Umariri Songhai, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Monday 2nd April, 2018.

Abulkhair looked around for anything that was out of place. The place was beautiful. He still couldn't believe that it was actually a girl that decorated the place. The_Haajarah had made black and white look so regal he might have to reconsider his favorite colors.

It was one of the large parlors in Alhaji Muhammad's guest houses. The cushions and every other thing had been pushed to the dining room, the product a large vast space enough for a hundred guests, a platform and even a small space for food to be kept. It was that big.

There were three long rectangular tables adjoined to give a single one with snacks from Yasaf deserts, some sweets and a whole lot of fruit punch with wine glasses for serving them. Unlike the decor for Eesh's bridal shower, there was no banner. There were balloons though. Four large speakers were pushed to the far end of the room and DJ Gabby was handling them.

Abulkhair didn't know what his friends had planned for the bachelor's night. All he knew was that he was expected to wear black dresspants, white button up shirt and a black suit. He had asked why he needed to dress so formally and Habeeb had said something but Abulkhair wasn't paying attention. He heard protocols, formalities and social media though.

That was how Habeeb rolled. Everything he did was bounded by unyielding never ending protocols, rules, formalities and a lot of other things. Although their friends would always tease him and tell him that women didn't like uptight men, they liked carefree ones who didn't give a damn about things, he never wavered.

The call to Maghrib broke Abulkhair from his train of thoughts so he straightened the non-existent wrinkles on his Jalabiya and went back to where he was staying. He took a long bath and performed ablution. After praying Maghrib, he took out the Stuart Hughes Diamond Edition black suit among the five suits Sani —one of Eesh's cousins whom he had gotten acquainted to— brought for him.

After wearing it he used a brush on his low cut and then wore a Louis Vitto Richelieu leather shoe then sprayed some Oud Touch. His phone rang and the name Anwar flashed across his screen. Anwar was his secondary school friend whom he met again at one of their reunions.

"Assalamu Alaikum."

"Don't use that voice on me, I'm not sister in law that will forgive you once she hears it. We've been waiting for almost thirty minutes. What are you still doing up there? I know you're not talking to sister in law because her friend Ruqayya said they were having their bridal shower today too." Abulkhair made a sound at the back of his throat.

He hated it when they referred to Eesh as sister in law or when they said anything concerning his and Eesh's wedding. They didn't know, but it made him guilty about Nana Asma'u and even though he badly wanted to inquire about her, he was afraid to because he knew he'd blame himself for whatever he was going to find out. And heaven knew he wasn't ready for any form of self-loath.

"I'm on my way." He grumbled locking the door to the room he was staying in.

"That's what you always..." Abulkhair didn't wait to hear the rest of what Anwar wanted to say, he just ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket. His friends had made it a priority to get under his skin, except for Habeeb of course. He walked downstairs and to the other side of the house where the hall like parlor was located.

"You're done counting how many steps it takes from your room to here, koh?" Ashraf, one of Abulkhair's friends from University asked. They were neighbors in the hostel once, but they weren't from the same faculty. Abulkhair rose a brow and Habeeb came from behind then placed his hand on the earlier's shoulders.

"Your dearest friend here said I was counting my steps just because I am not as excited as they are about this bachelor's night." Abulkhair hissed long, hard and loud before walking further into the hall, leaving Ashraf to his ridiculous thoughts.

"The man of the day is here!" Anwar said and they all shouted. Some of the friends and even started stuffing food down their throats.

They started the event by playing truth or dare. Then they played twenty questions, then they popped champagne before they danced and ate. All the while, the photography crew were taking pictures and videos of everyone and everything.

El-kanemi Halls, Borno, Nigeria.
Tuesday, 2nd April, 2018.

The next event was a Fandango based on Malagueña. The hall was decorated as if in Spain, back in the 1880s. The female guests were wearing ball gowns in shades of brown, with dancing shoes and red hair covers, mostly large Vandanas.

The male guests on the other hand were wearing dress pants in different shades of brown, button up shirts in white and jackets with neck-kerchiefs in different shades of red. The males who had full hair got their hair gelled to the back or side. Even though they knew it wouldn't stay for long unless it was relaxed.

Archaic spain music was playing in the background, many wondered how the event would hold as they had never seen a similar one. But it was the classical Muslimah's wedding, they weren't expecting anything like the other people's weddings. And anyone that knew Eesh well knew that she loved ancient Spain. She used to read their historical fictions as bed time stories and even had her room decorated the Spanish culture way sometime before Hajiya Asma'u's death. She went as far as going for Spanish classes till she had perfected the language on her tongue.

When Eesh stepped into the hall, a teary smile enveloped her dolled up face and she allowed herself to reminisce those days.

"Mummyn Baddo, Mummyn Baddo." Twelve year old Eesh said laughing at her mother's scrunched up face.

"She will never speak her language, always mixing every single language together in a single sentence." Hajiya Asma'u shook her head as she talked under her breath, her braids bouncing with the shake.

"Mi Madre Bonita {my beautiful mother}, what did you say?" Eesh stopped playing with her mother's hair then bent her head to stair into her mother's auburn orbs that were hidden behind her long lashes.

"I said mi hija {my daughter} is beautiful." Haji Asma'u smiled, her gap teeth making a show.

"Madre {mother}?" Hajiya Asma'u hummed.

"When I'm getting married, I'll dance the Fandango with you. Just like Firo did with her mom in my book. We can start learning it today. I already know some of the dance steps. It's a little bit hard but I know we can do it." Hajiya Asma'u smiled. Her daughter was so naive.

"What if you don't?" Eesh frowned.

