STIGMA

Chapter 5

　　DEBT

　　Saleem was sitting on a couch in the sitting room with his luggage, waiting for his parents.

　　A few minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Raji came out of their room to meet their son. The couple prayed for their son and wished him a journey of mercies.

　　After praying, his father brought out an envelope from his pocket and stretched it to him.

　　Saleem prostrated as a sign of gratitude, opened the envelope, and counted the money. It was #10,000.

　　"Daddy thank you, mummy thank you too, I appreciate this but this money is not enough. It's not even up to the fees for our field school, how do I go about it," Saleem complained.

　　"My son, don't worry we will send you more before the end of the month and before the closing date for the p*****t In Sha Allah (By God's Grace). Besides, you have foodstuffs, just manage with this till we send you more. Continue being the good boy you have always been and remember the son of whom you are. May Almighty Allah be with you", his dad replied.

　　"Ameen", mother and son chorused.

　　"Thank you, my son, for your patience and endurance. May you never go astray and may success be yours in all you do." His mother added.

　　"Thank you, mum and dad, may you both live long to reap the fruit of your labor. I have two more years to go, just continue praying for me. I need to get going", Saleem said standing up.

　　"Alright my husband, let's go", his mum said, holding his hand and guiding him out while his father bade him goodbye and went into his room.

　　When they got to the door, Mrs. Raji heard a familiar voice and quickly pushed Saleem back into the room.

　　Baffled, he asked, "Mummy, what is the matter?"

　　"Ah, my son, that voice sounds like Mama Risikatu's voice. The foodstuff I got for you and your sister was on credit and I got it from her. I know for sure that she is here for her money and I don't have anything to give her now", his mother answered with a petrified look.

　　"Oh God! what do I do now, I need to get going", Saleem told her.

　　"You will have to go through the backyard. We can't go through the front door so she won't see me. If she sees me, I will have to give her something, or else I will be humiliated. I don't have a single penny with me. Your dad and I gave you all we had", she explained and led him to the backyard.

　　Saleem jumped over the fence to the next compound and board a bike to the park.

　　Saleem was the firstborn of a family of five. He was the only son and he has two sisters by the name of Hadiza and Rekiya.

　　Hadiza was in Bayero University, Kano while Rekiya was still in secondary school.

　　Saleem was a 22-year-old student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. His parents reside in Kano State but they were Yoruba by the tribe.

　　Saleem's mother is a Hausa woman but was born and brought up in Ibadan. His father on the other hand was born and brought to Kano State but was an indigene of Oyo State.

　　Mr. Raji met his wife during a trip he made to his hometown for an EID celebration.

　　Saleem is an easy-going and patient young man who stayed at home for four years before gaining admission into the university to study archaeology.

　　As a lover of history, he became interested in archaeology when he came across it 2 years after his secondary school education. With interest in the past, he started making research about the course and he became very much acquitted with it even before he was admitted into the university.

　　He also got to know that only 4 federal universities offer the course and with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria is the closest, he applied.

　　Fortunately, he was offered a B. A double honor (archaeology and history) which means he was studying archaeology and history as a course at the same time. At the end of his 4 years in school, he was to graduate with two certificates in archaeology and history.

　　Saleem's immediate sister, Hadiza who was just 18, gained admission a year after her brother to study Mass Communication in B.U.K.

　　Their mother was a petty trader while their father was a civil servant.

　　On his way to the park, Saleem couldn't help thinking about the situation at home and how difficult things have been ever since he entered the university. He also thought of different scenarios of creditors who always come looking for his mother to ask her to pay her debt.

　　He wished there was something he could do or perhaps a miracle that would bring all his parent's struggles to an end. The more he thought of the whole issue, the more determined he was to become successful.

　　"These people's effort must not be in vain dear Lord! Guide and protect my family and keep us safe from evil hands. Wipe our tears and answer all our prayers", he silently prayed.

　　As the bike got to the park, he continued to mutter under his breath.

　　"Make me successful Merciful Lord, lead me to the path of righteousness and not the path of those that have been leading astray."

　　*******

　　Habib woke up to the ringing sound of his phone which was on a drawer beside his bed. He stretched his hand to pick up the phone with his half-closed eyes. He opened his eyes to see a missed call from a strange number and a lot of notifications from f*******:.

　　He hissed and went back to sleep. He later woke up at exactly 9:05 am.

　　He quickly took a shower, had breakfast of tea and bread, and went out to go to his mother's shop. He promised to help her in the shop the day before.

　　On his way to her shop, he saw some of his friends and they briefly exchanged pleasantries. He continued his journey and a few minutes later, he came across Bolaji, his sworn enemy right from secondary school days.

　　Bolaji and Habib used to be best of friends during their days in secondary school but they began to despise each other when a new girl came to their school. They both claimed to have feelings for the girl.

　　The girl's name was Alice. A fair beautiful girl from the Eastern part of the country who was very arrogant. Alice's parents were both involved in politics.

　　Bolaji and Habib fought daily just to win Alice's heart. Unfortunately, they got disappointed when Alice professed her love openly to the dullest boy in the class. Bolaji's hatred for Habib increased and vice versa.

　　They still despised each other even after 6 years of what Habib referred to as "a childish infatuation".

　　Habib was trying to act like the mature and reasonable one by trying to settle the issue amicably all to no avail. When Bolaji noticed Habib and Salamat together, he told Habib he was going to get Salamat by all means.

　　Bolaji was smiling evilly when Habib saw him across the road and he wondered what evil thoughts were on Bolaji's mind this time around. Everyone knows Bolaji to be troublesome and his physique scares people away.

　　"Hey bro, how you dey na (How are you doing)....", Bolaji greeted the quiet Habib and he continued. "....I hope to say you see my message (I hope you received my message)?"

　　"What message?", Habib asked with surprise.

　　Bolaji laughed mockingly. "Mr. Grammarian never change o. I know to say e no easy to be oko olosho (I know it's ain't easy to be the husband of a p********e)", he uttered and laughed again.

　　"What are you saying?", Habib questioned.

　　"Hmm really? Are you sure you don't understand me? No problem...let me be straightforward. Everyone in town knows our beautiful..oops sorry...I mean your beautiful babe is a p********e so you better start to hide your ugly face. I told you I was going to get her, didn't I?" He completed and walked away laughing evilly.

　　"What is this i***t talking about?" Habib wondered as he proceeded to his mother's shop.

　　Then he brought out his phone from his pocket and quickly input his password to unlock it as his curiosity was growing every minute.

　　He kept walking while operating his phone. He dialed the strange number but it was unreachable. He logged in to his f*******: account to check his notifications. He was met with the greatest shock of his life at the news on his page

　　"What?", He said with shock and mistakenly dropped his phone.