Chapter 84: Chapter 84

An eerily silence outbreaks in the ambience. She was quite, as though her life being taken out of her. Mom and Mama hurriedly rushed to her with tears streaming down her cheeks, they couldn't think of loosing Shafa! Yes, she wronged them in every way possible, but she is still their relative, the friend they had in the body of a cousin.

They slumped beside her head and Mama took her head and placed it on her laps. She leaned in, despite the pungent smell; and felt for the raspy breath coming out Of Umma's nose.

She looked at them and smiled amidst tears; "She's still breathing, let's take her to a psychiatric!" And the men rushed towards her and lifted her up, the women making way for them to the car.

She was admitted, and was given a room when Amna sat beside her and held her hand, crying silently; yet with a timbre capable of shattering one's heart.

"Adyan, you should go and buy her some clothes. Also, we need soap and towels; we're bathing her here. With some deodorants as well." Mom ordered and her gaze fell on a silent Rukayya that was doing nothing but shedding tears; with her eyes fixed on Shafa that was peacefully sleeping. Life and its ironies.

Adyan, Jibril and Tahir excused themselves and went for the said errand. While Hayfah and Amna went around the hospital to buy them buckets and the necessary things they might need. They came back and met Mom and Mama crying at how Shafa was dancing and yelling some incoherent words in the centre of the room_and all her talks had Talhah, Rukayya, Hayfah and Sagiru in them.

Hayfah and Amna went and called the nurses, they came back and injected her_to which she fell asleep; yet again. Adyan came back, they handed the women the things and went out to buy them what they will have as dinner, all this while; Tahir and Amna haven't said a word.

Mom and Mama stripped the worn out clothes out of Umma and gave her a towel bath, and Hayfah and Amna put on the new ones on her and spritzed the deodorant on every angle of her body. The buckets were taken to the toilet, the clothes thrown in the bin, and they sat there looking as she sleep with tears on her cheeks.

A call came through, it was Mama's phone. She took the phone out of her bag and answered; it was her husband calling. She slide the answer button and broke into tears without answering back his salaam.

"Subhanallah, Rukayya What happened? Something happened? Is Hayfah safe?" He asked agitated, she told him yesterday and informed him that Hayfah is back, what again in the world could make her cry this hard?

"She's Fine, Papa." She drawled, the name they used to call him with Aliyu.

"What happened then? Why are you crying as if something terrible happened? It is Shafa? Or are you not in Zaria yet? She did something again?" He was now standing on his two feet, and Rukayya could imagine him flaring his nose at just the thought of her in pain.

"We couldn't find Shafa in the house. Papa, she's gone mad, dumped in the street eating remnants of expired food. She had been crying, laughing and muttering incoherent words. I don't know what to do!" They all have their eyes at her, how she was crying profusely that her words were coming out in hiccups, and her shoulders shook vehemently.

He palmed his face and sat back on the sofa; where their five years old Aliyu is sleeping peacefully. He doesn't know the type of heart his Ruru possesses, if it's to him; Shafa should die for all he cares! But here she is, crying as if her life depends on her.

"Where are you now?" He asked instead, for he couldn't bring to ask about the wellbeing of Shafa, what have she done to deserve such empathy from Rukayya?

"We brought her to a psychiatric. She's sleeping now. How's Mazan Fama doing?" She asked, referring to her son Aliyu. She calls him Mazan fama.

"He slept after crying his eyes out that he wants to see Rayhan and Hayfah; together with Mysha. Now, it's still not 12pm, you can make it to Sokoto today. Ask for a discharge, I think she needs a Ruqya not those injections and all." That was how he spoke to Mom and made them collected the discharging letter from the hospital and embarked on a journey to Sokoto.

They arrived at Sokoto when it was already dark. Tahir and Adyan took Shafa in their arms and walked her to the main building of the house; where they met Mustapha and his family; so warm and nice to them.

They were being served food, they ate, prayed and it was time to talk about an almost lifeless Shafa laying on the three sitter of the living room. Alhaji Shehu Wamakko, a father to Alhaji Mustapha entered the living room, the tip of his stick making a sound on the tiled floor.

He sat down and they greeted him once again. Him being a well known Malam in the state, he looked at Shafa and smiled, moving close to her sleeping figure.

"Mustapha, bring her to my living room. Tell your mother to bring all the necessities for a Ruqya, we should thank god it's not that worst." And again, Adyan and Tahir took her to the living room and sat down with only Jibril left at the other living room.

He started the recitation, as Mustapha kept sprinkling the zam zam water that was being prayed for-on her body. She started crying with slow whimpers, then to wailings, and it got to the point she was crying out loud. She barked, roared, hissed, and her mouth vented all the sounds of the animals Mama knew of.

Her cryings later started subsiding, and there seemed urgency as a roaring voice started talking. "Wait, let's talk for once and we shall call it forever!"

Alhaji Shehu smiled and motioned for Mustapha to stop sprinkling the zam zam on her. "What is your name? And why have you turned her into a mad woman?" The strictness in his voice, the aura that made all the breathing figures in the room to shudder.

The voice laughed! The loud laughter with so much timbre they felt the walls slightly shook. "My name is Dan makatsuru, and I made her a mad woman because she deserved it."

