AMINAT (A modern love tale)

Aminat is a humorous and entertaining love tale that centers around a young man's pursuit for true love and how it takes him through a series of ordeals that were least expected.

CHAPTER ONE 

The first time I saw Aminat, she would have been a little below 12yrs old, she had accompanied her elder sister Rukayat to my mum's shop to buy some provisions for her mum. (they had lost their eldest brother yusuf in an auto accident the previous year,so it was just the two of them left as kids) Her elder sister Rukayat was probably in her mid teen age, the signs of woman hood were already quite visible in her, I was close to the last stages of my teenage hood (unofficial adult jorh - I was going to be 18 that year) as a young budding unofficial adult, I was already familiar with that special tinge of admiration and sweet feeling that strike young men when they encounter beautiful young girls. Rukayat smiled at me revealing those beautiful set of teeth as she enquired about my mum and siblings. My mum had gone to school (she was a principal at a government secondary school) my sisters had gone to school too. I answered her accordingly and attended to her shopping needs, trying all the time to take my eyes off Aminat and concentrate on Rukayat as she tried to keep the conversation going. As they made to depart, i couldn't take my eyes off Aminat, I watched her as she swayed her little hips left and right like she was trying so hard to shake what wasn't there.. As they walked away, my eyes trailed them till they were eventually out of sight. Aminat was barely a kid but I could already fortell that she would grow into a very beautiful woman. Don't call me a prophet, I just had the ability to fortell some things. By the way, my name is Hassan Muhammed, We weren't from the North though, we were frm the northern part of Edo state, Auchi precisely, my parents had being muslims before we got converted to christianity. My christian name was David but I was already used to my muslim name Hassan and since our church had no problem with me retaining the name, I preferred my muslim name. Rukayat and Aminat were from northern Nigeria but they weren't muslims and to correct a point, that wasn't actually the first time I saw Aminat, we had being family friends since I could remember, our parents had maintained long term friendship and our houses in Benin city were not so far from each other's. I only recalled that special day as the first time I saw her cos that was the first time I took such a huge notice of her. It was probably six years later that my prophecy began to materialize and manifest. I studied computer and statistics at the university of illorin and so was away from home for quite a very long time. Even after university days, I spent most of the time hustling in Lagos, till i eventually received my call up letter to undergo the NYSC program in Nassarawa state. During my schooling/NYSC period, I had a fair share of dating, I dated the good, the bad and the ugly as well. Now it was roughly six years after, that I returned home,I returned back to Benin after the successful completion of my NYSC program. I had high hopes of receiving a presidential welcome when I arrived home. I could picture my mum and younger sisters Zainab and Halimat shouting my name and running helter skelter trying to hug me,trying to do my every wish, hmmmm... I just couldn't wait to be home. Indeed I was anticipating a presidential welcome *** come on,I was the only son of my parents nau,and i was a graduate at that, indeed I deserved more than a presidential welcome. I arrived home on a bike ( hmm,dem neva ban bike for Benin city as at the time of this story). I got down from the bike anticipating sound of music,shouts from neighbours, family, friends and well wishers. omo!! i nor hear anything, even c**k nor gree crow. I got my bags n opened the gate and entered the compound, still no noise ** abi, dem wan prank me? I walked towards the door,found the outer protector locked,walked to the other flat and knocked on our neighbour/tenant's door (hmm,tenant would be better, na my papa get the house jare). Mama Dafe shouted like someone who had taken a few shots of whiskey 'Na who be that jare?' When she opened the door and saw it was me, she exclaimed 'Haa!!! Corfer corfer,you don come? Welcome o!!' I understood she meant to say Corper cos i was fully kitted in my NYSC ajuwaya outfit *** for my mind, i wan intimidate my street people - infact none of them even see me, e be like say dem plan me run comot for house- msheew, all anticipation in vain. 'Your mama, follow that her friend comot early this morning o,even Zainab and Halimat follow them too' Mama Dafe was speaking now 'but she keep key wait for you o' she went inside,came out again and handed over the keys to me. 'Welcome o,corfer corfer!! You nor buy bread come?' I looked up at her and smiled as i spoke in my mind **Na bread go kill you just now,my presidential welcome, i nor c,u dey talk of bread,msheew* 'Hmm, Mama Dafe, nor worry, the bread dey come' I replied her as I snatched the keys from her and went into the house. I went into the kitchen with high hopes (fried rice,chicken and malta guiness on my mind) omo, no food o, the only food i saw was one very small refugee kind of jollof rice wey meat or fish nor even dey,and from the way the rice take yellow,I sure say na Halimat cook am. What can a man do? I settle down chop that one first o, begin fume they wait for my mama and sisters, omo,we go fight today... PON! PON!! PON!!! It was the familiar sound of my mum's toyota corolla that woke me up from sleep. I rolled over from the bed and went outside the verandah to meet them, I saw my sweet mum (yea sweet,if u too jealous,go kal ur mama sweet and chewing gum join).. I saw my sweet mum coming out of the car, she had already parked in the garage, looking at my mum's pretty face melted my anger, I swear I loved this woman so much. 'Davido!!! My pride and My strength' that was my mum in her usual style,she loved to call me that ** omo,my head don dey burst small small. Zainab and Halimat ran out of the car,screaming my name ** I begin feel like jayz.. Zainab hugged me so hard, little Halimat was trying to squeeze hersef into the hug too, I released myself from their grip before them go suffocate the 'GRADUATE' *winks.. I walked towards my sweet mum and as i was about to hug her, someone else came out of the car. 

