Aunt Siddiqa handed Adeelah two roots of beetroot, three balls of onion, five green and yellow ball pepper and two rounds of cabbage. She watched as Adeelah raised her brows, fluttered her eyes and twisted her face in whine. She knew Adeelah didn't like working too much. She didn't like cooking too except if it had to do with junk and light foods.

"You're going to cut them this way." She began showing her how to chop the beetroot and dice it. Her hand moved fast like it was just trained to cut.

Adeelah marveled at her aunt's adroitness in cooking, it amazed her to look at how people sway and swap ingredients to make a delicacy but when it comes to her, she didn't like it. Her aunt was a chef, food blogger, and because of her passion for cooking she normally takes order for different dishes either for wedding, birthdays or whatever occasion it may be.

When the orders are much, she called Adeelah and some of their cousins to help her. They all didn't look forward to days like those.

Adeelah collected the knife from her and started cutting the veggies. Aunt Siddiqa was two years older than her but she had to call her aunt and listen to her orders as her Oum taught her when she was alive. Oum said age is just a number and sometimes doesn't count. A twenty year old may be wiser and make a better decision than a forty year old.

"It's not fair, you know? I just came back from school. You didn't even serve me food." Adeelah complained, pushing away the chopping board. She began to imagine how her aunt even take orders. To her, cooking was one of the difficult things to do in life. She prayed she won't marry a man that would force her to cook because if she did, she would cry on a daily basis since she will have to cook three times daily. Adeelah did a silent prayer under her breath.

Her aunt looked at her and hissed playfully. She was doing it all on purpose because she knew what exactly Adeelah disliked.

"Shut up majnun and work!" Adeelah whistled a faux cry and after an eternity later, she finished cutting one onion with a sigh, constant rubbing of her face and running to the door and coming back in a jiffy. She turned to look at aunt Siddiqa.

"Aren't you filming it?" She asked, pouring the chopped veggies into a green bowl. By then, she had given up on nagging because it's obvious that her aunt won't reduce the work for her. She couldn't even believe that she had started enjoying it.

Aunt Siddiqa shook her head and transfered them to a drainer. She added sat to kill the microflora that may be on the surface of the veggies.

"I am typing this recipe because it's the first time I am trying it, when it comes out good, fine." She said, as she vigorously washed the veggies with salt and vinegar solution.

Adeelah rolled her eyes. "You will wash off the nutrients aunt," she said looking at the way they're being washed as if they were some fabric.

Aunt Siddiqa eased the pressure she applied to them. She whipped off the water on them and placed them on a clean cotton cloth.

"I want to wash off the bacteria and all. You know this microflora don't pity our stomach. Plus I got the veggies from a commercial garden which is very unhygienic." Adeelah just nodded.

She brought out a pot and put it on the cooker. She poured olive oil and coconut oil into the pot and cut some onions into it. She stired it with a wooden spatula.

"Give me those bottles." She showed up. The bottleboard was too high for her height and Adeelah was tall enough to grab it for her. Whenever she's alone in the house, she use a stool to get it. Since Adeelah was around, she would help.

Adeelah carried the five bottles down and stared at her aunt in question.

"They're homemade sauces. I made the onion sauce, garlic, soy, ginger and mixed spices sauce. I love to combine them all." Adeelah uncapped one of them and sniffed. The aroma was heaven that it made her tastebuds itch.

She kept being an assistant and watched as her aunt cooked. They made tamarind juice and some fruits and veggies salad, Adeelah did the sugar whipping manually. They didn't add any flavoring because they wanted to have a natural taste however Adeelah added milk and food colour to her own bowl. Few minutes later, they were done with clearing the kitchen and cleaning the utensils they used.

Aunt Siddiqa arranged and packed her husband's food in a doubleflask. She put some for her and Adeelah and took it out, to the gazebo sitting prettily in her small free style garden.

"So, Adeelah when are you planning on settling down?" Aunt Siddiqa asked as she sipped her tamarind juice.

Adeelah almost coughed.

"I am sitting down, you see." She dodged.

"You know what I mean," aunt Siddiqa eyed her.

Adeelah took a spoon of the fruit salad to her mouth. She munched it off with closed eyes relishing the amazing burst of grapes and cranberry in her mouth before she looked at her aunt with a plain and emotionless face.

"I don't have anyone interested." She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. She didn't understand why people would be pressurising ladies to get married. If there's no suitor, what could they do about it? More so, everything's a matter of time.

Aunt Siddiqa made a face. The call for prayer started hence they all kept quiet and said it after the Muezzin. When he's done, they all supplicated. Adeelah prayed for her mother because the prayer would reach her. She then said all her wishes of having a life that would be of benefit to her in both worlds.

Aunt Siddiqa prayed for her husband and sought blessings for him from Allah, she prayed to Allah for a peaceful marital life and good offspring. Because the prophet saw said the supplication made between adhaan and iqamah is never rejected.

