Gbazango, Abuja, Nigeria.
Friday, 2nd March, 2018.

Nana Asma'u shouted Adam's name and he came in rushing, panting.

"Take this, go and collect my phone from wajan charji. Be fast." He collected the crumpled one hundred naira note and ran off.

Nana Asma'u had been trying to reach out to Abulkhair to confirm if really, what she saw on social media was true. She knew there was no way it could be a lie. She had seen it on numerous famous pages; Arewa family weddings, Northern blog, wedding street among others. There was even a YouTube channel for it and an Instagram account too.

But Nana Asma'u needed confirmation from the groom to be himself. She needed to know, was it true? Was it a lie? She needed to know. She knew that even if he lied to her, at that point, she would believe him. She was that desperate. She knew she didn't want to hear the truth. She only wanted to hear that it was all a lie, as her heart wasn't going to be able to bear the heartbreak of hearing the love of her life say he was getting married to someone else that was not her.

"Adda gashi {take}." Nana Asma'u collected it and went straight to her contacts. She didn't have to search as he was on her speed dial.

Nana Asma'u had already called him more than fifty times in the past one week. She was calling him again, the same response. He didn't pick her calls. Only God knew the number of messages she had left him. She left another one saying he should please pick her calls before bursting into tears.

"Why are you disturbing me with your cries this early morning?" Hansatu glared at her daughter, hands akimbo.

"Mama, Abulkhair isn't picking my calls, he's not replying my messages. Mama did he find out about the sa rana?"Hansatu hissed and snatched the phone from Nana Asma'u's grip.

"You are getting married in the next two weeks. I forbid you from seeing or talking to any other man apart from Nuhu. Now I'm going to collect this phone and keep it." Hansatu walked away and Nana Asma'u burst into more tears. Why could no one understand her? Why was the universe against her?

Nana Asma'u was still crying when the beautician that bad been preparing her for marriage came in.

"Hush Hush, why is the amarya crying?" The Kanuri woman asked as she dropped her small hand bag.

"Nothing. Let me change." Nana Asma'u said and was about to stand up when the woman stopped her.

"Look, you can tell me anything. It's obvious you don't want this marriage. So tell me, what's wrong?" Nana Asma'u took a deep breath. What's the harm in telling the woman her problems? It was not like her mother would beat her for it or anything.

So Nana Asma'u told her everything. She didn't remove a single thing from the whole story and throughout, the woman only gave facial expressions, she didn't cut her off, neither did she say a word even when she urged her to. Nana Asma'u sure had to give it to the woman, she was a great listener.

"Now tell me, why don't you love Nuhu?" The woman asked tilting her head to the side.

"He's not my type. Nuhu won't be able to take care of me, what if we have children? He doesn't have a job. He doesn't have the right western or Islamic knowledge to hold up marriage talk less of knowing his rights and responsibilities. I'm not only thinking about myself, I'm also thinking about my children.

"If unfortunately we have children and then one day they ask him a question regarding Islam, I can bet my whole life he wouldn't be able to answer it. Same goes for Western education. He's not fit to be a husband. And he's also childish. I'm not saying I'm better than him but marriage... Marriage is no child's play. It's a legal binding between two people of opposite genders who have agreed to take up the responsibility of each other and offsprings to come.

"If two people tell you they're getting married, that means they're ready to get tied down to each other. That means they're ready to put aside each other's differences. That means they're ready to overlook each other's mistakes and tolerate one another. That means they're ready to be patient and understanding with one another. That means they're ready to do everything they see their parents do. Nuhu is not ready for that. Even if he thinks he is, he isn't. I know that I am. My mother started training me to be an ideal wife since I was fifteen.

"And marriage cannot work without love and respect. I don't love Nuhu, I love Abulkhair and no one else. Respect? I don't respect Nuhu. I can't respect him. How am I expected to marry this man? How please?" Nana Asma'u cried.

"Husna kenan. You're supposed to leave everything in Allah's hands. You might think that Abulkhair is the best choice for you, but he probably isn't. At times, we humans allow our hearts to override our brains. We let ourselves believe that our decision is the best. But then again, we know, Allah will never let us harm ourselves. That's why we are supposed to leave everything in Allah's hands.

"Now let me advice you, leave your matter in His hands and He will guide you to the right path. Always repeat Ihdinas-siradal mustaqeem; guide us to the right path. If he is the best for you, nothing can stop this marriage, if he isn't, nothing can make this marriage happen. Even if he gets married to you, a divorce will ensue. Remember, what is meant to be, will surely be.

"And you said your boyfriend is getting married? Isn't this enough sign for you that you both aren't just meant to be? Don't center your thinking to one place. Allow your mind to wander and you'll find your answer. Deep down, you know the truth. You're just denying yourself the chance of accepting the truth. Accept the truth and peace shall come to you." Nana Asma'u nodded, letting everything sink in. Maybe, just maybe the woman was right.

