Asokoro, Abuja, Nigeria.
Tuesday 20th February, 2018.

Eesh walked inside the room and looked at Abulkhair. He was the same guy that rudely bumped into her the other day, and then stupidly started telling her his sad excuse of a life, she figured. She narrowed her eyes at him and he just gave her a passive look, probably to annoy her or something. She looked at her father and saw his shocked face before looking back at Abulkhair. She knew what they were talking about but she knew there was no bleeping way it could her marriage they were talking about. Someone that doesn't even have it in her to entertain guys, how will she get married? And of all the stupid men on earth her father had to choose him! Ridiculous!

"That was what the girl you both were talking about would have said. Thank goodness I'm not that girl!" Eesh cleaned imaginary sweat from her forehead while rolling her eyes. Trust Eesh to be over dramatic.

"Aisha, come take a seat." Eesh looked skeptically at her father before trudging over to where he was and sitting beside him.

"Do you remember Alhaji Al'amin? The one that had a son you used to fight with every day?" Alhaji Muhammad said. He knew he was threading on thin ice. When Abulkhair's parents passed away, he never met Eesh as he was sent abroad to continue his studies. And Eesh wasn't told his parents passed away, she just stopped seeing them in their house so they never encountered each other. And Eesh never asked, she wasn't one to ask about people.  He was older then Eesh so as he was in A-level, his first year in the university, Eesh was in grade nine.

"Yeah, I remember him. It's been long." That was her way of asking where and how he was.

"He's dead. This is that son of his." Eesh's eyes widened on their own accord. She looked at Alhaji Muhammad, then Abulkhair, then Alhaji Muhammad then Abulkhair again. She was gaping like a fish. Numerous questions roaming through her head.

"He's... Dead?" Eesh gulped, eyes wide as saucers. She had never been one to show emotions but she was taken off guard with this. Remembering Abulkhair was still in the parlor, she schooled her expression.

"And this is his son, didn't you hear that part?" Eesh ignored her father. She'd never want to believe that the boy who had attempted to take away her parent's love from her.

Eesh narrowed her eyes at Abulkhair.

"You! You made..."

"Aisha, you're getting married to him In Shaa Allah." Eesh looked at her father as though he had grown two heads.

"I sure as hell will not marry this man here, he was the reason you shouted at me the first time ever!" Abulkhair rolled his eyes. She hadn't forgotten about that little thing. But it was her fault anyway.

"Aisha! Mind your language around me." Eesh turned to Abulkhair.

"You better tell him right now that we're not going to stay in the same vicinity talk more of getting married to each other." Alhaji Muhammad looked at Abulkhair and nodded at him. The latter stood up and bid them farewell then left.

"Did he just walk out on me?" Eesh glared at the closed door in front of her.

"Aisha, follow me to my room, I have to show you something." Alhaji Muhammad stood up and walked up the stairs to his room.

Flabbergasted and confused, Eesh followed her father into his room.

Immediately Eesh entered, she sat on the love seat beside his bed. An image flashed through her mind but she shut it out as soon as it came. That was not the time for reminiscences.

"Take this." She collected the paper and looked through it. As usual, no emotion was portrayed on her face.

When she rose her head, her eyes were filled with tears.

"But, Daddy you've been fine all this time. You hardly fell sick. I always made sure you had a good night's rest and you ate good food. I gave the maids strict orders on what to and what not to give you. I always made sure you took your supplements. I made sure you never stressed about Amrah. What went wrong?

"I thought you were fine after your treatment. I thought..." Eesh slipped to the floor, her whole body shaking with tears. She looked like she was suffering from convulsion.

Eesh made sure her father was alright after the one time he collapsed the previous year. She took all necessary measures to make sure he's fine. She couldn't bear the loss of another parent. She knew she wouldn't survive it, she barely survived the loss of her mother.

The remembrance of the two years she spent mourning her mother and the pain she went through made her feel her heart getting squeezed mercilessly. She started hyperventilating and Alhaji Muhammad knew all too well what would come next so he grabbed a cup and poured her some water.

"Take deep breaths. Calm down. It's all in the past." Eesh managed to do as told and after almost thirty minutes, her breathing was back to normal. But she hadn't stopped crying.

"Daddy please don't leave me like mummy did. I will die. I promise, I'll do whatever you want me to do. Do you want me to go to school? I will make a call right now and find out all the details about getting an admission." Eesh pulled out her phone while breathing heavily. She scrolled aimlessly through her contacts, even she didn't know what she was doing.

"Aisha. Calm down." Alhaji Muhammad collected Eesh's phone and kept it on the bed. He bent down to her height and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Alhaji Muhammad was starting to regret what he was doing. His daughter was already burning up and if she didn't calm down, she would most definitely end up on a hospital bed. And that was not what he wanted, he just wanted her to agree to everything. That was it, not end up on a hospital bed.

But Alhaji Muhammad was glad that at least, he got his daughter to be vulnerable ij front of him again. He saw his baby in front of him again, not the classical Muslimah everyone else saw. After twelve good years, she finally cried in front of his eyes. At least he was rest assured that his daughter still had a heart, at least she still felt something. At least she still had emotions.

"Do you know what I want you to do? I want you to marry Abulkhair. You don't have to compel yourself. Just think about it, if you don't like him, then I'll find you another husband. I just want to make sure you are in good hands. I don't have much time. I don't know if I will survive this.

"The doctor said I'm responding to the treatment. Though the response is slow, at least it's something. Please just do this one thing for me. I won't force you, but think about it." Eesh nodded. She had stopped crying and was a little bit calm.

Although, the pain in her chest hadn't subsided one bit. But she knew once she took a lot of water, she'd fine again. It was a normal thing for her.

"Daddy." Eesh gulped.

