Chapter 3 3: The Begged Nikkah

Na im watched the way she had ran towards that man and he wondered what that meant. Glad that the man had been kept away from other people because of how much blood he shed and how terrified the other people might be when they saw him, he walked towards them. He didn t know what he would speak to him about, but he knew that it was somehow connected to his children and from the way she was crying while she clung onto his hand was evident enough that she was among the daughters he had made mention of. He gave them some minutes before he walked towards them and the man lifted his head at him and in the situation he was, he tried to smile at Na im. "Thank you for saving her, Captain." He thanked him sincerely and Na im felt elated at having fulfilled the dying man s wish. "We re trying to get them come as fast as they could, we shall take you to the hospital immediately." He said, but he knew that there was no point saying it to him, he would die before the ambulance arrived. "Baaba," she croaked painfully and shook her head, her face turned to a fountain of her tears that she didn t even know from where she would be able to stop herself from crying this badly even if she wanted to. "You re bleeding. Inti is gone, they took her away, Baaba." Her words came out in hiccups, but he had still understood her. And it was evident in his eyes that he was appreciative of how she had spoken to him today. "You ve said that, Maryam. I m going to die, okay? But don t cry too much, you know you won t be able to speak if you cry a lot, right?" She stared right through his eyes and knew that he was referring to when she had lost her mother. She had cried so terribly that even after him and Intisar had cried enough and had picked themselves up from the loss, Maryam always cried herself to sleep and she wasn t able to speak a word for over a year. She nodded her head, feeling as fear filled the brittle heart that faintly beat in her chest. "But Baaba, you have to live." It was a must, because if he didn't live, Maryam wasn t sure if she would be able to live in this world without these two people. He turned to Na im and smiled softly, but tears ran down to his cheeks and Na im was aware of how he had tightly held the hands of his daughter. He was no longer groaning in pain, which only meant that he had grown numb to the pain and would only be less than thirty minutes before he died, he felt his heart clenched with pain. "I have a favor to ask of you, Captain. I know it s too much but you re the only one I can trust here. Please, I beg you in the name of Allah not to say no." He stared at both their faces and they were crying so hard that he wished he could just leave them. But he had to listen to this man s words and see if it was something he could do. "You ll be fine, Insha Allah. I suggest that you stop talking for now." He knew his words were cold and that they weren't the words the man wanted to hear, but that was the best he could muster. "I have to speak as fast as I could, I know it wouldn t be long before I die." He stopped to take in a breather, "Please, can you do me the favor?" Na im knew that the favor wouldn t pass him having to promise to take care of his daughter, which was now his duty before they handed them to the refugee camps, that is. He just knew that if he promised this man to take care of his daughter, that meant she would be clinging somewhere in his memories and someday he would be repelled to go and check how she was doing. Nevertheless, he nodded his head. "Yes, I'll try and do whatever you want me to." He was a man that always kept to his words, and that was why making promises were so hard for him. He watched as the man smiled before he gulped down the surge of pain he felt. "I want you to marry Maryam. I know that this may seem ridiculous, but this is the last wish I have, please. You can divorce her later, but for now, let me die as a peaceful man, knowing that she s in the hands of a good person like you are." It seemed the world had stopped moving for a while. As if time had stilled and the only thing that moved was his heart. He was just staring at him as he cried, his hands brought up in a begging gesture while his eyes pleaded with him in a way his lips would never have been able to utter. Na im gulped down a lump in his throat and turned to look at the girl he had called Maryam. She had her eyes fixed on her father and from her expression, he wouldn t doubt if someone told him she didn t understand what was going on. "But..." He stammered slightly, not knowing how to respectfully reject the ridiculous favor of this man. How the hell would he get married to this girl? Wait, it wasn t just about that. He was a prince, he couldn t get married outside the palace in a place like this, right? That's not about it, he just can t get married! What the hell! The man she had referred to as Baaba took his hand and Na im stared at his face. "I know this seemed like a huge favor, but I'll never be able to rest in peace leaving Maryam behind. She had just lost her sister now, on their way to me and I know how damaged she will be without having someone to lean onto. Please, do this favor to me, Captain." Na im felt his heart breaking, and its crumbled pieces ensnaring him with the words of this man and his. Why did he say he would do the favor without knowing that this man could ask for something he wouldn t have ever imagined? "I have even lesser time to live, please. You can divorce her later, when you feel she will be able to live on her own, but please for the time being, take care of her for me, please." He was crying painfully that Na im couldn t bare to watch and the way his hand that held his trembled from both the physical and emotional pain he went through, he knew he just had to do what this man wanted. He gulped down a lump in his throat, all the voices in his head that were telling him how grieve of a mistake he was trying to make were pushed aside as he thought of how he was going to get married in a war field with nothing but blood and death surrounding them. 