Huma couldn't remember the last time she went to a supermarket. The floors were pristine white and reflected the overhanging lights. She stared at the shelves of products as she walked down the aisle. There were a wide array of things to choose from. She'd come here on observational basis but now she was itching to buy a thing or two.

She soon stumbled on hair products and stood gushing over them. So many. Although she was quite capable of concocting hers, school had been far too hectic lately to do anything else besides study, and hers were almost exhausted. Huma picked one hair mask from the shelf and studied the back. Unimpressed she replaced it. Far too much chemicals.

When she reach the aisle with books on display, her eyes flitted over the names and illustrious covers. One caught her attention. It had a young woman with red hair. Her animated eyes were blue and gleamed over red lips parted to sing. Clams formed a bra across her chest. She also had a tail which was the color green. 'The little mermaid', the title read.

Is this supposed to be a fish?

Indeed, it was a fish, a woman as well, going by her Google search result. They were truly called mermaids, mythical creatures who dwell in the sea. She saw several images, most of humans cosplaying; some looked either drawn or painted and others alienic( she winced at their sharp teeth and vicious slitted eyes).

Her niece had mentioned something related in the past: a fish who'd lost its voice. Something about a prince too. Now she eyed the book curiously, a hand to her chin. Huma was standing at one end of the long shelves with Uche in view behind a cash register. Huma's eyes flicked over.

The blood red polo and fitted black Jean looked good on her. She nodded her capped head at a customer and perfunctorily smiled. Several male customers have second glances, even thirds, no doubt in awe by her beauty. Uche, as usual, never seemed to notice.

It hadn't been too long since her roommate had secured the cashier position, part time. More money was needed to fund her project and the online job would cover most expenses, but she had daily needs to settle- this job took care of that--and being a student allowed presented some certain privileges. Or something like that. Huma didn't quite understand the whole thing. But she appreciated the opportunity it presented to her.

A man stepped up to pay and as Uche took his card and made the transaction, he looked her over so openly and carnally that Huma blushed and averted her eyes. Allah yarham. It surprised her how shameless some men could be.

The next person was a pregnant woman, and she refocused her attention on the book.

****

Uche released a breath as the oogling man stepped aside. So much of her energy had been channeled to maintaing her composure and not losing her cool. Her line had more customers, most male, which meant more work. It was no surprise at all.

The next customer placed their basket before her and , one by one, she checked off their prices.

"That will be nineteen thousand five hundred naira, ma." Uche said after the total amount appeared on the screen.

The woman brought out her card, then gasped on recognizing the face under the cap. "Uche?"

Uche's head came up, disbelief in her eyes. " Sharon." She covered her displeasure with a small smile. "Hey, how far? It's been awhile."

"I dey o. You totally deserted me." Sharon accused, one hand on her protruding stomach. The months have seen it swollen heavily. Her slender figure was now rotund with baby fat. The young girl had matured into a woman rather quickly.."I thought of even coming to see you but I remembered I didn't know where you lived. Your phone number wasn't going through--"

"Yeah,". Uche tried to gather her shattered composure, giving Sharon the POS to insert her pin. " I lost my phone. Still haven't gotten a new one yet." She added in case Sharon wanted her number.

"Oh, so sorry. I even thought I'd see you in church some time but things changed."

Obviously.

"So, how's school?" Uche probed, printing the receipt.

Sharon appearred mollified. " Taking a little break until ." She smiled mirthlessly. " It's tougher than I expected."

Glancing up, Uche saw the brief, glassy pain in her eyes. It meant things had turned out exactly as she'd predicted. When Uche handed over the receipt, she noticed the ringed finger. At least, something positive had happened- Benedict was a much better man than she'd thought.

"It's nice to see you again." Sharon said. " Are you going to be working here for some time?"

" I'm not so sure, but for now, yes."

"See you around. Just in case, I work in the hair saloon just down the street. You could come over at any time."

Uche responded with a smile. They quickly exchanged goodbyes and, sighing, Uche prepared to attend to the next customer. At closing hours, she watched Huma bound up to her desk.

"It seems you had fun," Uche said.

Nodding, Huma spread her arms across the steel surface of her desk.

Uche smiled, eyes on the computer screen. "At least, one of us did." She noticed the book in Huma's hand. "You are going to buy something?" When Uche saw the front cover, she snorted. "I thought I'd seen everything." It was funny how relaxed they felt in each others company these days.

Embarrased, Huma hid her face behind her hands.

"I'm not judging, okay? Whatever you like, you like. It's nobody's business. So anything else, madam?"

The supermarket was almost empty, so they had time for a protracted conversation.

She listed a few things, enjoying the deference.

"Either your make up business is booming or your father sent you beta allowee this month." Uche commented. "Why buy the book though? The cartoon is online for download."

Blinking in disbelief, Huma straightened.

"You didn't know?" Uche mirrored her disbelief. " Seriously? Waltz Disney's cartoons are basically classics: snow white, Cinderella, beauty and the beast, sleeping beauty and the likes. Have you seen any of these?"

