27 June 1995

Abuja Nigeria.

"Mama why are you crying?" a four year old asked his mother whose head was buried in her palms. She shook her head without uttering a word.

"Don't cry Mama. Remember you taught to always pray when things aren't going well"

Aisha smiled sweetly at her son. "Thank you for reminding me Jafar. Let's pray for her" He used his small hands to wipe away the tears from her face.

"Ya Allah! Please don't let anything happen to my friend and her baby." she muttered.

A tall good looking young man walked in and directly came towards them. "Any news yet? He asked.

"Not yet" she answered resting her head on her husband's shoulders.

"Baba I told Mama that Ammie will be fine." the young boy said rubbing his mother's back.

"Yes Jafar. She'll be fine In Sha Allah.

Aisha an averagely tall dark skinned woman of about 29 years from Kano is married Ibrahim Kalil. A very tall and fine looking man whose appearance prisoned her at first sight. They've been married for over 10 years and Allah has blessed them with a child Jafar. He was the only jewel they possessed after a very long time. And after going for several checkups, they gave up on not having another child.

The pressure of the family on them not having a second child forced them to move out of Kano and start a new life in Abuja.

*************************

"Mama! There's a knock at the door" Jafar said waking his mother. She rushed to the bathroom and washed her face before going to check on the door.

"Assalamu alaikum " the young woman at the door said with sweet smile plastered on her face.

"Wa'alaikumus Salam. Bismillah. "

She noticed the woman was heavily pregnant and couldn't help the tears that started to form in her eyes.

"Sannu" she said holding the woman's hand.

"Let me get you some water." Hadizah smiled at the woman's concern over her and instantly felt a liking for her. "Thank you" she said after draining the cup of warm water.

"I'm sorry for waking you up from your nap" she used the hem of her hijab to wipe her mouth. "No Haba. I was bored and there's nothing to do so sleeping was the only option. "

"My husband informed me a friend of his and his family has moved into our neighborhood for over two days now but I'm sorry I've not been able to come. I wasn't feeling too well"

Aisha looked at the woman with pity wondering how much pain she's in right now. "Allah Sarki. It's alright. You are Alhaji Abubakar's wife I guess"

"Yes please. I'm Hadizah and.... " she paused not knowing what next to say. "My husband and I are from Adamawa state and we also moved here not so long ago. I have two kids. Fahad is nine years old and Abdul is six. We live just some buildings away." she stopped hoping she introduced herself well.

"I'm glad to meet you Hadizah. I'm Aisha and my husband is Ibrahim Kalil. We are blessed with only a child and the pressure his family kept putting on us made us come to Abuja. At least things would be different if we are miles away. "

"Hadizah shook her head "People can be so cruel at times. They still fail to understand that Allah is the giver of everything. May Allah see us through. So where's my little boy?"

"Ameen Ya Rabb. He's Jafar and he'll be five by December IN SHA ALLAH" Jafar came answered his mother call and did as he was instructed. He greeted his mother's new friend and Hadizah couldn't help but admire his cuteness. "Mama why is her stomach big?" he whispered into his mother's ear.

"No please! Don't beat him" Hadizah pleaded free the little boy from his mother's angry grip. "I'm expecting a baby okay" she whispered softly. "And he'll be your little brother. "

He suddenly began jumping "Yay! I'm going to have a baby brother." he ran to his mother and fell into her arms. "Mama I'll soon be a brother and I'll have someone to play with. "

"Yes Jafar. You'll be a brother soon IN SHA ALLAH " mere looking at how excited her son was about having a brother made her feel worse. He left singing repeating "I'll have a brother"

"Don't worry Aisha. Thank God you have Jafar. Some people don't even have one to call theirs and like I promised him, my baby is going to be his brother . "

"Thank you Hadizah. When is the baby due?"

" In two months time In SHA ALLAH." Since then Hadizah and Aisha became very close friends and Jafar was always at Hadizah's house waiting for his brother . .

* * * *

A doctor in his fifties came out of the labor room with a tiny creature in his arms. "Mama my brother is here!" Jafar yelled jumping up and down as he rushed to the doctor.

"Alhamdulillah" Aisha muttered rising from her seat.

"It's a girl her husband whispered" as she took the baby from him.

"Mama,tell him I'm his brother." he said attempting to touch the baby's face.

"It's a girl Jafar. She's your sister. "

He quickly withdrew his hand and backed away with a frown. "I don't like girls mummy. I want a brother. Tell them to return the baby and get a boy!" he whined. She smiled at him and then drew him closer to her till he was in her arms.

"Don't say that Jafar. Girls are beautiful, sweet and fragile . You'll have to act like a man around her and protect her. She isn't going to fight with you like brothers will do. Remember how Abdul broke your nose and how Fahad whipped you. She's not going to do that but instead, she'll love and respect you. "

"I want her mummy! Tell them not to return her. I'll protect and love her. " he did planting a kiss on the baby's forehead.

Hadizah and her daughter were discharged from the hospital two days later and Hadizah really appreciated having Aisha in her life. She leaves her home immediately after Subhi everyday and goes back after. Hadizah always thought of a better way to pay her back but she couldn't think of any.

"What are you going to name our little princess." her husband Abubakar asked. He was on a business trip when she delivered and only came back the previous day.

"I haven't thought of any." he gave her the are you kidding me look. "The naming ceremony is tomorrow fa Hadizah"

She paused for a while thinking of how to break the news to him. What if he declines? She thought. "I can't think of anything. Just choose a beautiful name for her."

"No I can't. I'll feel guilty of being selfish. Remember all the pain you went through conceiving her and the worst is that I wasn't there to help you."

She smiled. "Don't worry I understand. I was thinking of naming her after Aisha's late mother. You see she has always been dreaming of having a female child so she would make her after her mother and look at what she has been doing for us. You would think she's the baby's mother. Please Habibi."

"You women surprise me a lot. It's surprising to see how close you guys have gotten in just a month and few days. One would think you've been friends since childhood."

"All thanks to her. She takes life so easy and you needed to hear what Jafar has been ranting."

"Yes. His father told me of how he promised to love, protect and care for our baby. I like the boy. So what's our baby's name? " he asked smiling down at the cute little creature in their midst.

"Azizah" she whispered. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on the baby's forehead. "Allah wannu Azizah Abubakar Sadiq barkah. (God bless Azizah Abubakar Sadiq)".

Hi guys so tell me what you think.
Do you want a very long chapter of like 2000 words above or just brief. And by brief I mean from 1000 to maybe 2000.

I prefer it when chapters are short because I tend to read everything and not skip some words or phrases. I'll love to hear from you guys.

Enjoy.