"Then I won't get married!" Eesh angrily let go of her mother's hair and jumped down the bed then stomped out. Hajiya Asma'u smiled before taking her peach veil and wrapping it messily around her head, incase she bumped into a non-Mahram.

"Hija {Daughter}! My baby are you angry?" Eesh huffed, crossing her hands on her developing chest. She hated it when her mother talked about death. They would die when they were in their eighties, Eesh would always say. But her mother never listened.

"Don't worry, if I am alive, then we'll have a fandango, and even a henna party." Eesh frowned. She knew her mom knew she disliked anything that had to do with Indians because of the unbelievable action they displayed in their movies.

"No! No henna party for me, just a Fandango, then you'll sing me a flamenco." Hajiya Asma'u laughed.

"Okay Hija {daughter}. No henna party for mi cariño {my love}." Eesh jumped happily. Her mother had learned another Spanish word.

"Eesh, are you okay?" Airah nudged Eesh who had been standing in the same place for almost five minutes.

"Yes. Yes, I am." Eesh smiled and Uwani who was holding her hand squeezed it gently. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened the eyes again, the tears had disappeared as if they weren't there to begin with.

"You guys shouldn't let weeks of practice go to waste. I want this to be the best fandango ever." Eesh said and her bridesmaids nodded. The bridesmaids, groomsmen and the couple had been practicing the fandango for almost two months.

"For Madre." Eesh told herself and walked to her seat and sat. Few minutes later, Abulkhair came in with his groomsmen and he sat beside her.

Eesh was wearing a red Atelier Vedahno ballgown with cap sleeves and square neckline. Another sleeve from underneath the cap sleeve made from red chiffon reached her wrist where a Calvin Klein wristwatch was clasped around her wrists. Red teardrop earrings were peaking out of the red vintage scarf she had tied from her head to underneath her chin, hiding the inside-out braided chignon her hair was featuring.

Abulkhair on the other hand was wearing a a black dress pant with a white button up shirt tucked into it. A scarlet sleeveless jacket was buttoned atop the shirt and then, he finished the look up with a red neck-kerchief, a Dior wristwatch and leather shoes.

A flamenco started playing and the bridesmaids and groomsmen got up and started dancing the fandango, they didn't hook hands like in the normal fandango. They weren't each others Mahrams so they knew it was Haram.

The bride and groom though, hooked hands and danced to the flamenco. At the end of the day, Eesh was smiling as if she had worn a lottery.

She was happy she had fulfilled the second of the promises, but the third promise seemed impossible with the way things were.

Umariri Songhai, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Wednesday, 3rd April, 2018.

"Close your eyes and hold the Lafayya then look down." Eesh did as instructed and the photographer clicked away. She was all dolled up by the head of Khadees_glam, the Khadija herself. Her atamfa which had an umber background with frost daisies, the leaves of the daisies mint colored and the center of the daises, umber in color then the veins on the leaves, jade in color was sewn into a six-piece skirt with a blouse with two steps peplum, bishop sleeves and round neck by belee_couture.

She was wearing a set of gold jewelries which consisted of twin bangles, twin rings, earrings and a necklace all from adunnigold_ng. Her shoes that came with their cluth were from chummy gallery. Her laffaya was made from a chiffon material, the daisies from her atamfa were cut out perfectly and used to design the edges of the lafayya.

"Okay, it's a wrap. The Walimah started twenty minutes ago. The Malam has arrived." Airah said dragging Eesh out. They walked out of the main house to the parking lot where the Walimah was holding.

"Kar kice ke sai mai kudi sai mai mota. Mata nawa suka auri marar mota gashi yanzu suna jin dadin su?" The voice of Dr. Isah Ali Pantami hit Eesh's ears.

"When getting married, car, house and money shouldn't matter. As long as you know that he can feed you, and your children's future are secured, you have no problem." Dr. Isah Ali Pantami stopped to take a gulp of water.

Eesh sat and when she rose her head to look around, Abulkhair's unwavering gaze clashed with her wandering one. She lowered her head, not in the mood to play Romeo and Juliet.

Dr. Isah Ali Pantami continued to preach about marriage, it's ups and downs, it's pros and cons and everything else, inputting verses from the holy Quran and some Hadith from time to time.

"Keh amarya, don't be a battle your husband has to fight, be the sword to his shield and help him throughout his battles, just like Khadija (RA). And you ango don't give her any reason to question your love for her. Women are fragile, you need to be the reassuring type. Always remind her that you love her and you will always love her.

"Let me tell you something, one day I came back from Tafseer, it was during Ramadan. I was tired and my wife was massaging me. My phone pinged the first time and I ignored it, the second time I was still ignored it. My wife isn't one to go through my things without my permission so when I ignored it, she ignored it too.

"The fifth time, I asked her to read the messages for me. Apparently, they were from a female fan who was supposedly in love with me. She read them with a shaking voice. I told her to drop the phone back and she did as told. Throughout that night, she wasn't herself. I could feel it. Then when I went to bed, I could hear her tossing to and fro on the bed. Minutes later I heard her sobbing. I didn't know what was wrong.

"When I asked her, she said it was nothing and that I should go back to sleep. I didn't go back, I couldn't. My wife was crying and I didn't know what was wrong. In the morning she still woke up and did everything she normally did, but I noticed a few things that changed.

"When I went to the hospital that morning and told my friends, one of them started laughing. He said and I quote 'No woman would hear what she saw and sleep well. Go back home and show her she's the only one for you'. I did just that and that was when I realized, women naturally have insecurities. Now you have to show them those things don't matter to you. And then you'll lead a happy married life." He rounded everything up by saying a prayer for the couple, their friends and family then the entire Muslim Ummah.