Walter
1565 Words
“ For convenience, I will call you Walter Marcus . You suffer partial amnesia. It is difficult to know if yours is retrograde or anterograde amnesia. You seem to react to some things which trigger your memories. You look at the computer a lot and microscope.
You asked me to lend you twenty dollars and not Bolivian Boliviano. You are so American. But I got the man who brought you. He is called Mauricio Carlos. He runs a restaurant in 876, Curzela Cresent. I don’t know if he can be of help .Be careful, I don’t think you got papers. The authority are strict these days. I am just a doctor and I can do more than help you health wise. No one paid your bills.”
“ Thank you very much.” Walter said. “ I will go at once. I want to know who I am , where I come from and what I am doing here.”
“ Yeah, I guess you must have had an accident. Something to do with the air, ocean, baby and woman, and that sounds like a plane crash.”
Walter frowned.
“ Private plane?”
Hajiya Fatima looked out through the window and saw him. She guessed he was the one. Naairah did not tell her about him, but how successful could a girl be in hiding such things from her mother? She had started suspecting the day she asked Naairah to have some chips and she said she was fasting.
Fasting?
Naairah was one of those women, and such women were the majority, who would miss some days of fasting due to inconsistency as stipulated by nature of a woman, but would not repay those days until a few days to the next Ramadan.
When they hear that Ramadan is a few days away, they start saying, “ Ahh! Anan bina Azumi hudu ( Ahh! I owe four days of fasting.”
Now she was fasting extra? Hajiya also noticed that she also observed fasting on Thursday. Then she saw her frying some delicacies. Naairah was not a kitchen girl. She fried and cooked, packed some and sent Rabiu, one of the drivers to take it somewhere.
Fishy.
Naairah had changed. More cautious, respectful, humble and religious. There was someone who always called her at dawn, and she would wake up to pray. Sometimes, she called the person, saying, “ wake up you lazy bone and pray.”
She guessed this was the boy. Masha God.
Hajiya Fatima was right.
On that day, Adnan and Naairah were leaning on her car.
“ I want to leave this place.” Adnan said. “ with a granted ticket to the land of freedom.”
“ Leave? I thought we talked about it. Go where?”
“ A land where I will sit down, cross my legs and ‘shack’ wine…..”
“ Subahahllah!”
“ And will not fast or perform salat. I won’t recite Holy book, or give charity…I won’t do anything ….”
“ What nonsense are you talking about? Stop it!”
“ I am inviting you.”
“ I said stop it. What kind of crazy idea is that?”
“ The crazy idea of leaving this world with faith and works which we hope will make God have mercy on us and admit us into aljanna. There will be wine there, and no fasting, no prayers, no monthly visitor, no farting, no job, no beef, no sickness, no old age, no death… and I am so scared. I used to be so close to my Creator. I used to recite the Holy book a lot, so much azkar and zikr which purifies the heart. Gradually I reduced all of those things and that was when I began to do some things that are really bad.Now I want to have my old self back. And the only way to do that is by going closer to God via good works. Are you coming with me?”
She paused for a while and then nodded.
“ Yes. I will come with you.”
“ Do you have an ulcer? Like serious one?”
She shook her head.
“ Then we are going to fast on Monday insha God.”
So their religious routine started.
“ I will be your Jay-Z and you will my Beyoncé. ” A thick voice brought Hajiya out of her thoughts. She turned swiftly to see her husband behind her. What was he doing?
“ What is this old man talking about?”
“ I am ‘fly’ like Justin Barber( Bieber), So you will be chic like Selena Lopez(Gomez)” He said ,with hands in pocket and a pose.
“ Ga wata sabowa ( This is a new one).”
“ Why are you astonished? The last time I tried to be romantic, Naairah said my style was old school. So I saw a couple on TV they called Jay-Z and Beyonce, then I saw younger couple. They say the boy is Justin Barber and the girl is Selena Lopez.”
She chuckled.
“ Your first son is thirty.”
“ Rejuvenating ,yo.”
They laughed.
“ How was your day?” She asked him as he hugged her.
“ Alhamdulillah. You look beautiful. You are beautiful.”
“ Thank you.”
“ Even the Amarya ( New bride) that is coming is not as beautiful as you are.”
“Enhhh?”
“ Just kidding.” He laughed.
“ Who is scared? Let her come.”
“ Hmmm…..so, why are you standing like this?”
“ I was just having a view. I told you about Naairah’s change, right?”
“ Why are you so surprised. I always told you not to worry. When she turned eighteen she changed , didn’t she?”
“ She did not just change because she is eighteen. There is a factor behind it. Left to you, she would have been more rebellious.”
“ So, what is the factor?”
“ A boy. Your daughter is in love.”
“ Hmmm…and who is this boy?”
“ I am trying to figure that out but he has got a positive impact on her life.”
“ Tell her to invite him for dinner on Saturday. I want to meet him.”
“ What did you say?” Adnan said with his eyes wide open.
“ I was perplexed.” Naairah said. “ He said you will come and have dinner with us on Saturday.
“ I don’t mean no disrespect but I am not honouring the invitation.”
“ Why?”
“ Can't you see that it is sticky? When did Vaberian parents start inviting their daughters’ guy for dinner? Your father just wants to trap me and beat the hell out of me.”
“ Ridiculous.”
“ Marrying you is suicidal ,do you know that?”
“ What?”
“You are the last child. The only girl with strong looking brothers. If I mistakenly get you angry and they find out..phew! Look at that one who drives a Benz. Can’t you see his chest? When he will be like, ‘he did this to you?’ and the next question will be ,’ where is he…right now?’.
Then your immediate elder brother will call and say, ‘I am at the gate. I came to see you.’ Then the eldest will call and say, ‘ I heard, no problem.’ And you know what no problem means, right?”
She laughed.
“ You are funny.”
“But seriously , I am nervous.” He said. “ Why do you think he invited me?”
“ I don’t know. I guess he just wants to meet you. He won’t bite you.”
“ I know he won’t bite me. but he might use a stick. Naija ( Vaberian) parent invite you for dinner? It is , ‘tell him I want to see him’.”
She chuckled.
“ Whatever he does, I hope he does not take me away from you.” He said slowly.
“ Why should he do that?”
“ I don’t know. I am just scared of losing you, Miss Sunshine.”
“ Abba will never do anything that will hurt me and what will hurt me more than been taken away from you?”
“ You have become an in integral part of me, blended into my bloodstream, synchronised with my heartbeats, and a shield from melancholy. You came from nowhere to cover me with love and bliss. And I am so scared because there is none like you, not even a counterfeit as far as Adnan is concerned. I guess you were named Naairah as a dedication to me because who needs you more than I? Don’t leave me, ever.”
Her pretty face widened into a smile, her mind fighting back tears.
“ I will be there.”
“ I love you, Miss Sunshine.”
“ I love you…..Ya Hayati.”
Zayyad was watching from his car. So it was true.
Very good.
- Writer