'You can divorce her these words felt like a balm to his indecisive heart, that meant he wasn t going to be stuck with her forever. "But one can t get married without mahr," he began, finally occurring to him that these words were equal to him saying yes because he knew they would certainly find a substitute. "I don't have a dime with me. And we can t get married without more witnesses." He was praying that this wasn t going to happen. Please, Allah, this shouldn t be, he silently begged. "For the mahr, you can give it to her later, it s permissible. And the witness, I know you wouldn t want the other soldiers to know about this, so how about those three soldiers that were with me when you came? They re your trusted subordinates, right?" He could feel his appreciation through the now fresh tears that rolled down his cheeks as if he couldn t believe what was happening. Maryam was still there, staring at her father s face as she cried non-stop, as if she didn t understand the language they spoke or worse, she was so dull to even comprehend what they were speaking about. Na im took his eyes from her and turned around to see if he could get the men the man had mentioned, he just had no way running away from this, it had to happen. Just that, he would be able to divorce her later. "Lieutenant Hafiz, Army Warrant Officer Faruk, Staff Seargeant Jafar!" He called out their names and in what seemed like a flash, they appeared in front of him with their hands pointed at their heads as they saluted at him. "Crouch down," he ordered and they did as told. Na im stared at them as he wondered how he would begin to explain to them what was about to happen and how in he world he had agreed to it. "I'm going to get married to his daughter," the way their eyes bulged out was enough to show him their surprise and he tamed down his panic, "I ll answer to all your questions later, but you all have to be the witness of this marriage." "We trust you, Captain." They chorused at the same time and the looked they shared with him were enough to show him that they did. They comforted him with just their eyes before they all turned to look at the dying father while he smiled painfully at them. "I have nothing to repay you all," he whimpered. "May Allah bless your lives and grant all that you desire." They all chorused an Ameen and if a statue was able to move or make a sound that showed it had life in it, then Maryam had done either of that. She was just crying, her eyes fixed on her father s face that Na im wondered if amidst the cloud of her eyelashes and the downpour of her tears, she was able to clearly see the face she so badly wanted to memorize. "Don t worry about her, she ll be fine." He turned to Hafiz, "Will you be his Wakil? I want to get this done with so I can finally give up and rest from this excruciating pain." And like he requested, they get everything done with, they did as fast as a wedding could never be done. Na im was watching everything as though it were a dream. It happened so fast that he thought he was either dreaming or it just was a figment of his terrible imagination. The marriage was sealed, and she had become his in what seemed like a few seconds even though he knew it had taken them minutes he wasn t stable enough to count. Wife, Na im pondered and he was brought out of his reverie when Baaba took his hand yet again and before he noticed what he was about to do, he felt her hand in his and at the same time, they looked into each other s eyes. He nearly pulled his hand away at the color of her eyes. Even though a bit reddened from how much tears she had shed, Na im saw the color as perfectly as Allah had created them. Her eyes were a combination of a blue so clear and deep he thought he was staring right into the heart of an ocean, and when he turned to the other eye, it looked so green he wondered if she didn t have a forest hidden somewhere beneath the layers of her orbs. What a creature she was! "I pray to Allah to bless your marriage, to enrich it with so much Barakah and Noor. Thank you for granting my wish, thank you for hearing to my plea, may Allah take care of all that you wish for. I pray Allah protect and guide you, Na im." He had heard his name when his Lieutenant asked for the marriage on his behalf. And such a name wouldn t have befitted someone better than him. He only muttered an Ameen under his breath, still discombobulated at what was going on with his life at the moment. Baaba coughed painfully before he spoke, "Maryam," he called her name ever so gently that she was forced to look up at