Aunt Siddiqa heard the screeching of tyre before the gate. She thought her husband was back so she quickly drew her laffaya to close her hair because the gatekeeper would soon be out to open the gate for him.

"Let me be back." She stood and ambled inside. Adeelah rested her body on the stretcher she was sitting on. She watched as her aunt's husband, uncle Abdallah walked out of his car. With him was a man, tall and well built; his kaftan hugged his body well, she couldn't imagine how he would look so she hoped he would turn around to see if his face did justice to his physique. Then it clicked to her that she was about to ogle. She casted her sight down to her food and that moment, his eyes fell on gazebo that caught his attention. He loved nature and the way it was architectured made his sight lingered on it.

Abdallah noticed his stop in pace. His own eyes followed where his friend's sight was.

He smiled. "That's Adeelah, Siddiqa's niece." Abdallah offered.

The friend swerved with a smile. "I didn't notice anyone. I am just thinking of having the same gazebo." He said, in all his honesty.

Abdallah shook his head and dipped his hand in his pocket.

"Well just give her a glance as you can see she's not looking. If fiercely Adeelah catch you looking at her you're dead man." He laughed on completion of his words.

On reflex his sight fell on her face as she was slowly chewing something. He found himself looking at her eyes, then at her nose then to her lips. He was enchanted so he shyly looked away.

"Let's go." He said to Abdallah.

"El-mustapha Mahmoud Kabo will never change." He said as they walked.

"Maybe someday..." In Jannah but he didn't say the last words which made El caught Abdallah off guard. Abdallah didn't expect his reply because he knew his friend so well. And now he was very surprised that, those words were coming out of El's mouth. He slapped El's shoulder and they walked in.

Siddiqa served them food. They ate in complete silence because El-Mustapha didn't use to talk much sometimes. Sometimes he would crack a joke and all but someday he would be as if he's exchanged with someone.

"If you don't mind I want coffee." He said to Abdallah.

"Siddiqa doesn't like the smell of coffee so..." He threw his hand in the air.

Siddiqa came to pass and heard them talking about it.

"Let me ask Adeelah if she could help. She makes good cappuccino if you will like that. I have the ingredients saved just for her." She beamed at her. He returned a small smile and looked down.

"Why are you traveling all of a sudden?" El-mustapha came to Kano to check their business firms and entrust them to one of his cousins before he leaves. Then he called Abdallah and told him he's in town and thus Abdallah invited him over to his house.

"Just be out of this family drama and all. Baaba wants to hitch me with Nawwar his niece too, Maya is misbehaving so I am leaving for a course. Which country? No you're not hearing a word." El-Mustapha replied in what seemed like a very long sentence for him. He used his finger to massage the end of his lip for talking long.

"You're mad." Abdallah lamented. El-mustapha didn't get the chance of replying him when Siddiqa came in with a straight face.

"Adeelah is too tough, she's not ready to share with you. Beg her yourself El-Mustapha."

"No, thanks." He replied coldly and he at the moment badly wanted to see her face in full closure not from a far distance. As if reading his thought, Siddiqa handed him her phone.

"I just recorded the banter for you." She giggled and fished out of the parlour. El-mustapha placed the phone in a table beside him without looking at the video. Abdallah took the phone and noticed that it had already locked itself.

He unlocked it and shifted closer to El-mustapha.

"You must see it, dummy."

El-mustapha scowled. He didn't get why it's a must for him to marry. He's okay with his life like that. He wanted to spend the rest of his life alone so that he won't have to bear any heartache or heartbreak just because of someone. He had built some giant walls around the confines of his heart, he had used all it takes to make sure it was solid and unbreakable by anyone. He's sure no human could disrupt it without his help. So everyone should give up shoving girls his way.

If only they could understand everything without him telling them. He hated things that would make him think deep or talk long. They made him lose interest and lower his self esteem.

He was zoned away when he heard her voice playing in the video.

'Who's he? I mean I don't share my things with some ordinary people you know? And I don't fancy cooking just like that. Aunt Siddiqa you know it. You won't force me on this okay? If he wants he can come and beg me then maybe. Just maybe I will consider making it for him. That's if he's very lucky if not, I will just leave him kneeling where he squat.' She pouted placing her hand on her chest. Her face was stern, and not approachable in any way. She was very serious with all she had said but aunt Siddiqa was just laughing.

He looked and steered his gaze away. She was making him to have an alien feeling. He hated the feeling at the instant. He pushed the phone away and stood up. He wondered if her mouth didn't ache for talking this long. His would.

"Adieu!" El-mustapha took Abdallah's car keys. He put his shoe and did the lace. He didn't wait for Abdallah's reply when he exited the parlor.

"Will send James with your car." He said and went under the wheel. Abdallah didn't follow him. He just wished him a safe drive because he looked like he was tensed. He couldn't read what's going on with El-mustapha sometimes so he just went back in and continued eating food. The food tasted good and he thought to have it for dinner again.

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That's it. You're at the end of Today's chapter. How was it?

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