Chapter 3 3: Concoction

The nurse looked through the bag and she pulled out the glasses, luckily it was still inside the bag. She examined it for a few seconds and scowled softly, "I m sorry, Fareeda, but it has cracked a bit." She said and kept examining it with her eyes. Mujaheed looked at them, but he knew they could kill a person before he would say a word to either of them. "And that s the last pair, Nurse. But can I see with it?" She asked, her voice hinted the sadness she felt and she waited to know if she could wear it. She couldn t imagine it crashed to the point that she couldn t wear it, it would be tedious. Because that would only mean she had to wait for a few days before she could get other glasses and that meant? No, she couldn t want to think about it. "You can wear it, but be careful." The Nurse helped her put the glasses on her face while she closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, the first thing her eyes got in contact with was Mujaheed s hard face as he looked intently at a wall she was sure he was deep in thought, maybe? Knowing so well to talk to him in the presence of the nurse, she looked up at her. "Thank you so much, Nurse. I ll get some rest now." "Will you like to have an appointment with our ophthalmologist? I m sure he will be of help and you ve said it s the last pair, a wrong strong move with it will make it break completely." The Nurse waited for a few moments and Fareeda looked up at her with a warm smile. "No, thank you. I ll just give a call to my doctor, I m sure she can get some delivered to me in a few days, Thank you." The Nurse nodded and excused herself out of the room and Fareeda turned to look at him but he had his eyes away from her. She hissed softly and brought her phone out of the bag and dialled the doctor s number. "Hello?" It was hard speaking, but she would have to do this before she fell asleep so the doctor can make the arrangements she could and send the glasses to her. The pain in her lower abdomen was getting excruciating with each passing second but hopefully, the medicines the nurse gave will help her subside them. "Hello, Fareeda. How are you?" Dr Aisha spoke with a soft tune and her smile could be heard through the way her voice sounded. "I m fine, Dr I lost all my pairs, and this is the only one remaining, sadly it has cracked too. How can I get some sent to me, please? Maybe two pairs will do." She knew she would have to get ready for an earful from Dr Aisha because it was just five months when she sent her three pairs of glasses and now the only one left had cracked too. She heard the grunt that escaped Dr Aisha s lips and stifled a laugh, she was used to this already. "Fareeda, you weren t even like this when you were a small girl. It was so easier dealing with you when you were younger than now. Three pairs of glasses and none left? What are you doing? Are you perhaps a boxer?" Fareeda couldn t stop the burst of laughter that escaped her lips and she had to grunt in pain afterwards. "I m sorry, Dr Aisha. They all got broken when I couldn t help it, this too. Can you please send them to me? Will the last test I took be okay or I ll have to take another one?" She innocently asked in a voice she knew would be so hard for Dr Aisha to ignore. Because there were times she punished her for a month without an eyeglass and she had to manage her broken one as though it was her soul. "The sad thing is, I went to Lagos for a seminar, Fareeda. But I ll be back in Abuja in four days, I ll make sure everything is available I ll just check everything when I m back and they will be sent. Two pairs and they should last you a year or two, promise?" Dr Aisha was the closest thing to a mother she had in her life. She knew she could count the number of times they had seen each other because most of the tests she took when she had outgrown her glass were done in Taraba and she will send it to her. It was only on days she wanted to escape from Taraba that she begged Dr Aisha to tell Alhaji that the test only had to be done in Abuja and she will stay a few days in Dr Aisha s house. "Yes, Ma." She chuckled again, and this time when she looked at him, he had turned to look at her and Fareeda threw a hard glare at him. "You sound so down, is everything alright?" Dr Aisha asked. "I m just sad my glass is broken and I ll be scolded by you, and now I m fine since you ve forgiven me." Dr Aisha chuckled softly and shook her head. "You ll always be the same, Fareeda. I ll call you when the glasses are ready, take care." They ended the call and Fareeda kept the phone beside her and immediately closed her eyes, she was just holding it back not to scream out of pain when she was on call, and she wouldn t cry in front of this man. There were times when she hated darkness because she could only see colours when she had her glasses on, but somehow she enjoyed the pitch blackness she could see now. Her hands sneakily went down to her lower abdomen and she clutched it softly, the pain was subsiding, but it felt as if her heart was being crushed with each passing minute. She was in so much pain, she didn t wish that this happened the way it did, if only she could change the hands of time. She could feel her tears flowing down vertically from her eyes but