Handsome Devil ✅

Twelve

Layla's days crawled slowly and rolled into weeks filled with chores and class study with Ni'imah. They had arranged weekends and Friday evening for their special classes. Layla has the zeal to learn and she was sharp and intelligent. They had basic oral English and essay writing. Her soft voice when she speak English makes it worth listening. Ni'imah was patient with her even though she has her bunch of assignment and presentation. They hadn't been close but Ni'imah observed how distant and reserved Layla was. She wasn't a chatterbox before but she was free and nonchalant.

Alhaji Hussien was now in Abuja. The nature of his business doesn't require steady division of days amongst his wives. He could spend few weeks in Kano and another weeks in Abuja. He tries being fair as recommended in Islam.

He organizes reading session on Sunday and Layla also tagged along. She didn't bother to join the first day she saw them reading but he had asked her to join them.

It was Quran recitation and Tahfeez. Ni'imah had successfully reached her 20th Hizb and Abba was glad with that. Layla was struggling with Al-Baqara when last they had the class session. The few days she had attended the session recently she had been nervous and excited. She couldn't recite the last two pages of Surah Al-Baqara but Abba as he had encouraged her to call him was understanding. He noticed how apprehensive she was that he asked what was wrong with her the first day of the session. He is such a nice and warm man that Layla couldn't help but wonder how he got a monster as a son. They looked so alike that the first day she attended the session, she had to excuse herself. All she could see was Zayyad's face and she couldn't stand it. Abba's face was an older version of Zayyad with a gentle eyes and strains of grey hairs.

Hajiya Khadija had noticed how sad Layla looks when she was alone doing her chores. Few days back she caught her deep in thought while cutting carrot. Something was clearly wrong with the girl but she couldn't know what.

She was sitting in the dinning area with a bowl of fruits when Layla came downstairs from Ni'imah's room. Ni'imah had given her one of her novels to read. Even though she was taking the stairs carefully, one could see that her mind was somewhere.

"Layla." Hajiya called her name to get her attention. She turned frightened by Hajiya probably because she didn't know she was there. Malam Tani had told Hajiya about her falling which she got injured. She repeated same thing to Hajiya when she had asked her.

Layla felt fear washed over her when she heard her name. She had tried living as though everything was normal but everything was not. She was still in the process of healing. She walked to Hajiya and bowed  respectfully, waiting on her to say what she called her for.

Hajiya looked carefully at her as though trying to read what was wrong by mere looking. Layla was shivering from her inner self and has held her hand tightly to stop it from shivering.

Hajiya sighed when her observation didn't heed any result, then softly looked at Layla whose eyes were brewing with hot tears. She didn't want them to find out about this. Not like she was scared for Zayyad, no, with all pleasure she would want him to suffer slowly before he's taken  by a slow painful death, but she would also be in the mess as much as him. They may even doubt her. How many such of this story had the society decided to blame the victim. Life was unfair really.

" I have a feeling you're hiding something from me. Perhaps you're sick and you don't want to tell us. Mind to share with me, Layla? "

Her eyes literally bulged from her eye sockets. She almost held her chest so her heart wouldn't hurt her. If Zayyad didn't kill her, her paranoia would eventually. So literally, Hajiya wants her to tell her what what was eating her up. She would take this to her grave. She had started devising ways to avenge what Zayyad did to her. That was her own battle to face.