"What... What are you talking about?" Larai stuttered; her lips trembling. "What happened?" She looked around. "Where is Azumi? I haven't seen her since I arrived and our room is locked. Where has she gone and left all the work for you?"

At her word, more tears began to stream down Nna's cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak but ended up closing it back as she couldn't speak.

Larai was taken aback by her reaction. "What's wrong, Nna? Where's is she? Azumi! Azumi!!" Larai yelled, walking around the house in circles.

"Larai," Yusuf called in a soft voice. "This...this is what I wanted to talk to you about. Please just calm down and listen to me."

"What are you saying?" Larai narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do I need to be calm? I was just asking for my sister. Nna," She turned to her mother and grab both her hands. "You sent Azumi on an errand, right? She will be back, won't she?" Larai knew something had happened to her sister—their mother's state proved it. She gathered Azumi must have been married off to Zakari in her place, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. She just wouldn't be able to live with the guilt for the rest of her life.

Nna sat on the floor and broke down in tears. "No, I didn't. Azumi isn't here anymore. She's been gone for three years already."

"Gone where?" Larai swallowed a painful lump in her throat. "Where has she gone to? And why did you allow her to leave for such a long time?"

"Larai," Yusuf called.

Larai raised a hand to stop him from moving closer to her. "Please stay out of this. It doesn't concern you. I'm talking to my mother."

Hot tears rolled down Larai's cheeks. She couldn't believe her sister was married off at such a tender age. It wasn't fair. Azumi was only fourteen! She was just a kid!

"How could you have allowed Baaba to marry her off, Nna?" Larai queried. She now understood why she had been having nightmares.

It was all guilt!

"Please answer me, Nna. Why did you get her married at fourteen? Who did she get married to? Please tell me it isn't Zakari. Please, please! Just tell me  you didn't get her married to that horrible beast!" Larai yelled at the top of her voice.

"Larai..." Yusuf's voice trailed. "Azumi isn't here. She has left this world." Yusuf gulped. "Your sister has been dead for a long time."

"I know and that's why I'm asking—" her eyes widened as realization hit her like a speeding truck and the words sunk in. "Left this world? Are you insane?" She let out a humorless chuckle and crouched in front of her mother. "Yusuf has misunderstood your words. Please tell him what you meant when you said she doesn't live here anymore."

Amidst sobs, Nna shook her head. She still couldn't bring herself to say a single word.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Larai held her mother's shoulders and shook her. "Is he...is he telling the truth?" Her voice quivered. "How can that be possible? Azumi dead? How?"

"Yes!" Nna bellowed. "Azumi is dead. She's been dead for almost four years now."

Larai opened her mouth to speak, but no words could emerge. A painful lump suddenly got stuck in her throat.  Her legs wobbled and eventually gave out. She sat on the ground and fought the urge to hurl.

Yusuf sat beside her on the ground and stretched out a hand to touch her shuddering shoulder, but Larai was quick to move her shoulder away.

With bloodshot eyes, she glared at Yusuf. "Don't touch me."

"Larai, I know this is hard for you to take in right now, but you have to have faith and—"

Yusuf was still talking, but to Larai,  his words were incoherent. They were dissipating and floating in the air. Through her vision, Nna and Yusuf had turned obscure. She tried to get up, but she fell back down and blacked out.

"Larai! Larai!!" Yusuf placed her head on slapped her gently on the cheek.

Nna ran to the kitchen and returned with a cup of water and sprinkled some on her face.

Larai's eyes twitched and opened to Yusuf's worried face. "Why do you look so worried? What's wrong?"

Yusuf and Nna exchanged looks.

Larai sprinted to a sitting position and wiped her tears. "I know you are just joking." She chuckled; tears running down her cheeks. "You're probably doing this to get back at me for giving you a hard time. Larai is my sister. She can't possibly be dead and I won't have any idea."

"It's true." Nna sobbed. "Azumi is dead. She died a few weeks after miscarrying her child."

A new wave of dizziness surged into Larai. She couldn't bring herself to digest the horrible news. All she could visualize was Azumi's smiling face. It hurt to think she would never be able to see it again. It had to be a lie, otherwise, she didn't know what would happen to her. She wouldn't be able to bear it. "Dead? Miscarriage?"

"Please take it easy." It was Yusuf.

"Take it easy?" She yelled. "Take what easy? I just returned after a long time and the first thing I heard is the news of my sister's death and you expect me to take it easy?" She cried. "Take it easy? Had it been Yumnah or Yusrah in my sister's place, would you take it easy?" 

"He is right." Nna intervened, wiping her tears. "You should calm down. What has happened has happened. All Azumi needs from us right now is prayers."

Larai shook her head and began to wail. "This can't be! This isn't true. Azumi! She can't be gone, Nna. It's impossible! We haven't even done the things we planned to do together. I haven't fulfilled all of the promises I made to her. This isn't true. I refuse to believe it. It's unfair! Azumi!!!"

"It's wrong to say that," Yusuf cautioned. "What happened had already been predestined."

"No! This isn't true. It's all lies! Azu—" Larai blacked out again.