she was sure he wasn t looking to even notice what was happening to her. She would rather be alone now, but asking him to get out of the room would only anger her more, it would be of no use. Mujaheed stared at her, she might think he wasn t looking and that too was true because he just took a glimpse of her and noticed she was crying her eyes out. If she was going to sleep, which he was sure she would after she was done crying her eyes out, nothing would stop her from trampling with the glass and she might have it fully broken. He stood up and stared at her crying figure on the bed, the reason he was doing that was unknown to him but he couldn t imagine not being able to see for a minute and if she got this glass broken from what he heard from her phone call, she would have to wait for four days, maximum five. He moved to the bed and without a second thought, took the glass off her eyes and her hands came flying up the very next minute. "What is this? What do you think you re doing?" She asked with a voice that was trying so hard to hide her tears while her palms immediately began to clear up the tears. "You re going to sleep, and the nurse told you it ll be broken if you use too much strength on it." He answered her, folded the glass and walked back to the chair with him. "What the hell do you think you re doing? I ve been like this my whole life, who do you think you are to detect what I should do or not?" She asked in an angry voice but she didn t try to sit up, he was sure she was still in pain considering the way she kept her hand on her lower abdomen. "Wait, I pray you don t take what Alhaji said before he left in mind and decided it was time to start acting like my husband? That would have been hilarious." "Maybe no one has ever told you before, but sleeping with your glasses on isn t only uncomfortable but it s also the main reason you re always breaking your glasses. Now, if you ll respect yourself and stop talking because we both know I m not going to respond to you." He could see the way she clenched and unclenched her fist as though if she was asked to fight with him, she will leave him in a pool of blood like he was sure her mind kept predicting for her. "For your information, I hate it when someone mingles in my affairs. It s none of your problems, and I ll truly appreciate it if you keep my glass on the nightstand and leave this room." No respond, and she wasn t waiting for one either. She knew Mujaheed so well to know she can spend the whole day talking to him and he would keep mum as though he wasn t alive. Had it been she was healthy enough, she would have thrown a fight. But she knew she needed to rest, from the beating of Alhaji, the excruciating pain in her lower abdomen, and the hassles in her mind. Most especially, the hassles in her mind, she wanted to silence everything for a while and have some peace of mind. With a sigh, Fareeda freed everything she had ever held in her soul and decided that for the time being, she was going to have some rest. Because her, Fareeda Kamal Sardauna deserved this rest more than anyone had ever deserved it. ? Slowly opening her eyes, she felt all that she had put behind her and fell asleep slowly coming back to her. At first, she thought all that happened was a dream, what happened yesterday at night, how she ended up in the hospital, what Alhaji told and did to her. And the worse part of it, he gave her to Mujaheed for free. She wasn t going to dwell much on that, she was going to act as though it never happened because Fareeda was sure if the donkey could ever grow a horn, that would determine her marriage to Mujaheed. There was no way she would agree to it, she would just have to wait until she got better. She needed to get to the bathroom, her bladder was filled to the point that she doubted if she could ever walk to the bathroom without peeing on herself. Putting her hand on the nightstand to take her glass, she felt it wasn t there. Where did Mujaheed keep the glass for her? What did this man mean for the sake of Allah? She had always been fed up with his bossy attitudes and how dare he do this to her now? "Are you there? Give me back my glass." She called out with a sick and sleepy yet sultry voice that would never go unnoticed. She sat upright and rested her head on the wall, but her urgent bladder reminded her of what she had to do and how urgent it needed to be done. She pulled her legs down and called out again, "Are you there? Give me back my glass, I need to be in the bathroom." Seeing there was no response and Fareeda was sure he was in the room, she stood up. "I m sure you re hearing from me, right? Will you please hand me my glass? If this is some sort of joke to you, it s not funny to me." She began to take tentative steps around the room, it had always been pitch black whenever she woke up and seeing she wasn t seeing any blurry vision of light, Fareeda wondered how long she had slept. "Mujaheed, my glass!" She said in a shaky voice and wondered where the toilet was, she would have gotten there without even waiting for him. With her hands spread apart while she felt what was around her as she had the hope she would surely find him in the room, she stumbled upon what felt like a chair and was nearly going to fall when the