N🇳🇬

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🎵In your eyes, there's a heavy blue , one to love and one to lose, sweet divides ,a heavy truth, water or wine , don't let me choose, I wanna feel the way that we did that summer night, drunk on a feeling, alone with the stars in the night... 🎵

💜S-gomez 💜
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Chapter six
Kaduna
July, 2017
Isa kaita, kaduna
Nigeria

The sweet aroma of the food being prepared in the kitchen woke Amira up from her tight sleep. She stretched and yawned as she opened her eyes at the unfamiliar room. She looked around and remembered where she was and smiled, Fatima has already awoken, she left the bed to the bathroom to freshen up. She turned off the AC and opened the windows, sniffing more of the scent- i know this scent, she thought.

With her shorts and shirt, she closed the door to her temporary room with a bang. She smiled at mukhtar as she met him at the passage to the living room regardless of her dressing. She wiggled her brows at him as she remembered about the day before...

"It's so good meeting you guys, like it's been forever " Amira exclaimed happily meeting her cousins after a yearlong

Everyone smiled at her " don't worry, I know it must've been hard for you to miss me for a yearlong, lol" mukhtar shot her one of his best-est smiles

They all laughed " that I'll tell you " adnan spoke amidst laughter, as the laugh subsided, the room went silent for a second before they broke into another series of laughter.

"It's so good, I am home " Amira said and they all nodded.

"Ina wunin ku " a girl of about 12years of age appeared at the parlor ,greeted them and dropped a tray of water for the Alkalis .

"Lafiya klau, sannun ki" hadiza smiled at her, the girl stood up to leave as her hijab got caught upon the tray and fell, everything poured and some of the glass cups shattered.

"Wai keh, wace irinn santuwar yarinya ce " Fatima scolded the girl she apologized and started packing her mess

" faty naw, you don't have to be rude, bakiga it wasn't intentional bah " Hadiza looked at Fatima

"You won't understand this girl ne kawai , she be correct attention seeker" Fatima said regarding hadiza

"You mentioned about hafsa and zainab being with your mother, so ya hafsa had come " fahad asked

"Yes, she came two days ago, they will be back anytime soon " mukhtar answered him and busied himself with the twins

As if On cue, the bell rang and fahad stood up to open it..

"A-a-a , manya an shigo gari " zainab enunciated which made fahad chuckle

"Amarya namu " fahad said shaking her hand, he let her in as he went outside to help their mother with some things.

"Mummy sannu da zuwa " they all greeted her- hajiya Amina

"Yawwa yawwa, sanunku " she replied and sat down with them "when did you arrive?"

" it wasn't long ,to 15" hadiza replied her

" Dallaji, dallaji " zainab called out at fahad as she took the seat next to him, They all laughed at that. Dallaji is Fahad's nickname courtesy of zainab, even though most of them don't know the meaning, they know it's a Hausa word/name.

"What's this?" Mummy asked regarding the stained carpet

"Wallahi, that girl dropped a tray of water" Fatima answered her, "shamsiyya" mummy Called out her name, "ki ibo gishiri , kisa a carpet din, karyayi wari " mummy asked her to pour salt on the carpet to prevent it from smelling

"My twins, I hope you've reduced your quarrel rate " Amira and Amir smiled at mummy and nodded , Amir not forgetting to give Amira a -I've not forgotten what you did and I'm still mad at you - look, but Amira shrugged it off

Adnan let out a chuckle " they just finished one in the car en route , and one on the first day in Nigeria, and one..."

"It's good to know you keep an eye on us every second " Amira said in an accurate sound, that which made them laugh

"Where's ubaid?" Hadiza asked

"Ubaid has accompanied daddy to katsina, they'll be back before sundown tmrww "they all nodded

"Hadiza, gist me on life , this your brother wey dey form for me like that ehn "hadiza couldn't help but laugh at what zainab said

"Mummy, you hear your daughter koh, I called her when I was in UK ,I was busy telling her how much love I have for her and this your daughter broke my heart a million times,do you know what she told me"he paused trying to suppress his laughter, shaking his head continuously

"she told me that I was only wasting my time" he held his hand to his heart feigning hurt "that- that she will only love and will ever love her loml " Fahad knew what he's saying is total lie, he's the first to start laughing and the rest fell in line

"Bura uba, fahad ar..."

"Can you imagine the feeling, and now she's telling me I'm forming when she choose her loml over me " fahad interrupted zainab as he spoke looking at mummy. He looked back at zainab and winked at her

Zainab was left speechless and gaped , mummy covered her face laughing, Fatima and adnan kept pulling each other laughing, mukhtar stood up and sat next to zainab little inches away from zainab's face laughing just to annoy her more, Amir with Amira also laughing throwing their legs up and down , hadiza just sat there beside fahad smiling at them..

"God please fill me in, what caused this laughter " hafsa was really amazed at how she saw the position of her family laughing

"Allah ya shirya mana ku " they all answered with amin

Mummy left the room and left the children; fahad, hafsa and hadiza continued on their banters, where as Fatima, adnan , mukhtar and the twins chatted about how they'll spend the rest two weeks in the house .

