietly walked into her room without saying a word to her.
It was obvious that Uwaliya was àngry at her daughter too, but where did the little girl go wrong?
Bako walked and ran at the same time as he made his way towards Alhaji Bello's house.
That man would be his savior and he wouldn't sit down and watch Halima ruîn things for him.
Even if it meant kneeling down to beg Alhaji, he would gladly do it.
In no time, Bako got to Alhaji Bello's house. He prayed in his heart before he started knocking at the gate.
He knocked at the gate for what seemed like eternity before he noticed the big padlock at the gate.
Bako felt stupîd when he realized that he had been knocking on a gate that was visibly locked all the while.
He had been so worried that he didn't even see it.
He didn't know what to do. He wondered whether it would be best to sit at the front of the gate and wait for his supposed in-law or go back home and come back later.
After thinking things through for a while, Bako decided to wait.
He waited for a very long time, but Alhaji Bello didn't show up.
Bako decided to leave when he became tired and hungry.
One thing bothered him.
"What if Alhaji Bello has gone back to the city because of what Halima did to him?" Bako kept asking himself as he slowly made his way back to his house. Written by Safiya T Idris
He couldn't shake off the bàd feelings he was having. God knows that he would never forgive Halima if anything goes wrong with his opportunity of living the life he had always dreamt of.
She would have to go look for another father because he would surely disówn her.
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© Safiya's thoughts