him, away from the face that still held her hand. She wanted to pull her hand away, but she knew Baaba wouldn't want that, and she stayed still. "He s your husband from now, okay? He ll take care of you and make sure you re safe. Trust him, Maryam. Open up to him like you do to Intisar, please. I pray Allah reunite you with your sister if it was destined to happen, healthily. Don t cry because of Baaba, Maryam. I can finally rest now that I know you re in good hands." By now, everything had registered in her brain even though she still wants to make sure of what her brain had informed her of the whole situation. "Husband?" She repeated, and Baaba nodded his head while he spewed out blood and she seemed too terrified to speak, but the painful smile on his lips gave her the push to continue. "The one you ve told us about, Baaba? The one you said one day we will all get?" "Yes, Maryam. That husband," he turned to look at Na im and they could tell that the life was draining out of him, "You ve already gotten him now, and he s a good man and he will take care of you." Before she spoke, Baaba coughed so painfully Maryam was in her way, assimilating all that he had said and what he was doing that before she knew it, his hand that was holding theirs had slumped down and his body eased, all life drained. Terrified, she turned to look at the man Baaba had said was her husband. "He s not dead, right?" She didn't know where she found the courage to speak to him. Or how she did that without counting the words in her mind. She seemed so terrified that she could literally feel the way her heart beat erratically and she knew she mightn't be able to stay alive longer for her to live with this so called husband of hers. Wordlessly, Na im pulled his hand away and he closed the eyes of the man she so much loved. She had seen Baaba done that to her mother the day she died. And after he had closed her eyes for her, he turned to their crying faces and painfully told them their mother was no more. But he needn t to tell her anything now, she knew what it meant and she would be dead if someone pronounced the words for her. She screamed at the pitch of her voice and slumped on Baba s dead body. She didn't mind the blood that rushed out of his body, she just wanted him back to life. How was she supposed to live in a world like this? She knew no one but him and Intisar and was it fair if she was suddenly asked to live her life without the two people she only knew? "Baaba!" Her lips trembled as her entire body shook with her tears. Na im stared at how agonizingly she cried and he stood up. The other three men did that too before they turned and found out that the cars they had requested were there and already taking the survivors back to Maiduguri. They walked a few feet away from her and Na im sighed. "What do you all suggest I do now?" Their eyes momentarily turned to Maryam that was crying so bad before they turned back to him. "You re already married to her, sir. The father is dead and she s now your responsibility to handle. We can t take her to the refugee camp now." Na im instantly shook his head at the words of Hafiz. "And you of all people should know that I can t take her to the palace, Hafiz. We had just spoken with His Majesty about that so called engagement, I can t come back to him with a wife." He shook his head, it didn t even make sense. "You know what? Add her into the survivors list and we can take her to the refugee camp." He said his last words to Jafar who seemed to hesitate before he nodded his head. "But you can t pretend that it didn t happen. And if you don t want anything to do with the marriage, it s only fair if you divorce her than have her live with your marriage and not being able to remarry." Faruk said. At some point of his life, they were the only friends he had even though he had met them when he joined the army. But they had stayed with him longer and more loyal than his blood related brother would ever. And for Hafiz, he knew him since during his NYSC days. He knew what he had said was true, and seeing how the three of them were nodding their heads in approval, Na im knew he had nothing to do. "I know," he said exasperatedly as he roamed his hands through his disheveled hair, "But then I also can t accept her as my wife, can I? You all know how it s like in the palace, it s safer and easier for her to stay in the refugee camp than the palace." He hissed softly and looked away, still being able to hear her cries, "And the other soldiers have seen her, it will seem suspicious if she went missing just like that, you all know the current issue at hand." At that, they seemed to agree with him. "You re right, we can have her name put on the survivors list, but she shouldn t stay there for long." "That depends on me, I can divorce her if I want to." He sighed exasperatedly, "Poor man, he didn't know the mess he got his daughter into. It would ve been easier if she just stayed as who she was." He mused to himself and when he went back to where she was, legs brought up to her chest as she stared deadly at the body of her father, Na im wondered what was going through her mind. "What s your name?" He asked, but he had to repeat the question slowly before it occurred to him that she had understood what he meant and she mumbled the words out. "Maryam Bukar Ibrahim."