°°°

Gwarimpa, Abuja, Nigeria.

Abulkhair watched his phone ring and then the call ended. He quickly picked the phone and switched it off, guilt drenching him. He stood up gloomily and ambled to the bathroom to take a bath. He needed to go see Eesh and talk to her about the house they were going to live in.

The previous night, Abulkhair had thought that there was no need to buy a new house. They'd just live in the house his parents lived in but the house needed a little bit of renovation since it was a bride that was going to be brought in to the house. The thought of someone else apart from his Nana Asma'ul Husna getting married to him and living with him broke his heart.

Abulkhair got dressed in black faded jeans and a white polo shirt before picking the garage keys and his wallet then he walked out. He entered the underground garage and looked around, there were about twenty cars. He remembered his mother was a sucker for small cars. She had said they were cute and easy to maneuver. The reminisce brought tears to his eyes and he let them fall. He wiped them once the first set was gone and he started off with his mother's first car. She was so proud of the car and loved it.

His father, Alhaji Al'amin had bought his mother, Hajiya Fa'iza a blue Ford Focus. She was so elated. She had refused to let anyone touch it, or even go close to it. She'd prefer to drive herself than allow the driver to. Not even the person that bought the car was allowed to go close to it. She used to call it her lifeless baby and Abulkhair was jealous at some point.

Abulkhair decided to drive that car do he opened the drawer where the keys were kept and picked its key. He opened it and a wave of nostalgia washed over him. He remembered the first time he touched the car key. His mother had gotten so angry she almost slapped him. She later apologized with his favorite food, semo and egusi soup.

He inserted the key into the ignition system and drove off to Asokoro.

°°°

Asokoro, Abuja, Nigeria.

Eesh hissed. She didn't like the fact that the stupid human she was getting hitched to was outside waiting for her. Why was he so annoying? Eesh thought as she got dressed in crepe dress pants and a rice dress shirt. She tucked the shirt in and took a crepe cotton veil to cover her braided hair.

When Eesh walked to where Abulkhair's car was parked, she schooled her face from that of annoyance to a passive one then she walked to where he was seated with refreshments in front of him.

Eesh took a seat on the plastic chair kept beside him, muttering her Salam. She looked at the refreshments on the plastic table in front of them and annoyance washed over her. Those were utensils from her kitchen. Why couldn't they take the ones in the general kitchen? She hissed inwardly and waited for Abulkhair to speak.

"First of all, I would like you to understand that we are getting married soon. So let's at least act civil with each other and respect each other. It's the least we can do." Eesh scoffed. Did he think she'd ever be okay with getting tied to him? He was kidding himself. She had alot planned for him. She was going to make his life a living nightmare.

"Then, I'd be coming to see you from time to time. For now, I just came to know what color you'd like your room to be painted in? Or would you prefer to go see the house yourself? I think the latter would be better for us both." Eesh felt her resolve diminishing with Abulkhair's words.

"Before we talk about anything else. I'd like you to understand also, that I'm only doing this for my father. And the only reason I'm sitting here talking to you is because I don't want the media to have a bad impression of our wedding. I want them to believe it's a love marriage. So you would have to keep up with whatever antic I come up with." Abulkhair was quiet before he nodded. He would've reprimanded her for talking to him in such manner but he didn't have it in him. He just wanted to get everything over and done with.

"Then about the house. Come pick me tomorrow by four in the evening. At least I'd have something to show the world." Abulkhair said an okay and he asked her a few other questions which she answered curtly. Few more minutes and they were done.

While they were busy talking, Uwani had snapped numerous pictures of them sitting together from different angles. She knew Eesh would appreciate it.

Eesh huffed when he bade her goodbye and left.

"I took some pictures of you, I've edited the ones that are media worthy and sent to Ikram since she's in charge of the IG account." Eesh nodded as she looked at the pictures. They looked beautiful and their faces weren't very visible, perfect.

Eesh collected the phone and posted the finest one which was one of Abulkhair looking intently at her while she was trying to pick a cookie from the plate that was seated in front of them with the caption, soon to be his Mrs, and hash tags Halal relationships, deeply in love and soon to be married. She didn't even know he was looking at her.

After that, an idea for a blog occurred to her. She walked to her blogging room and set everything up. She set the camera in front of her and started speaking.

"These days, ladies tend to indulge in Haram relationships. They allow themselves to be touched and sometimes even kissed by their so called boyfriends. Let me say one thing, let it stick into your head; don't allow any non-Mahram to touch you if he hasn't paid your bride price to your waliyy in front of some witnesses, it is Haram!" Eesh kept on talking inserting verses of the Quran here and there.

Within an hour, she was done so she edited it and posted a snippet on her Instagram account then posted it on her YouTube page.