When Larai arrived at the agreed location, Yusuf was already waiting along the path that led to the stream.

He hurried towards her. "So plan A failed?"

Wordlessly, she nodded. "That's why it's always good to have a plan B, in case plan A fails." He commented. "Let's go, shall we?" He extended a hand to collect the clothes she was holding against her chest.

Larai took a step backward and slowly shook her head."I don't think I can do this."

"I want you to tell me what you want. Do you want to go back there and get married to that filthy old man who doesn't have an atom of regard for women? A man who is old enough to be your great grandfather?" He stared into her eyes. "Is that what you want? Tell me if it is."

"No." She sniffed. "It's just so hard leaving my family behind. Baaba will no doubt hunt me down. I'm afraid he is going to disown me. I don't want that..."

"Don't be scared. We're going to the city and the city is large. There's no way your father is going to find you there. Believe me, this is the right thing to do. I know they are your parents, but that doesn't give them the right to ruin your life. Soon enough, there are going to understand this. Besides, I'm not telling you to go away for good. You're only going to sojourn at my place. Someday, when everything is normalized, I will accompany you back here. Is that okay?"

"Thank you." Larai smiled. If she could think of other words greater than 'thank you', she would have used them to prove just how grateful she was to him, for walking into her life, at such a crucial point and lending her a helping hand. "If you weren't here, I can already imagine how miserable my life will be. You're God sent."

Yusuf's lips curved into a smile. "As long as I'm with you, I won't allow anyone to cause you pain in any way. Let's leave immediately, before your family finds out you're missing. My car is parked over there." He pointed to the large hectares of land in front of them. A black Mercedes Benz could be seen.

"What?" Larai's jaw dropped to the floor. "You own a car? How...how comes I didn't know? I have never seen you drive it before."

Yusuf chuckled. "Did you think I walked here all the way from the city?"

"No, but —"

"The car has always been with me. Parked in the backyard of the building I rented. You haven't seen me driving it, because the roads are terrible and this village is so small. I actually prefer to stroll about and enjoy nature. Enough of the talks, let's hurry." He increased pace towards the car and unlocked it. "Get in."

Larai hesitated; her eyes darting back to the path that led to their house. She had always wanted to leave the village someday, but she had never expected it to be without her sister and the consent of her family.

Yusuf jogged to her side and opened the door. "Hurry up, Larai, otherwise, we're going to be caught."

With one last look at the environment she grew up in, she got into the car.

In no time, Yusuf got in the driver's seat and drove off.

•

After an hour, they had completely left the outskirts of the village, but they hadn't completely left Niger state yet.

Larai's gaze was fixed on the road.

The breeze from outside fanning her and making tears brim up in her eyes. The thousand cars she saw didn't faze her, nor did the racing trees. Her mind was far from them. The only thing she could think of was how her parents were reacting at the moment.

Baaba would be furious, she knew that for a fact, and Nna would cry and blame Baaba for pushing her to take such a drastic step.

"Please understand why I had to do it." She thought she had uttered the sentence in her mind until Yusuf proved her wrong by responding.

"When the time is right, I'm sure they will." He reassured, turning the steering wheel. "Don't think too much about them. Just relax."

It was easier said than done. For Yusuf, Larai knew her parents meant nothing to him. He could tell his mind to stop thinking about them and it probably would listen, but for Larai, they were her parents—the people she grew up respecting more than anyone else. The people who fed, clothed, and gave her provided shelter over her head. It was impossible to command her mind to stop thinking of such people and it would listen.

Her whole life revolved around them. She hadn't fully come to terms with the fact that she had chosen to run away from home and her parents. She would never be able to. "How long before we arrive at the destination?"

Yusuf hummed and placed a hand on his chin, thoughtfully. "About eight hours more."

"Eight hours?" Larai rushed out the question.

"Not necessarily that. It's just an estimate." He clarified. "Don't worry, we will get to Ilorin soon. Just close your eyes and try to sleep. When you wake up, we'd have gone a long way."

Larai nodded and shut her eyes. She prayed for sleep to overshadow her, but instead, the weeping face of Azumi appeared.

Abruptly, she opened her eyes and tried to steady her ragged breaths.

"What's wrong? Do you feel sick? Should I pull over?" Yusuf worriedly asked. 

"I," she breathed. "I saw an image of Azumi in my mind. She was weeping and..." Her voice trailed.

"That's because you keep thinking of her. Azumi is a smart kid. I know she understands."

"Indeed she is." Larai agreed; a smile on her face. "She's zealous as well. You know, I don't always show her how much I love her, but I do. A lot. Now I regret why I didn't shower my love on her when I had the chance. I f—"

"Hey," Yusuf glanced at her. "Why are you speaking as if you're never going to see her again?"

Larai wished she had the answer to his question. For some inexplicable reason, she felt uneasy. Something was not right somewhere. Her gut feeling told her so.