They ate dinner and watched a movie together, they actually watched three kind of movies because of the arguments they had . Fahad , zainab want thriller/horror, adnan and hafsa want action horror free, Amira and Fatima want romance , and mukhtar and Amir want cartoon

So they ended up watching the dark tower as action , keeping up with the johnsons as comedy and Coco as cartoon.

Mummy later asked everyone to sleep, Fahad and adnan took a room at their Guest Chalet , hadiza with zainab , Amir with mukhtar, and Fatima with Amira

.,...

"Morning handsome " mukhtar smiled at what Amira said , together they entered the kitchen

"This food, I know it " Amira started " what's the name again? Kose " mukhtar laughed at her incorrect pronunciation "it's kosai madam" he corrected her

She turned to face a woman of about 25yrs, who's frying the beans cake " can I have some please " she smiled unsure if the woman understands English

"Sure ma, I'm Doris by the way" Doris smiled at Amira and she smiled back, she handed her over a plate filled with beans cake. Amira smiled and looked at mukhtar who's taking his pap.

"Kwakko/kunu , right?" Mukhtar nodded at her as he added some spoonfuls of sugar.

"Amira, come with me" Amira was about to eat her beans cake when hadiza's words stop her , she turned back and looked at her . " you heard me" she repeated and left the kitchen, Amira silently walked out of the kitchen to the passage where hadiza is

" go wear a hijab " Amira stared at her sister puzzled " why?" Amira asked her sister, she looked at her dressing ,Yes , she was wearing a short and a shirt, what's there in it, it's not like it's the first time she's wearing it

"You can't be walking about half naked, you have no scarf and look at your dressing, this is not Birmingham, nor is it Abuja , learn to wear your hijab, not everyone here is your muharram " she nodded and went back to Fatima's room,

"Nice speech dijooh " Fahad from behind wrapped his hand around hadizas shoulder, together they entered the kitchen

Fahad clapped his hands " ahh kosai alhamdulillah " he sat down on the dining beside mukhtar, he looked at mukhtar asking for permission to eat his food, mukhtar nodded

"Doris , add more on this plate" Doris added more of the beans cake on mukhtar's plate , and Fahad dig in

"Wallahi hadiza you're missing so much "Fahad said taking his pap, she just smiled at him as she added more milk to her tea

"e be santi oo" Zainab said as she entered the kitchen alongside Fatima , Fahad glared at her and Fatima said " I agree with you fahad, wai ya zaayi mutum yace baya cin kosai, sabida allah da annabi " fatima said shaking her head playfully

"Eh I hear you, adnan shima harda shi " hadiza defended herself, adding adnan into the talk too

"That one na your own wahala " zainab said as she dipped her beans cake into the yaji (pepper) .

"Who called my name?" Adnan entered the kitchen asking

"Ina ruwanka" fahad said which left adnan puzzled " you know I don't understand this stupid language and.."

"Kai malam, da kata awurin" fatima said which made all of them laugh excluding adnan

"I need a freaking translator " adnan sighed and sat beside fatima

With an English gown, amira went back to the kitchen encountering everyone eating" where's my food?" She asked silently at mukhtar

"It's here" he handed her over the plate " you have taken your bath already " Amira glared at hadiza as she smiled "yes"

"Where's Amir ?" Amira asked mukhtar

"One can't leave without his twin, huh " Amira hissed at adnan "I don't remember asking you " and they all laughed "adnan, adnan "

"He's still sleeping " mukhtar answered her

"Assalamu alaikum " hafsa entered the kitchen well dressed in her atampa and her dankwali scarf neatly folded in zara buhari's style which has always been her style. Her fair face looks pretty as well . They answered with wa alakumu ssalam

"Fine wine " hafsa called out fahad's nickname that she specially named him , and he smiled

The name really suits him, Fahad is so handsome, he's not as fair as Adnan or Hadiza, he's complexity is leveled up with the twins. The twins and Fahad got their looks and complexion from their dad, who's not that fair nor is he dark. But Hadiza, Adnan, Hannah and Abdullah got theirs from their mom, although Abdullah is a replica of the father except for their color. It is Hadiza that gets the complete face of her mother.

"Hajjaju makkatu, mutanan makka da madina " Fahad called out on Hafsa. She winked at him as she took a bottle of water and left...

With that, they ate their breakfast noisily...

......

"Are you nuts ,I ain't going in there first" the twins and Adnan kept arguing on who enters the living room first. Alhaji Ahmad Galadanci has returned from Katsina and asked the Aliyu Alkalis to meet him in his private living room, the elderly siblings Fahad and Hadiza have greeted him way before the younger alkali's knew of his return, now they have to greet him

Which is causing the commotion

"Amira you're the younger one here, I command you to go in there " adnan masked a serious face as he said that

"Whatever you may look brother won't change my decision of going in their last, your charade doesn't scare me big brother "

"Enough, enough of the controversy , I'll as the big man I am and man up, and enter this place now. now I'll enter" with a deep breathe , Amir entered with a salaam

"Wa alaikumu salaam " the deep yet matured voice of Alhaji Galadanci answered and they entered the room hesitantly

