Za'afar

iii

Maryam's POV

After the fajr prayer and much du'as, because that's the only thin keeping me sane, I sat on the prayer mat and think of how life has been so far.

From the moment yaya Amina's fate was sealed with a fifty year old man, things took a turn for the worst.

Now all Baba does was marrying us to rich people and in return he gets his share, a huge amount of money, some even go as far as buying him a house, which is our residence as of now.

Young and good suitors will come, but that's not what matters to him, not even close.

But if you're well loaded Ahan! That's his cup of tea.

And he marry us to very rich people regardless of one's occupation, age, conduct or manners, what's he's after is just how rich a person is, and our opinion...... Not needed, weather we like it or not, he doesn't care.

With the money he got and a few connections, he indulge himself in politics, and not to forget he's a bad guy anyways.

Yaya Fatima is also gone, married to a millionaire in Nasarawa,who is old enough to be her father Alhaji Ibrahim sada, with two co wives, but each wife has her own house.

Yaya Aisha is married to a not so old man, yeah, she got Lucky, and they love each other, and she's residing in kano.

And yaya Rahama who will marry for the second time not so long.

And he's even planning on khadija's own.

Somehow me being the only one without a suitor scares me, because if the time come he will be the one to choose for me, which is bad, very very bad, but in the mean time he's occupied with khadija and Rahama's.

Yaya Rahama got divorced 5 months ago, not even long after her iddah, men have been coming to my father for her hand, fair to say, we are all beautiful, so having a suitor at this short time for yaya Rahama isn't surprising.

Her past husband is an abusive jerk, beating her up, slapping her and even to the point of branding her with a hot iron and that's when she left and demand for a divorce, at first Baba was resistant at the idea, he insist that she goes back, but we were all surprised when the husband sent her a divorce letter weeks after she left, it so happens that she blackmailed him, she didn't tell us exactly how, but the point here is that she's free from him.

She suffered she really did, in fact, she suffered the most in all my sisters, for a whole two years, she endured it and now Baba is marrying her again, as he said His reputation is his topmost priority, and being in our kind of family and society is a big shame for his daughter to became a divorcée, and so he will use any chance to give her away AGAIN.

Ya Allah see us through this hardship, please, as you said, you don't burden a soul with more than it can carry, see us through, I prayed again.

I stood up and fold the prayer mat ready to go and make breakfast.

I settle for some akara and pap( koko da kosai), we may be rich.....or let me rephrased that, Baba may be rich but he's only the rich one, him and him alone, we only get the necessities, food, clothing and shelter.

We are not the ones that made the money for him, as he said, nor is it our idea....but who's the reason behind it, US.

But am greatful that he didn't send us away, even if we don't get much at least we have a roof over our heads.

I made our breakfast and head towards Baba's part to make his too.

I proceed to his quarters as I admired the garden along, he liked flowers, how I wish he could be bright as this flowers, our life could've been different.