door got opened and he rushed to where she was, she fell on his body. They quickly pulled away from each other and she rolled her eyes at him. Mujaheed stared at the round white orbs perfectly rolling themselves at him and wondered if she truly meant it when she said she couldn t see without her glasses or she was trying to fool everyone. "I need to go to the bathroom, I ve always known you re in the room and you kept silent. Where s my glass?" She asked through gritted teeth and he brought it out of his breast pocket. "I went to pray," he just felt she should know that if anything, he would never take advantage of her sickness. "Here it is." It was hard seeing as she kept moving her hands in a different direction to where he was standing. "Where are you? Is the nurse around? Will you please collect the glass for me or turn the lights on, I wonder how long I ve slept." With each passing minute, her bladder was making it so hard for her to resist and she couldn t even see his shadow to know where he was and predict the direction he was handing her glass for her. She had already moved feet away from him and Mujaheed knew it would even be harder seeing her like this and he moved to where she was standing. He intended to place the glass on her palms but knowing she can break it without knowing, he decided otherwise. He stood in front of her and slid it on her face, she blinked twice and when she opened her eyes again, her gaze was back and she was looking at him with a hardened expression. She manoeuvred beside him and walked to the bathroom because her bladder wouldn t allow her to say a word out and he sat down on the chair he had always sat on. She came out with her face washed and was trying to vent at him when she saw Nana seated on the carpet she brought along with her while she served Mujaheed as they softly conversed. "Nana? Have you always been here and you ignored me too?" She asked with a surprised expression while she walked to her bed and her eyes fixed on Nana to show her that she was waiting for her answer. Nana handed the plate to Mujaheed and shook her head, "I just came when you were in the bathroom, Ya Fareeda. I came in the evening but you were asleep and I had to leave for Islamiyya. How are you feeling?" She asked as she walked to the bed and before Fareeda knew it, she wrapped her delicate hands around her for a hug. It was an innocent and pure hug, which nearly made Fareeda teared up and she realized all that she had been wanting for the long hours of today was a hug. When Nana broke their hug and looked at her in the eyes with a smile, "How are you feeling, Ya Fareeda?" Instead of an answer, Fareeda pulled her back for a hug. The hug she needed. "My heart aches, Nana. Can you hug me for some time?" Her voice croaked as she asked, not minding the presence of Mujaheed in the room which she was sure he was listening to all they were saying. "You can hug me for as long as you want, I hope your heart will stop aching." It took her some time and by the time she broke their hug, she had a few strands of tears on her cheeks and she quickly wiped them off. "Oh god, this too is broken?" Nana asked while she looked at the glass of Fareeda. She chuckled softly while nodding her head and her skin became even paler. "What have you cooked for me? Because I m sure Ummah will never let anyone cook for me, what is it? I m starving." Her gaze fell on the food flasks she was sure Nana came along with and Nana smiled. "You know her too well, unfortunately, I would ve lied to make you feel better. Anyways, I cooked your favourite, it s Masa. It was hard getting the batter to rise because it was late in the evening, but I did it because I m sure it s the only thing you d eat." Fareeda cupped Nana s face in her palms, "You re such a very sweet soul, Nana. I don t know what I would ve done without you in that house. When I m discharged, I ll take you out for a whole day and we ll enjoy ourselves." Nana giggled and ran back to the carpet to serve Fareeda the meal. "Ya Mujaheed, should I add more of the soup for you?" She asked, looking at the plate he was nibbling on and that was what caught Fareeda s attention and it was now rice with baobab soup and she gasped. "What kind of concoction is that? Are you a ritualist?" She asked, her eyes fixed on his plate and Nana threw her head back and laughed. "That s how he usually takes his rice, with either baobab soup or okra soup. He only enjoys the weirdest food combination you could ever imagine. Is this enough?" She lifted the plate she was holding and Fareeda nodded her head. They were midway in their meals when Nana giggled excitedly and looked at Mujaheed, "Ya Mujaheed, I brought your tea items." "What? Why? I ll be leaving shortly." She softly shook her head, "Alhaji said I should apologize to you on his behalf, that you should please stay here for the night because he couldn t get a security guard that will guard her and doesn t trust her enough not to run away. I ll be staying too, let s brew some tea!" She said excitedly and her excited voice was like a knife to the anger already brewing in the room. Fareeda watched as she began to bring out the tea items as she called them and softly muttered, "One day I ll burn everything down. Annoying little items."