"He...he asked for directions. He was just leaving." Nna rushed out the excuse, nervously.

"Directions? By coming into my house?" His questioned.

"Good afternoon, Sir." Yusuf greeted with the same courtesy he had greeted Nna with. "I came here to—"

"Please leave." Larai abruptly cut him off; her eyes conveying a hundred messages to him.

"Too late now." He shook his head in disapproval. "And how long do you think we can keep hiding this from your family. I have already told your mother everything. It's only right I speak to your father as well."

"What gibberish are you saying?" Baaba questioned in a weirdly calm voice.

Nna swallowed, apprehensively.

"I..." Regardless of Larai's silent pleas, he continued. "I love your daughter so much, Sir. Actually, we love each other. Forcing her to get married to someone else isn't the right thing. I'm willing to marry her when the time is right. I want you to please call off the wedding because it's the right thing to do. Your daughter's future will be ruined if this marriage pushes through and I know you won't want that. The man you've chosen for her isn't good at all." He paused for a while. "He...he almost raped Larai today. If I hadn't arrived and saved her today, he would have had his way with her. Is this the kind of partner you want for your child? A rapist?"

Nna's eyes widened in shock

"That's enough now, please leave, Yusuf." Larai beseeched; tears streaming down her face, like a loose faucet. 

"Are you done?" Baaba's hoarse voice filled the entire compound. "If you are, then leave. I had a busy day at the farm."

Larai who had already braced herself for her father's fury was taken aback, by his calm reaction.

It was out of the ordinary.

Yusuf shook his head in disbelief and stood almost daringly in front of him. "I'm surprised at your reaction. What type of a father are you? I just told you how your daughter was almost raped by that beast and this is all you have to say? Don't you care about your own daughter?"

"Didn't I tell you to leave?" Nna intervened. "Or do I have to call the village men and have you beaten and thrown out of here?"

Larai's hand flew over her mouth. "No, please."

"That will not be necessary," Baaba remarked. "He will leave on his own."

"If you really love me, then you'd listen to me. Please just leave for now." Larai begged in a low-pitched voice. "I told you not to come here, didn't I? Please leave Yusuf. I'm begging you."

"Okay, but I will be back." He deadpanned.

"Just leave." She cried and practically shoved him through the exit.

"Baaba, I—"

Boom!

Before she could finish her statement, her father had charged towards her and collided his palm with her face, in a resounding slap.

"Shut up!" He pointed a finger at her and seethed. "Because of you, a stranger had the effrontery to come into my house and insult me."

"Please calm down, Alhaji." Nna intervened.

"Stay out of this, woman!" Baaba yelled. "I'm talking to my daughter."

He then furiously averted his gaze back to her. "How long have you been seeing that man behind our backs? What manner of shamelessness is this? You're engaged to be married in three days. How dare he come here and say all those things to me. Is everything he said true? You don't want to get married to Zakari anymore?" He queried.

Lying to her father would only complicate things more, Larai knew. And besides, it was her chance to tell him what was in the depths of her heart. "Yes."

"Alhaji, please just ignore her. She doesn't know what she's saying." Nna grabbed her arm. "Don't be stupid!" She whisper-yelled.

"So you're in love with that man that was here?" He queried again.

Again, Larai couldn't bring herself to lie, even though she knew it would probably save her from her father's wrath.

She nodded.

"Come with me." Baaba grabbed her other arm and yanked her away from Nna's hold.

"Where...where are you taking her?" Nna stuttered; her hands shaking.

Baaba ignored Nna's question and dragged her directly to his hut and shoved her in. "No one is going to intervene. Absolutely no one." He accentuated. "Get me three fat stems from the lemon tree in the backyard. By the time I'm done teaching her some lessons, she will never think of going against my wishes ever again and as for that young man, I'm going to make sure he never gets the guts to come into my house ever again." He narrowed his eyes at his wife. "And what are you still waiting for? Go and get the canes."

Reluctantly, Nna went to the backyard and as requested, she cut some stems, then returned to Baaba and handed them over to him.

He went into the hut and secured the door with the slide bolt.

"Please don't do this, Baaba. I'm sorry. I made a mistake, please—" the first strike hit her shoulder. At the impact, she clutched her shoulder and screamed out in agony. "Please stop."

All of her pleas fell on deaf ears, as Baaba kept on hitting her with great force. He didn't stop until he was satisfied with the injuries he had inflicted on her skin.

Larai lay on the cold floor, bloodied and numb.

She had screamed so much, her vocal cord had been affected. She could think of nothing but wish she wasn't born in such a family. Hot tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

"Come what may, you are going to get married to Zakari. I'm a man of my words. I won't go back on them, just because of you. A promise is a promise. And from today henceforth, you're not allowed to leave this house."

That was the last thing Larai heard before her eyelids dropped.

•

Larai regained consciousness to her mother and sister seated beside her on a mat.

Azumi was sobbing intermittently, while Nna had tears in her eyes.

Larai looked around and realized she was already back in her hut. She attempted to sit up, but due to the soreness all over her body, she winced and fell back on the mat.

"Where are you going? Just lie down for now." Nna advised, adjusting her headscarf. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from that boy? Now, see what has happened to you, because of him? Your body is all battered and you're getting married in three days. How will these wounds heal?"

"But, Nna she doesn't want to get married to ya Zakari." Azumi sniffed. "The other man seems like a nice person. Why won't Baaba allow her to marry the person she wants to marry?"

"What do you know? Come on, go and wash the dishes in the backyard. After that, take all of the dirty clothes to the river and wash them."

Azumi grumbled, disapprovingly.

"What was that?" Nna glared at her. "Go now! Quickly."

After she had left, Nna dabbed a piece of cloth in a bowl of water beside her and began to clean off the blood on her bruises. "How are you feeling?"

Her question triggered Larai's pent-up tears to escape. At the same time, she was experiencing different sorts of feelings—there was this excruciating pain all over her body. Her heart was on fire. The fact that nothing had changed, even when the truth was disclosed to her family hurt even more. No, she was not feeling alright. She was hurt beyond words could convey.

"I didn't want this to happen, that's why I told you to avoid him, but you didn't. Now, look what happened. You know how short-tempered your father is. And there's this Nupe proverb that says: if you know someone's habit, you should know also how to live with him in harmony.  Did you think your father would change his mind and allow you to be with that stranger? Don't be stupid, Larai. I thought you were wiser than this."

"Zakari is not a good person." Larai croaked out. "He is a bad man. He almost raped me. Don't you believe what I'm telling you?"

"But he didn't, right?" Nna hummed. "It's all that matters right now. He is going to be your husband in three days and there's nothing that can change that now."

Larai tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but due to how big it was, she had a difficult time doing that.

Intuitively, she wrapped her hand around her neck, to avoid suffocation. Her mother, of all people, did not find anything wrong in what Zakari had done to her. Baaba was a man, but Nna was a woman. She thought she would take pity on her.

"For the rest of today, you should stay here and regain your strength. Azumi and I will take care of the house chores." She stood to leave. "And don't you dare try anything puerile."

The instant she left, Larai turned to the wall and sobbed. Had Yusuf listened to her, things would not have turned out as they did.

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

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