•

When Larai regained consciousness, she found herself lying on Nna's green mat. Yusuf and Nna were seated right beside her and she noticed the room had been cleaned as well.

"Have some water." Nna brought the stainless cup to her lips.

Larai took a sip and moved her face away. "Please tell me in detail, Nna; what happened to Azumi."

Nna heaved a deep sigh and wiped away the fresh tears that welled up in her eyes. "After you left, your dad got furious. We felt humiliated in front of all the guests. Zakari's parents were also so angry and to rectify the mistake..." Her voice trailed.

"To rectify the mistake, what...what happened?" Larai stuttered, afraid of getting the reply she already knew.

"Your father decided to get Azumi married to Zakari in your place."

Tears brimmed up in her eyes. She couldn't believe her ear. How could they have gotten a fourteen-year-old married to a man old enough to be her grandfather—a man so disgusting.

"I tried to talk him out of it," Nna cried. "I really did, but I didn't succeed. His mind was already made up and you know how he gets when his mind is made up. He doesn't listen to anyone no matter who the person is. Azumi cried and begged him not to do it, but he didn't listen."

Yusuf's eyes misted up with tears.

Larai choked on the sob she tried to suppress. She covered her face with her palms and allowed the tears to flow.

"On that day, Azumi was married off to the devil himself." Nna continued.

Larai's heart rate increased tremendously. For her mother to speak ill of someone, the person must have done something inhumane.

"The next week, Azumi ran home, crying and begging us not to allow her to go back to Zakari's house due to how badly he was treating her. She told us how he constantly raped and beat her until she lost consciousness." Nna whimpered.

Larai could no longer control herself from bursting into tears. Her hand flew over her mouth in an attempt to repress another sob.

Yusuf tried to swallow the ball of nerves in his throat.

"I...Instead of keeping her with us, I supported your father and sent her back to his house. I didn't want to. I swear I didn't, but they were already married and I thought...I thought I would be sinning by keeping her with us without her husband's consent." Nna's eyes were all red and puffy. "After two weeks, my mind wasn't at rest. I felt something wasn't right. I was so worried about her so I decided to visit her. I was surprised to find out she was pregnant." Nna sniffed. "She was married, I know. I should have expected it, because I was the same age as her when I gave birth to your sister, Wusa, but the state I met her in was terrifying. In just two weeks, she had lost so much weight. I almost couldn't recognize her. She looked pitiful. I also learned her mother-in-law had been maltreating her to the extent of beating her up. Being a mother, I couldn't bear seeing my child in that state, so I brought her back home with me and gave her all the care I could.

When your father returned from the farm, he got very angry at me and ordered me to take her back to where I took her from. For the first time, I went against your father. I stood my ground and refused to send her back. I was ready whatever the consequence would be. That day, we got into a huge fight that almost made him divorce me. He almost pronounced the divorce, but for some reason, he didn't and walked out of the house instead.

After two days, I thought Zakari wouldn't come to the house to take her anymore, but he did. I begged him to allow me to take care of Azumi because she was very sick and was constantly throwing up, but he refused. He didn't listen to me despite how hard I begged him to allow stay just a day more. I thought he had regards for me, but he proved me wrong when he dragged her away in front of me. Had I known the fate that would befall her after that day, I would rather die than allow the monster to take her."

A painful lump got stuck in Larai's throat. She found it difficult to breathe.  Her eyes turned bloodshot and her lips trembled as she looked on and listened to her mother speak.

"Seven months later, she went...she went into premature labor and gave birth to a stillbirth. Shortly after that, Zakari and his family returned Azumi, because she had developed a type of disease as a result of giving birth. She began to have hygiene problems and...and she began to smell. All of the neighbors mocked and accused Azumi of being bad luck. No one wanted anything to do with our family." 

"Vesicovaginal fistula," Yusuf remarked. "I think that was the disease she had. It is an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina that results in continuous and unremitting urinary incontinence. It's a very distressing complication of gynecologic and obstetric problems. It often happens as a result of infection after an episiotomy or a tear after birth. I know all these because the same thing happened to a cousin of mine in the village who was married off at the tender age of eleven."

Larai knew he was right. She had overheard her roommate who was a medical student and her friend discussing V.V.F. It was sad—really sad that it had to happen to her poor sister. Larai wished she hadn't left the village, then her fate would not have befallen her sister.

Nna slapped a hand on her forehead and continued crying. "Azumi suffered a lot." She mumbled to herself. "She had so many dreams she wanted to fulfill."

"The illness isn't incurable. Was she even taken to a hospital?" Yusuf asked.

"There's only one hospital in the whole of this village. We couldn't take her there, but a herbalist was invited. She tried all she could, but Azumi didn't get well. She kept on getting worse until she took her last breath. She kept calling your name, Larai. She missed you a lot. She just wanted to see you one more time."

Larai removed her hand from her mouth and broke down again. "Why did this have to happen? This is all my fault, Nna. Why haven't you slapped me, beat and throw me out of this house? I killed your daughter. I'm responsible for all these. Had it been I didn't leave, all these wouldn't have happened. I'm a murderer!" Larai clenched her chest and let out a heart-wrecking scream. "This is all my fault. I killed her Nna. I did it."

•