Th only thing she'd seen was Tom and Jerry.

"Wow. What a life." Done with the system, Uche stood to leave her station. " I could get it downloaded for you. Do you still want the book? I could still do the purchase now."

After a moment's thought, Huma decided she'd rather have it as well.

*************

Back in the hostel, Huma timidly approached Uche with a favor.

"You want me to help you wash your hair?" Uche was eating, cross legged on the bed. "Come to think of it, I've never seen your hair."

That was because weekends were her wash days and her mother handled the process. Nowadays her weekend trips didn't happen so frequently due to the hectic nature of school activities.

"Whenever you're ready."

Five minutes later, she stood before Uche in a towel, her braided hair falling down her back. She was beckoned to seat on the floor and Uche looked for a comb. After loosing one braid, Uche realized no extension had been added. She drew back.

"This is all your hair." Her tone registered wonderment. " How old is it?"

Huma hadn't counted.

"I'm not shocked though. I used to have a Muslim classmate in secondary school. She also had very long hair. I don't know if it's a religiously genetic thing."

Huma snorted at the ridiculousness.The women from her mother's side of the family lengthy hair, her grandmother's being the longest. Huma supposed it was from years of meticulous grooming. Genetics? Maybe. When Uche finished, she detangled and partitioned the hair into twists and they went into the bathroom where Uche massaged shampoo into damp hair and rinsed off the soapy lather thoroughly after which she patted excess water off each twists.

Instructing Huma to sit at the reading table Uche began to unravel each twist so as to apply the hair mask.

" I downloaded the cartoon. It's in my laptop," she gestured to her laptop already set up, " you could watch it while i work."
But Huma suddenly tapped her hand, turning.

"How do you know so much about hair?"

Uche hummed. "I wouldn't say so much. This is about it." She was quiet a moment " I didn't always cut my hair. I had long hair in my younger days. My mother used to fuss with it. She wanted to comb it, weave it into different styles, take care of it at every opportunity she got, whether agreed or not. Her pride, she called it."

"Then why did you cut it?"

"I got tired," Uche said, shrugging a shoulder. " Wanted a change. It's also easier to maintain. It's starting."

And that was the end of the discussion. Huma could count the times her roommate broached the unsavory topic of her parents and had come to the realization that she'd rather avoid these conversations all together. The cartoon was funny and spanned over an hour. It left her with questions.

"There's a part two and I think a part three," Uche told her when she inquired about its ending.

"Have you ever fallen in love before?"

The question made Uche pause. She was reading Amenze's latest book, which Huma had bought. She glanced over, said "No. Have you?"

Although, the ring wasn't on her finger, Huma could feel it, as if imprinted in her soul. She'd always wondered every time she saw Kazeem and Fatima or other couples; even when she had seen him the day they'd bumped into each other outside the room. She'd imagined. No. Huma shook her head. It was too late for that.

"So, that friend of yours....."

" We were children!" Huma insisted with as much dignity as she could muster .

"Okay," Uche raised a hand in surrender.

Fuming at how easily she was teased and embarrassed, Huma faced the screen, huddling in her chair.

"You really don't love him. This man you're marrying. " Uche saw her blink back tears. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

If only it were that easy; but she'd made a promise, one she had to keep. Love wasn't in her destiny. There was no Prince out there worth sacrificing the life she knew, and no deal that could give her the voice she'd lost.

"It's past an hour already. Let's rinse that out of your hair."

*******

"Calm down. I see no reason why you should get nervous." Uche told Huma who was pacing about the room. "Relatives visit all the time."

Why on earth would her mother want to come visit? For so long she'd dreaded the two meeting. Now, there was nothing she could do to avert it. Sick with anxiety, Huma worried her bottom lip. Allah yarham.

"Or is there something you're not telling me?"

She looked at Uche, assessing what she was wearing. Shorts and a big polo-she supposed they were decent enough. She glanced around, inspecting the room. Was the bed in the right place?Were the pictures proper? Should she change the wall paint?

"Will you sit down," Uche had grabbed hold of her shoulders. "All the pacing is making me dizzy. Look at me. Take a deep breath," holding gazes they inhaled and exhaled together until Huma was calm. "Everything is going to be fine."

Oh, how badly she wanted to believe that. As she started to nod, her eyes fell on Uche's chest. Her nipples were visible and when she moved those breasts bounced freely. Uche followed her gaze, glancing down.

"It's a hostel, Huma. Girls practically walk around naked here."

That was her worst fear:her parents beholding such decadence. They would most likely demand she moved back home afterwards.

"I'll put on a bra if that will ease your mind."

"Very much. Thank you."

As Uche strapped on the bra behind the curtain, she asked. " What time are they supposed to get here?"

At that instant, a knock sounded. Uche snapped back the curtain, and they stared at each other with wide eyes. Calming herself, Huma went to open the door and welcome them inside while Uche finished up.

Zanaib looked around the room, head turning this way and that, inspecting. Nadeem pulled his daughter for a side hug and Huma tried to smile warmly. She gestured for them to sit on the bed; Nadeem sat at the reading table while his wife remained standing.