"Try to sleep, okay? It will get your mind off things." Yusuf attempted to place a reassuring hand on hers, but she pulled her hand back and nodded.

Despite how hard Larai tried to fall asleep, it just wasn't working. Her restless mind would not allow it.

"We're going to stop in Bida for a while," Yusuf informed.

"Why?" Larai adjusted her sitting posture. "Is there something you want to get there?"

"I haven't had anything to eat since last night. I know you haven't as well, so I'm going to find a nice restaurant where we can eat." He replied.

"I'm not hungry." She declined. "Truth is that I'm quite used to not eating for days."

"You're used to it, doesn't mean it's right or makes it right." He pointed out. "I'm going to stop and we're going to eat." His voice held finality.

Left with no room to object, Larai shrugged.

"Have you been to any town or city before?" Yusuf suddenly inquired.

Larai gave a closed-lip smile and shook her head. "Actually, I have never left the outskirts of the village."

"Really?" Yusuf asked, surprised.

"Despite how impossible it seemed, Azumi and I had always dreamed of exploring the country someday." She continued. "It's sad that she's left behind in the village. I just hope Baaba doesn't take out his anger on her. She must be very scared right now. Poor girl!"

"With time, everything will be fine. Quit worrying so much, otherwise, you will create a problem that wasn't even there in the first place."

Larai sighed and closed her eyes, silently hoping she could fall asleep.

•

Larai's eyes opened to Yusuf's face only an inch away from hers.

His breath fanned her face.

"I'm sorry." He apologized and pulled back. "I always put my wallet in the pigeonhole, but I can't seem to find it. I think it fell over there." He pointed to the side of her seat. "I was trying to get it."

Larai released a breath and sat up straight. "I will check." She put a hand down and fumbled around for it.

"Have you found it?"

"No—yes. I think I have found it." She pulled out the wallet and handed it to him.

"Thank you."

Larai looked around and realized the car was parked in front of a huge building. "Where are we? Why did you stop here?"

"To eat." He simply responded and alighted from the car. "Come on, let's go."

Larai attempted to open the car. She gasped when the handle broke in her hand.

Yusuf rushed over and opened the door from outside. "Are you okay?" He took her hand in his and examined her.

Larai slipped her hand out of his and cringed. "I'm sorry I destroyed your car."

Yusuf chuckled, then burst into laughter. "Destroy? That's a small damage. I can easily get it fixed."

"Still." She lowered her head, remorsefully. "I'm not used to—"

"I understand." He cut her off. "And I'm not even complaining. I'm just glad you didn't hurt yourself. It's all I care about."

Somehow, the words were what she needed to hear to feel relaxed again. "Okay."

"Let's go." He opened the door wider. "We still have a long ahead of us."

Immediately they walked into the restaurant, a waitress ushered them to a seat and presented a menu to them.

"What do you want to have?" Yusuf asked Larai, whose mouth was open as she looked around.

She was so busy gaping, that she didn't hear Yusuf's voice.

"Larai," Yusuf called, startling her a bit. "Sorry." He apologized for that. "What do you want to eat?"

Larai shrunk in her seat and mumbled; "Anything is fine."

"Okay." He smiled, then turned back to the waitress and returned the menu to her. "We will have two wraps of pounded yam each and Egusi soup."

The waitress left and returned in a few minutes, returned with the order.

They had only begun to eat when Yusuf's phone rang. He looked at the screen first, before looking up at her.  "It's my mother." He excused and lifted the phone to his ear, but ended up putting it down in a split second.

"The network is poor. I will talk to her later."

Larai hummed. "Does she know I'm with you?"

“Yes, she does. I sought her permission beforehand. She's excited to meet you. I have told her a lot about you."

At his words, Larai looked away, shyly. She was apprehensive to meet his family. She only hoped they would be able to accept her.

"The food here is scrumptious, isn't it?" Yusuf raised a brow.

Larai nodded. She couldn't agree less.

After they were done eating, Yusuf paid the bills and they ambled back to the car.

The journey to Kwara state continued. Though the road out of Niger state was bumpy, they managed to get through it.

Larai looked out of the window again and allowed her mind to drift to a future with Yusuf. By helping her in all of her times of need, he proved to her what a gentleman he was. She could never have asked for a better man. He was everything she needed and prayed for in a man. Had her parents accepted their relationship, everything would have been perfect.

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

How are you doing?

They are finally out of the village. What do you think is in stock for the duo?

Does Yusuf give off an eerie aura? Do you think his intentions are pure?

Don't forget to vote and comment ❤️

Please take a moment to tag people you think would love this book here 🙏

Another update tomorrow, in Sha Allah, but if the votes and comments are encouraging, I might give y'all another chapter today 😇

deey_jah
❤️❤️❤️