"Daddy Ina wuni " they all said at once

He looked up from his iPad and looked at them " lafiya klau, kun fara koyan Hausa ne " he answered them and also asked if they've started to learn Hausa

But the look they gave him answered his question " oh okay" he smiled at them" I just finished talking to your mother, how are you, how is the life in Nigeria "

Adnan began " we are good" Amira finished "I like the new environment here although I'm finding some difficulties with adapting to it "

"Okayy, that is something common, with time you'll get used to it " daddy said. As the gist went on, Adnan made himself comfortable on his seat as he knows that this conversation or whatever they are having won't end now. Alhaji Galadanci is like some of those Nigerian men/fathers that converse for more than hours

It's was around 3:00 in the afternoon when the chat started ,with it ending at around 4:00 , if not for salaat asur , the conversation wouldn't have ended.

The male followed daddy to the mosques where the girls prayed at home.

.....

Amira went to the kitchen to drink water after she had prayed her salaat . She met Amir and Ubaid discussing , the truth is, they weren't actually discussing, it was Amir who wanted to manipulate the 8years old boy in giving him the last chocolate bar available in the house.

Yes! The twins are chocolate fans - like who's not ...

"Amir, stop manipulating the poor boy" Amira brought out Mars from her gown pocket and threw it to Amir, without hesitation he caught it "Ubaid, you can leave now " the boy smiled at Amira and left.

Amir put the chocolate inside his pocket and stood up to leave the kitchen when Amira's words stopped him " I'm sorry " she blurted. He turned and gave her a look as he approached the door " I'm sorry , I'm sorry okayy, what else do you want me to do Amir " she pauses as she inhaled trying so hard to control her tears " do you know how much I am suffering from you not talking to me, you're killing me with your silence. You've punished me enough and by god I can take it anymore " tears rolled down on her cheeks as she spoke.

Amir stared at her without saying anything, she wiped the tears on her face and left the kitchen leaving him there.

....

Mummy called out on Fatima informing her to tell the rest that they are going out, the girls in particular.

"Amira Hadiza, mummy said you should get ready , we would be visiting a tailor." Fatima finished

" what tailor? What are we going to do there" Amira couldn't help but ask

"What do you normally do at tailors" Amira smiled "I don't go to tailors remember, all my clothes are ready-made "

"Well as you know now that zainab's wedding is around the corner, like so close, like mummy is going to katsina tomorrow and us the next day, though my clothes are already embroidered, yours got to be done too" Fatima threw her abaya on top of her trouser with shirt. "Now get up" she rolled her veil and exited the house with Hadiza

Amira took her veil, rolling it slowly thinking about what Fatima said

What types of clothes is she talking about ??

Adnan entered the parlor as he saw Amira tying her veil as if going somewhere "Amira where are you going to?" Adnan asked bringing her out of her thoughts

She stared at him for some seconds "to the tailor " with that she exited

.....

"Shamsiyya, ki sa tuwo cikin kula ki kai palan baba, sauran kuma kisaka cikin wata kula. Se kijira nazo nasamaki, " mummy asked the maid to put the swallow inside two warmers, one of which is for daddy which should be kept in his living room, the other should be kept aside. The maid was also asked to wait for mummy in the kitchen. With that mummy ended the landline

"Tuwo " mukhtar started "everyday, every night you'd be cooking tuwo for us "

"If you don't want to eat, you can cook indomie for yourself " mummy told him" your father is a big fan of it "

"Who wants indomie?" Mukhtar asked and almost everyone raised their hands. "What's indomie?" Amir asked

"Noodles " an OH sound came from the twins ...

Smiling ,Adnan said " I know what indomie is, I can remember when I'd be dancing because of it " he looked at the twins "then, you weren't born " and added " Fatima was just a baby that time, you guys never enjoyed your childhood like I did"

"Dallah can, it is not even up to a month that you're older than me"

"See this boy o, you were barely two years and you are talking of enjoyments, do you know what we did when we were younger " they all laughed at what zainab said

"No like dagaske fah, hadiza do you remember the times we played Oji Oji a tsohon gidan ummah na katsina?" Zainab asked Hadiza if she remembers the times they spent playing local hide and seek in their grandmother's(ummah) house.

"Habaa... I remember everything clearly" Hadiza laughed "what's the name of that girl that we play with?"

"Oh yes.. the neighbors, the smallest of them always cries when we play the game..and then we'd be forced to stop the game " fahad said and they all laughed

"Her name is Maryam" Zainab said amidst laughing

"Those days...you guys weren't born " Fatima said to the twins and mukhtar

"Dallah can matsa, Se kace ke an haife ki" mukhtar retorted ,reminding her that she also wasn't born at that time

"Lol, you guys missed alot , you have missed your childhood enjoyments " fahad said to the rest in general

"Wow.. now that you have finished talking, can someone please translate everything to me, I didn't get a thing " amira said as everyone turned to her laughing ...

"Are you going to cook the indomie or what?" Mummy came in asking them

"Ahh...zamu ci " fahad said, Fatima and Amira went to the kitchen to prepare their tasty indomie tables...

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✨shatou__🌹