Larai's eyes fluttered open and memories of what Mr. Kasim had attempted to do to her flashed back in her mind.

She rose to her feet and ambled towards the mirror. The reflection that stared back at her, wasn't hers—it was a sad girl, with red and puffy eyes. Her hair was disheveled and she had a runny rose. She used to be happy. She wished she could go back to her childhood. As a child, she had always looked forward to being an adult, but as an adult now, she wished she had not grown up. To her, adulthood was overrated and childhood, underrated.

Larai knew the best thing to do was to tell Yusuf about his father, but by so doing, she could ruin his family. She didn't want that. Yusuf didn't deserve to have his family broken because of her. Yusrah and Yumnah would hate her as well. She didn't have it in her to cause havoc in their peaceful home. She had no choice, but to keep the sacrilege buried deep within herself.  
She walked back to the door and opened it to take a peep in the room and find out if Mr. Kasim was still in the room. Seeing no signs of him, she emerged from the bathroom and rushed to the bedroom door, and secured it with locks.

The sound of her phone ringtone startled her. She hurried to the bed, where the phone was kept, and picked it up. Her heart plummeted at the caller ID—Yusuf. He traveled all the way to her village because of her and instead of calling to check up on him, she didn't. She had completely forgotten about it. She felt embarrassed and wondered what he must be thinking of her.

With a trembling finger, she clicked on the receive button and placed the phone against her ear. "Assalamu'alaykum."

"Wa'alaykum salam." Came his voice.
"How are you?"

Tears slid down Larai's cheeks. She was tempted to tell him all about his father's disgusting acts. It took almost all of her willpower for her to be able to push back the words. "Have you arrived there yet?"

"Almost. I'm already in Niger state. Is everything okay over there? Your voice—"

"Yes." She gulped, cutting him off. "I'm sorry for not calling to check up on you, I fell asleep and—"

"That's not a problem. It's even a good thing. At least you've been able to recover the rest you were supposed to have last night. I know you couldn't sleep.

"Hmm."

"I want you to be rest assured that everything is alright. I will see you when I return."

"Safe journey. May Allah protect you." Larai prayed. 

"Ameen." He responded. "I will call you later."

"Bye." Larai ended the call and let out the sob she had been repressing. Mr. Kasim deserved to be exposed and on the other hand, was poor Yusuf, he wouldn't be able to take the news. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

•

The evening arrived at a slow pace. Larai was still in her room. She couldn't leave even if she wanted to, for the fear of Mr. Kasim. She feared he was somewhere around the corner, waiting for her to leave the room, so he could take advantage of her.

She took a glance at the wall clock and realized it was 7 o'clock already, then ambled to the bathroom to perform ablution for maghrib prayer.

Larai didn't get up from the mat until she had offered her night prayer.

Amidst tears, she prayed to Allah to protect her from all harms—seen and unseen.

Larai didn't realize she had begun to doze off on the prayer mat until she heard a knock on the door.

She sprung to a sitting position and placed a hand on her thumping heart. "Who's there?" She forced out the words, even though she already had a hunch who it was.

"It's me, Larai. Open the door." Came Mrs. Hadiza's voice.

Larai released a breath she didn't know she had been holding and rushed to the door to open it.

"Good evening, ma. I didn't know you've returned...welcome."

"Are you okay? You seem...flushed." Mrs. Hadiza observed.

Again, Larai was tempted to expose Mr. Kasim to his wife, but for self-explanatory reasons, she couldn't.
"Yes, I just...I just woke up." She lied. Not entirely though. It was partially true.

"That explains why your eyes are puffy. You didn't cook anything?"

"I'm sorry I totally forgot about that, but I'll go and fix something now." Larai was about to walk past her when she felt Mrs. Hadiza's hand around her arm.

Larai's heartbeat accelerated.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Mrs. Hadiza inquired, unconvinced.

"Yes." Larai forced a smile and gently freed herself from Mrs. Hadiza's hold and walked out of the room.

It took approximately an hour for Larai to finish preparing the food.

She was busy setting the dining table when she felt a hand snake around her waist. She shrilled and jumped, getting away from the intruder.

"Hey! Calm down, it's just me." It was him again.

Larai's heart rate skyrocketed. Out of intense fear, she began to look around—like a thief caught in the act. "Please stay away from me." She beseeched, tears welling up in her eyes. "Your wife is around. What if she sees you holding me like that? She's definitely going to accuse me of the thing I'd never do." 

"Trust me, it's just a matter of time. I will make you succumb. This, I promise you." With that said, he walked away, leaving a stunned Larai behind.

Without control, tears ran down her cheeks, as she shook her head. She could sense the determination in his voice. She couldn't sit idle and allow him to carry out his vile intentions. She knew she had to do something to curb him and fast.

After Larai had eaten, she went back to her room and picked up her phone to call Yusuf. It had been five hours since she last heard of him and it was already night. She was eager to know if her family was safe and at the same time, worried about Yusuf. He had mentioned he didn't fancy night journeys, but because of her, he embarked on one. "Poor Yusuf, he must be exhausted."

She dialed his number and brought the phone to her ear; her fingers moving to and fro.

"Yes, Larai?" His voice filled her eardrum.

"Hello, Yusuf. Where are you now? Have you left the village?" Her brows furrowed. She was surprised he didn't call her.

"Yes. I left about three hours ago. I'm already on my way back. I should be home by midnight."

Larai felt bad for not calling him. She didn't want him to think she was taking him for granted and that she didn't appreciate what he was doing for her. "I'm sorry for putting you through the trouble." Her lips straightened into a thin line. "I shouldn't have allowed you leave."

"You wouldn't have been able to stop me. My mind was made up."

He might have uttered the sentence carelessly, but she knew he meant every single word. He was a man of rectitude. "Were you able to see my family? Are they..." Her voice trailed.

Larai's heart clenched at Yusuf's silence. "Are they... alright?" She stuttered.

"Yes."

A lone tear of joy escaped Larai's eye. "Really?" She rubbed her chest in an attempt to soothe her racing heart. "They are fine? All of them?"

"You heard me right. Baaba, Nna, and Azumi are doing great. And guess what?"

"You got to speak to her?" Larai's lips stretched to her ears.

"That's right! She has a lot of messages for you."

"What are they?" She sat on the edge of the bed and clutched the bedsheets in her fist. "Please tell me." Tears welled up in Larai's eyes. "What message does she have for me?"

"Don't worry about that now. I will tell you all about it when I return. Is that okay?"

Larai wanted to say no, for she was impatient. She couldn't wait for him to get back. Her heart was racing more than normal.

"Is that okay?" Yusuf repeated his question.

"Yes," Larai answered reluctantly; her eyes glistening with tears—tears of felicity. "May Allah protect you."

"Ameen."

"Did you— hello? Yusuf?" She put the phone off her ear and realized he had already ended the call.

Larai frowned, but in a split second, her expression had morphed into a joyous smile. She brought the phone to her lips and planted a kiss on the screen. "Thank you, Allah. Thank you for keeping my family safe."

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

If you were in Larai's shoes, what would you have done about Yusuf's father? What an old pervert 🤮

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