"How does she deserves it? And mind you; I'm not taking any of your lies, you knew what I'm capable of!" Alhaji Shehu roared, and Dan Makatsuru seemed frightened.

"Okay, here it is. I'm the genie that worked for her when she wanted to marry Talhah. I'm the one that made Talhah hated his wife Rukayya so much that he felt like puking out at the mere sight of her. And also, I worked in Talhah's heart the day he chased Rukayya out of the house.

She wanted to make Hayfah's life a wastage, but that didn't happened because Hayfah and her Mother were prayerful. But still, I made sure I planted a seed of Hayfah's hatred in Kassim's heart, doing all it takes to make Hayfah's life a living hell. I made him did all the things he did to her; not intentionally of course, she made me do it.

This woman here is a mini wizard herself. It got to the point that she could call me herself without getting to Boka Lallaftu; the man that works for her. And we became best of friends, but I laid out one condition for her; that from the day Hayfah became happy, she would be doomed and I'll make her crazy. And she agreed; thus getting Hayfah married to Jibril, not knowing she got married to be happy.

Hayfah was happy, and I did all I can and made Shafa's life a living hell. Sagiru came and I warned her not to marry him but she didn't payed heed; don't ask me how I do it, because she sometimes sees me in complete human form.

Sagiru cheated her and took away all she had, selling off Talhah's house as well. And I took that time to complete what I started, I made her gone mad."

"I demand you set her mind free and make sure you leave her forever; else, I'll end your life right at this place!"

Dan Makatsuru laughed, the kind of laughter that made the crying figures in the room almost run out of the living room. It was scary! What had Umma gotten herself into?

"I'm sorry Malam, it's not that I'm disobeying you or something. But there is this agreement between Boka Lallaftu and her mother; Baraka. That I should make sure I did all it takes to make the life of Rukayya a living hell. I did. I turned down her womb, but Hayfah still managed to maneuvered her way to the world. They made me killed their mother; Inna, all in the process of making Rukayya's life a living hell.

You know what the condition was? I should take Shafa's life the day I found out Rukayya and Hayfah were happy. And they are, and this made me failed in my work. So, I'm giving her the freedom of the last one hour of her life. Tell her all the things you want, I'm taking her soul off in the next one hour." And a loud, vibrating cough erupted out of Shafa's lips they thought she was dying right there; she fell down for ten minutes and she was back into her consciousness.

She slowly began squinting her eyes, and her gaze fell on Rukayya. She jerked awake and fell into tears, what's left in life she hadn't seen?

"Ruru is that you?" She asked with a quivering voice, and before Rukayya could answer her eyes began roaming around the crying figures sitting in the room staring back at her.

"Neema?" Her eyes widened, she thought she was in the world of deads that she saw Rukayya, but what just happened?

"Ya Rabbi! Hayfah? You are the one? You see what life did to me right? I lost myself trying to make sure you lost your happiness." She was crying profusely, as her tired eyes slowly fell on Tahir and Amna that were seated beside each other.

"So I could see you all before I died? Come here let me feel your warmth for the last time. Hayfah, be the first one to come over." And Hayfah crawled towards her and burst into tears as her body got in contact with Umma's. The first time in forever, she was finally able to hug Umma.

Amna ran to them in tears and Umma circled her arms around them, crying in anguish; she knew her life has come to an end. Tahir came; she smacked his head in tears and hugged him too_they were all crying, shoulders shaking and hearts breaking at each minute that passed by.

They slowly broke their hug and Umma looked at Mom and Mama before she squeezed her face and more tears gushed down. She opened her mouth to talk but they shushed her and engulfed her into a hug.

"We love you, Shafa. We've forgiven you, let's forgive ourselves." They hushed and hold onto their embrace.

The embracing moments were over; but they couldn't bring themselves to stop shedding those tears. "Who is that?" Umma pointed her index finger towards Adyan that was shedding silent tears.

"He's my son, the older is not here with us. He's the one married to Hayfah; here's their daughter." Mom informed and placed Mysha on Umma's laps, and more tears gushed out of Umma's eyes. She's the one holding Hayfah's daughter, and Adyan's daughter as well. What a life.

"This is the Adyan we fought all our life for. Forgive us kunji?" And she stared at her family, especially Hayfah and Mama.

"Enough of the tears, Shafa. Let's have a family time for once in our life. Adyan call Jibril so he could see her." They were all talking, but there eyes were keenly fixed on the wall clock in the living room. Each tick of a second goes away with a piece of their hearts.

Jibril walked in and Umma laughed in between tears. "So this is Amna's husband? This girl you should be lucky of having such a handsome man!" And she playfully smacked Amna's arms_they burst into laughter with tears in their eyes.

"Ruru am, make sure you get Tahir married to a beautiful girl when I'm dead. We should keep our circle of beautiful and handsome family!"

Just like that; Adyan brought his phone out_as they cried and laughed at the same time_he took them pictures. Umma smiled in some pictures, she cried in some, and laughed in some.

By 11:41pm, she started gasping for breath, they looked at the wall clock and it was exactly two minutes to an hour; to the time Dan Makatsuru left.

Alhaji Shehu kept chanting some supplications but it due Umma would die on Monday by 11:43pm. All souls shall taste death. It was time for Shafa, the forever eloquent wife of Talhah Muhammad. Sadly, she was gone.