Muhammad parked his black Audi and then noticed the Red range rover sports also parked in the compound and immediately he knew Hadiza was around that spelt trouble for him

Once he opened the door to the sitting room,he saw his father and mother sitting comfortably on the love couch, Hadiza was opposite them,it was obvious they were expecting him but deep down he knew he was not ready to face them, whenever they were seated like this,it was definitely not good news for him.

"Good evening baba,good evening mama" He greeted his parents and sent a curt nod to Hadiza who was all smiles. Hadiza was no doubt beautiful,high cheekbone,fluttery lashes,pointed nose,love bow lips and light skin,she was a definition of beauty, intelligence and charm but that was not enough to hold him down,for unknown reasons he was never attracted to her.

"Have a seat" His father ordered and Muhammad did as told,he peered at his mother's face, trying to get a clue about what his father was about to say but her face revealed nothing,it was plain,no expression at all.

"Muhammad, after careful evaluation and selection, we have decided to choose Hadiza as your bride and you both will be engaged as soon as possible and the marriage rites will begin"His father said.

Muhammad didn't know why but he was unfazed, probably because he had seen it coming, his mother was always shipping them and Hadiza never hid the fact that she liked him.

"Baba am sorry but I am not going to marry her,I don't want her as a wife"

He knew he sounded a little bit harsh with the way her face dropped,the smiles all gone,she looked close to tears.

He hardly disagree with the old man but on this matter, Muhammad knew what he wanted. He wasn't a child any more.

"You don't have a say" His father had an icy look now.

Muhammad swallowed back his response and then stood up from his chair.

"I had a stressful day father,I'll be in my room now"

He walked away,if looks could kill then he knew he would be 6fts down,he could feel the intense glares of his father boring holes in his face but he moved on.

He was about to step into his room when a soft hand pulled him back.

Hadiza.

"Why do you hate me so much?" She asked,her voice was quite broken,she was different from the Hadiza people knew,the strict one, now she looked vulnerable.

"Hadiza you know that's not true,am sorry I sounded a little harsh but that's the truth"

" But I love you"Tears were already threatening to fall from her eyes

" I've loved you all my life,why can't you see it?" She tugged at his shirt.

Muhammad let out the breath he was holding and then held her hands gently

"You are the kind of woman any man would want,you are beautiful,smart, dedicated, loving,kind and everything good but love is not enough,the only love I feel for you is that of a brother to a sister,I wouldn't want to lie to you or myself"Muhammad explained calming

" So you are sister zoning me" She chuckled bitterly. She shook her head in disbelief while muttering some words he could not hear.

"I'm sorry" He said again but she walked away. Muhammad watched as her figure disappeared on the corridor and sighed.

Once he got to his room,he quickly undressed and while he took his bath,he remembered Ebere,the passion and determination in her eyes,her quiet laughter,her scent when she hugged him,she smelt like coconut with clean laundry.

Muhammad couldn't shake off thoughts of the lady,so he dwelled in it but on sighting the box of devices,he frowned a bit,picked up his phone and texted her but before she could reply or see it,he was already asleep.

****
Morning sun rays met Muhammad in bed. He rolled to the side of his desk and checked his time,8am.

It was a bright Saturday morning and Saturdays were the days he could paint and Drew while listening to soft music at the background. After observing his hygiene,he went downstairs and took his own plate of specially made masa (special delicacy made from rice)

He played In my bed by Rotimi and decided to paint a woman,as he painted,he hummed to the song, paused occasionally to get more ideas and check how good his work was. While deeply engrossed in his work,he didn't hear when Umar came into his room.

"Bro"He called.

Muhammad was pulled out of his deep thoughts and imagination.
Umar was just as tall as he was, more bulky though,he was dark too with zero beards. Muhammad was closer to Umar though,they spent a lot of time together and though Umar had the face of an unserious being,he was quite an intelligent being. He was wearing only a black singlet.

"What are you drawing this time?" He asked.

"A woman,a beautiful woman"Muhammad answered and stared at the potrait .

Umar nodded and took one of the delicacy from Muhammad's plate,what do you expect from a foodie?

Umar's eyes swept round the paintings of Muhammad's mum posted on the wall and his eyes fell back on the current one.

"If you are actually drawing your mum,the eyes are looking different"He noted and took the whole plate before leaving.

Muhammad sighed, maybe he wasn't even drawing his mum.

***Ebere drove to the supermarket to pick some things for her mum,her mum was attending a wedding and needed a nice present.

Ebere went to the aisle that had the kitchen wares and stared at the various utensils on display,left to her, Ebere knew she wouldn't want to shop for her mum,partly because her mum would still find something wrong about it and she still had to go to the local market to purchase some items

As Ebere scanned through the shelves,she suddenly stopped in front of a pregnant woman,she was probably six months gone but she still had her glow,Ebere respected pregnant women a lot,so she flashed a smile at the lady who gratefully returned the gesture.

It was then Ebere noticed the man behind her. She took two deep breaths,deep down she wanted to be angry at seeing him but no hate was left,she no longer had those sparks and butterflies,he was just plain Ayo and he had no blue eyes.

"Hey" he greeted her.

"Hi Ayo,how are you doing?" Her tone surprised here,calm and collected.

"I'm good. Honey meet my good friend Ebere and Ebere meet the mother of my baby, Tina" Ayo introduced her sweetly.

Good friend indeed, Ebere scoffed. She prayed silently for the lady that Ayo would not dump her,she wasn't so sure they were married.

"Hey Tina" Ebere stretched out her hands for a handshake which the lady took,she looked like a good lady.