Uche emerged from behind the curtain greeting Nadeem in Yoruba dialect.

"My daughter who is of the soil," Nadeem praised.

Uche demured, "welcome, sir." She turned to greet Zainab who simply made a throaty sound, which she ignored. "Huma, let's get them something to drink."

"Is that how you send my daughter on errands?" Zainab asked, settling on the bed. Huma froze at her mother's cynical tone.

The smile on Uche's face was strained. "Excuse me?"

"Are you deaf?" Zainab said. " I asked, is that how you send my daughter on errands?"

"Is that what I do?" Uche asked Huma who shook her head in response. "Why don't you tell her what I do. Go on."

Huma started to sign then remembered her parents didn't understand the language, and Uche knew that.

"She can't understand?" Uche said in mock surprise. " Too bad."

The insult wasn't lost on Zainab and she glared, saying nothing. Uche's polite smile remained. Before things escalated further, Huma turned to Nadeem with pleading eyes.

Nadeem, who had been observing quietly, caught on, cleared his throat, said" I'd like some water," and proceed to ask Huma about school work so as to ease the tension. She took the opportunity to introduce her text to speech device.

"You never wanted one of these," Nadeem said, chuckling. " It didn't matter how much I tried to persuade you. Now see," he plucked her nose and she feigned annoyance which made him laughed.

Uche had slipped outside to allow them talk freely and came in much later. She headed for the kitchen where plates and spoons clattered. Soon she emerged with a tray containing plates of chin chin. "Huma, please, help me with the drinks from the fridge."

She was siting opposite her father and got up to do what was requested of her but her mother instructed that she remained seated. Again Uche requested; Again, Zainab instructed against it.

"You got these yourself. You can as well get them." Zainab countered.

Nadeem beseeched his wife but she ignored him.

"It would be better she did," Uche coolly said. " You are her parents, not mine. You are our guests, not mine. It will go a long way in teaching her how to receive guests in the future."

"Teaching?" Zainab sounded offended." You are teaching my daughter? What gives you that right?"

"I don't know about you, ma. But from where I come from, we treat our visitors to something. I had to tell her to get some water before she did. Before you came she was terribly nervous. I had hoped she'd get you something while I was outside but she didn't. It shows that she isn't used to having guests( even though that's not entirely it). It's just proper home training."

" Are you questioning my parental skills?"

"Zainab," Nadeem warned.

"Don't 'Zainab' me," She snapped at him." Someone just insulted us and you want me to keep quiet? This woman is no doubt bullying our daughter. Who knows what else she makes her do in the name of 'teaching'. Our daughter is nobody's house girl "

Suddenly Uche chuckled. " Bully?" She was still holding the tray and dropped it on the reading table. " What was there to bully? She didn't know how to do anything."

Afraid of the dark direction the conversation was headed, Huma went to Uche's side, trying to placate Uche's rising temper but she gently brushed her aside, those eyes burning with fury.

"With all due respect, ma, I only stated the obvious. I couldn't tell if she was a child or a woman at first. She didn't know how to do the simplest things: she couldn't clean; her side of the wardrobe was always a mess. She'd let her dirty clothes pile up. She couldn't cook. Absolutely nothing! If you leave her, she'd rather study all day and not eat and not do any other thing. And I thought: she's to be married? Like this? What sort of mother would rob her child of being able to do things on her own? Would make her dependent on others to do the slightest thing? All in the name of 'pampering' her."

Each sentence cut through both mother and daughter. Huma's eyes quickly filled with tears.

" Did you just call my daughter useless?" Zainab was on her feet, stalking forward.

"No, ma. I know you've always thought so since what happened to her. I'm simply insinuating that she's no longer useless." Uche expected the slap before Zainab's hand landed on her cheek.

"Zainab!" Nadeem pulled his wife back, bursting into a diatribe in their local dialect. He checked to see if Uche was okay and apologized.

She had bitten her tongue and spat out blood." I'm fine, sir. It's alright."

Shocked, embarrassed Huma got her a tissue.

"I said I'm okay," Uche insisted refusing the offer."The only blessing here is that your daughter is a kind and gentle soul, despite everything that has happened to her. For that, you should be grateful."

Zainab was shaking visibly with anger from wounded pride."How dare you? Who do you think you are? What do you know? We are leaving! Huma, get your bags! I will not have you living with this ill-mannered woman."

But Huma didn't move. She held onto Uche's hand. Nadeem saw this, he felt his heart break a little because the rift between mother and daughter had just widened. He smiled regardless. For the first time, his daughter knew what she wanted and stood by it.

"Huma! I said get your things!" The pain was clear in Zainab's eyes as Huma moved behind Uche.

"We should leave," Nadeem quietly told her and guided his stunned wife through the door. He nodded at Uche and rubbed Huma's shaking shoulder. "I'm sorry."

When they left, Huma let her cries be heard. Strangles noise came from her throat. In Uche's arms, she surrendered.