"Do you want this? Is this all you want?" Alhaji Muhammad smiled and nodded. Eesh gulped again.

"Okay then, anything for Daddyn baddo." Eesh gave a tight-lipped smile before ambling out.

Alhaji Muhammad excused her attitude of walking out. He knew she was not completely herself. Eesh had never disrespected him, he trained her too good for that. And if she tried it, she knew the consequences.

Eesh absent-mindedly walked down the stairs. She wasn't herself at all. How would she be able to live without her Daddy? She was broken enough when her... She shouldn't think about that, it was in the past.

She walked herself absent-mindedly to her room and into the bathroom. She sauntered out looking wet. She disappeared into the walk-in closet and emerged almost immediately in a mint green Hijab and a prayer mat in her hand.

Eesh's eyes still had the faraway look in their eyes when she spread the prayer mat facing the Qiblah. When she stood on the prayer mat, she regained back her composure and prayed her Zuhr prayer. She needed to pay utmost attention to what she was saying in the prayer afterall. She opened one of her bedside drawers and brought out a rainbow colored Qur'an. It was the first Qur'an she had ever received and it was given to her by her mother on her tenth birthday.

Eesh started reciting the holy Qur'an from Suratun-Naas upwards, slowly and patiently. Looking at the translation at intervals and digesting them. Verily, there's no cure better than the word of Allah; Ash-Shifa' - the cure.

As she reads the fifth Ayah {verse} of Suratush - Sharh, she realizes that no one, absolutely no one can help her except the almighty. The ayah said; fa inna ma'al 'usri yusra - for indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta' ala, further said: inna ma'al 'usri yusra; fa 'idhaa faragta fan sab; wa 'ilaa rabbika far gab - indeed, with hardship [will be] ease; so when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship]; and to your Lord direct [your] longing.

After reciting two more Surahs, Eesh returned the Qur'an to its place and stood up to perform Istikhara. She knew that no one, absolutely no one could help her except the almighty. She didn't know why but she felt she made a bad decision - a colossal mistake - by accepting the whole marriage thought.

On one hand, Eesh couldn't possibly disobey her father, that she knew. It was his last wish and she was going to grant him that. But then, on the other hand she felt queasy about her choice. So she figured Istikhara was the best way to sort out her thoughts. She knew that if after praying, she felt at peace with everything, then it was the best choice, but if she didn't, then she'd have no choice but to take back her words.

Istikhara is the prayer performed when one wants to make a decision and needs Allah's help whereby the Sujood {prostration} is elongated and a du'a is said where the issue being prayed for is mentioned. It was said that there was a Sahabah {companion} of the Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - that always prayed Istikhara for every decision he was about to make, no matter how unimportant such decision is. Even if he was going to the market to buy something as little as salt, he'd perform Istikhara and pray that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide him.

After the prayer, Eesh laid down to rest. It was barely 3pm, but she was tired and needed a short nap before she prayed Asr. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep after Asr as the Prophet - peace be upon him - advised against it.

Back at Alhaji Muhammad's side of the mansion, he's sitting with a sad smile on his face. He didn't want to do it, but he had to.

To make sure Eesh is fine and the news he had dropped didn't shake her much, Alhaji Muhammad called Amrah, one of his late brother's children on the phone. They exchanged Islamic greetings and he immediately asked her to check on Eesh.

"She's asleep. When I came back from school she was sleeping and that was just few minutes ago. I doubt if she's awake but I'll check." Alhaji Muhammad heard shuffling, then sounds of footsteps before he heard a door being opened. He heard the door being closed back before he heard Amrah's voice coming through the phone.

"She's still sleeping." Alhaji Muhammad thanked Amrah then ended the call. He was glad Eesh wasn't squirming on the bed while clutching her chest because that was what he expected. After receiving such tragic news, he knew it'd be a miracle if she didn't have chest pains.

So he sent one of the maids to take turmeric milk and keep it in Eesh's fridge.

Almost an hour later, Eesh awoke to the call to Asr prayer. She started to stretched but stopped with her hands midway in the air when she felt a painful tug in her chest followed by a pang. She knew the feeling all too well. Knowing what was coming next, she quickly poured her self a glass of water and gulped down.

Eesh realized she made a mistake by gulping down the whole glass in one go when she felt the tug intensify. It was as though someone had stabbed her and was mercilessly twisting in a circular motion the weapon used to stab her.

Eesh managed to get herself on her feet and walked to her fridge. She needed milk, and fast. Immediately she opened the fridge, her eyes met with a transparent jar filled with what seemed like turmeric milk. She took it to the kitchen and used a spoon to fetch a small quantity. She tasted it and indeed it was turmeric milk.

Grateful to whoever it was that made it and put it in there, she poured some in a microwavable bowl and put it in the microwave. She set the timer and decided to perform ablution in the backyard for a change. The milk would be ready by then.

Eesh met with Amrah and the three maids that worked for them. Amrah was doing something with wires, it was probably for her project which was few weeks away, while the maids were just sitting around gisting.

The maids greeted Eesh and she acknowledged them with a nod, they were used to it so they went back to what they were saying. Amrah told Eesh her father had called and asked of her and the latter said an okay, reminding herself to go see him after she had prayed, while hoping at the same time that it had nothing to do with his new found sickness.

Eesh performed ablution and went back inside just in time. The milk was warm. She took it and rinsed the cup then washed her mouth. After praying, she asked herself, how did she feel about the marriage. She took deep breaths and after a few minutes, she had her answer. She stood up and got dressed as she needed to see Uwani.

Eesh might be rude to Uwani and whatnot, but they understood each other and that was just how they rolled. It was their own way of showing their love for each other.

After she had gotten dressed, she sent her father a message telling him where she'd be before driving out.