Ebere was so surprised at herself,she didn't create a scene or put on a sad face and it seemed that was what Ayo was expecting.

"See you around guys,take care of yourself Tina,I should be on my way now"Ebere flipped her hair and walked away feeling so proud of herself that moment.

After shopping for her mum,she drove to the local market to buy some items and ingredients.

Halfway into the buying tussle in the market,she noticed a small crowd had gathered along the path she was supposed to pass through.

"Beat em!!"

"Beat the living hell out of him"

"Small pikin way no get sense"

" This world is something else, small boys already stealing"

Ebere peered at the centre and she saw a boy of about 12 or 13 being held like a thief that he was,the crowd was ready to kill him if left. Ebere's heart broke,how much exactly did he even steal and so against all odds,she broke through the crowd and held the child to herself.

"Please leave him alone, please" She begged.

"Get out from here" The bulky man who was holding him pushed Ebere roughly but she didn't budge.

"Who are you?" Another big man shouted.

"Let him go,what would you do if he was your child,are you going to correct him or allow him die"

" Your preaching is not going to save him neither is it going to restore the money he stole today and last week"

" You don't have any right to take any life,tell me how much he has stolen and I'll refund the money"

" 4,000"

Just four thousand naira,just four thousand,how heartless could they be?

Ebere counted 10,000 and gave it to them and that was how the crowd dispersed, imagine killing a child but Ebere was angry at the child and so she dragged the child outside the market in rage.

"Thank you" He said meekly,he was having a baseball cap over his head,a faded brown shirt and jeans,his head was lowered downwards.

"Hold the thank you,as young as you are,why would you be stealing money,what exactly do you use it for,do you know you would have been killed like a chicken?"

The child's head was still bent probably in shame.

"Raise your face at once" Ebere ordered and slowly the child did but it was brief,his face was down again, Ebere was yet to see his face.

"What is your name?" Ebere asked.

"Eunice" The child answered.

"Is that not a girl's name?" Ebere asked,annoyed at the fact that the child was probably lying again.

And slowly,the child removed the baseball cap and raised his head.

"That's because am a girl" The child answered. Ebere took a step backward and gulped audibly. She was speechless,a girl?

Eunice was dark skinned,her lashes were short and her face not so feminine.

"I really do regret my actions but my mum is really sick,am the oldest,my dad is late,my siblings are hungry and I don't have anything or anyone to fall back to"Eunice explained.

Ebere tried to talk but the words got stuck in her throat and so she stared at child.

"Thank you for saving him" Eunice said again. Ebere sighed and rubbed her palm against her forehead.

"Am not judging you Eunice but stealing or crime is never the solution to any problem, I know desperate situations call for desperate measures but you are young,crime has and will never be a way out of suffering,am not entirely mad at you,my name is Ebere by the way. Take me to your mum"

And so they both got into the car,along the way, Ebere bought somethings and took occasional glances at the young lanky girl. She bought chin chin and cold drinks for her and the way Eunice ate it quickly,it was evident she was really hungry. She really was young,many young people were also out there suffering and hustling,for a young and innocent looking girl like Eunice to take to crime then life had dealt with her.

Eunice's mother was lying on the only bed in the tiny room which was poorly built with no sort of light.

"How are you feeling ma?" Ebere asked.

"I'm just living" She coughed and held her chest.

" I'm Ebere and Euince is my friend" She introduced herself.

The sick woman was too tired to talk,Ebere knew it was probably acute malaria

She made a call to her dad's hospital and ordered for an ambulance.

"Your mum will be fine okay?" She reassured Eunice who nodded. She was strong,she could see it. The younger children looked at Ebere suspiciously but Ebere smiled at them warmly and asked of their names

"Lilian" The girl replied

"Joshua" The younger boy answered.

They looked hungry and malnourished too. Ebere brought out the foodstuffs from the car and brought it in for them. The ambulance soon arrived and Ebere gave strict orders for immediate treatment to begin.

"Can you stay here on your own?" Ebere asked the kids

"Yes, I can take care of them"Eunice replied "I can cook too"She added

"I'll have to go now but I'll be back soon, once your mother gets well,she'll be brought home"

She pressed some naira notes into their hands.
" I really have to go, I'll surely check your on your guys okay?"

They nodded.

Ebere hopped into her car,she was 2 hours late,the mass was probably over,she still had to make withdrawal since she had exhausted her mom's money and she was yet to complete shopping but she felt fufiiled however.

****

" I thought you weren't going to come back today considering the fact I sent you to buy the whole market"Her mother told her sarcastically once she stepped in.

"Am so sorry mum,I really am" Ebere apologised to her mum who had a frown on her face.

"Keep your sorry and give me the stuff,am already running late for the reception since you did not allow me attend the mass"

" Sorry ma"

" The only way you can apologise better is to bring a man home so we can start planning your own wedding,is it a crime if others attend my daughter's wedding?"

Ebere nearly hissed,she simply ignored her mum and walked to her room, she switched on her data and noticed the message from Muhammad, thankfully,he was online and he seem to have been expecting her reply and before long she was on her bed, typing away.

***

If you were an art student in secondary school then you'll remember the novel "Faceless" by Ama Darko, really interesting Ghanaian book,the scene of Euince was inspired by that Fofo, Please indicate let me see my fellow art students 😊💓

This book has just 10 chapters and we have over 600 reads already, that's a big win for us🔥😘

I love you all so muchhhhh🙈
Don't forget to tap that orange 🌟,go on😀...tap it😱

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