CHAPTER TWO 

If it was one of those hi-tech chinese movies, i guess there would have been a long pause as I n my mum made to hug, then there would have been a 360 degree camera turning effect as the camera would take it's focus off I and my mum and focus on the last occupant of the car that just came down from the car. Anyway, this is no chinese movie, so there was no pause, I hugged my Mum strongly as she patted my back showering me with loads and loads of prayers, I nor even hear any of the prayers o,na who dey come down from the car, naim my eyes wan c. Wait oo!! Are you kidding me? This charming and totally endowed beauty couldn't be Aminat. Hmmm, I know I predicted she would be pretty but no nau, come on, this was far far bigger than I ever imagined. 'Aminat, come this way na, do you want to build a nest in the car?' That was Halimat with her tiny voice. Halimat was only 12years old,she went towards Aminat and dragged her towards me. I was almost shivering as she walked towards me, I could sense that my teeth would go into chattering mood if care wasn't observed. Aminat had grown into a totally stunning lady, if it were one of those cartoon flicks, i guess my eyes would have popped out and probably my spirit might have run out out of my body. 'Hi!!!' *** stars hovering over my head*** 'was that a voice or did the angels just do a solo?' God!!! Aminat's voice was mind crippling, i suddenly felt like the crippled warrior in one of jet li's movie. ** omo,me I nor dey like make girl tell me 'Hi' before o but i swear, i love this hi** 'David, what are you staring at? Don't you know her?' My mum's voice jolted me back to real life, I looked at my mum and nodded like a zombie. Aminat stood looking at me, a little confused and probably feeling embarassed 'you are welcome back home, uncle Hassan' **OMG! The angels just did another solo** 'em, em good afternoon,u r welcome too' I stuttered, 'how are you doing, you look great' Aminat smiled shyly. *God!!! Was that a smile? There was charm and grace written all over the smile, as i was lost in my trance, i could see Aminat dressed in an all indian attire, wrapping a rope over my neck and pulling me towards the gates of Avalon, i tink i was dressed like prince Authur in the trance** 'Uncle Hassan, what did you buy for us?' Now it was zainab my eighteen year old sister that spoke. (Zainab was a few months older than Aminat,she was the most intelligent of my mum's children and the prettiest too,she was presently studying chemical engineering in the University of Benin,she was in 200level at that time.) Immediately Zainab asked the question,I quickly switched to defense mode. 'What do u mean zainab? When u gurls didn't even prepare anything for me to eat,knowing i was coming back today? Infact, right now,I am very mad at U and Halimat'. In her usual manner, she wore the *I'm sorry face* 'it was mum o,she insisted we go out with her this morning,but notwithstanding, let's go make u something very tasty to eat my cute brother' *blushing tinz 4 me o* as soon as she said this,she grabbed Aminat's hand and ran off with her into the house,as soon as they were in,she shouted Halimat's name and Halimat ran in to meet them. I was still painting a mental picture of Aminat when my mum nudged me and suggested we go into the house so I could tell her about all my experiences at NYSC camp and throughout the NYSC year. It was evening and at this time we already had a rather small feast with lots to eat and drink *my mama nor dey slack for that one* My Dad had travelled on a business trip. I had spent so much time talking with my Mum, sharing stories and all, I had also come to understand that my Mum's Friend Aunty Aishatu had travelled on a 3days trip to kotonou and since her Husband was based in Port Harcourt and Rukayat schooled in Federal university of Technology, Akure, (FUTA), Aminat was going to be spending the weekend with us till her Mother returned. When she told me, I felt like dancing the famous 'Michael Jackson's Backslide' but I cautioned myself o, before my detective mum spotted anything unusual. I was sitting at the house verandah listening to planet phenom's TININI TANANA using my head phone when Zainab and Aminat joined me on the verandah. 'Can we join you?' Zainab asked, I looked up at her, she wore this mischievous look on her face, Aminat was acting rather shy, she was avoiding my gaze. 'With all pleasure,please have a seat' i offered them a seat on the bench and shifted so they could join me. Zainab stylishly made Aminat sit closer to me while she sat on the other end beside her. *clearly,this Zainab was up to something* as if she wanted to prove me right,Zainab excused herself,claiming she wanted to arrange her room and straighten some clothes. Aminat volunteered to go with her but Zainab refused on the grounds that she wouldn't stay long *only God knows where Zainab went, cos the next time i saw her was the next day* Now it was just I n Aminat alone in the verandah, like my good friend Ifechukwu would say 'e don set'. See me see Aminat wey I dey look since, oya now, Hassan, move into your never dulling and entertaining conversation style. Aminat was looking down obviously avoiding my gaze, the few seconds of silence seemed like years to me, then I broke the silence. You wouldn't imagine the first words that came out of my mouth... 

CHAPTER THREE 

'Will you marry me?' **omo,even me nor know when i take talk am o, but i guess it broke the awkward silence and shyness that was all over Aminat** She burst out into a fit of laughter, the laughter was so strong that i was begining to wonder if someone was tickling her photograph in her house (emmm,i know that's an old joke,leave it like that *tongue out) she laughed hard and looked up at me so that our eyes met (at this point,we would have to go on a commercial break cos the emotions that were generated,transmitted and distributed at that point can't be explained in words) God!! Aminat had the finest pair of eyes I have ever seen, she smiled very sweetly and asked me a rather funny question too 'Do you want to marry your sister?' It was my turn to laugh. *omo, as i dey laugh,I don teleport enter mountain of fire mode o, any demon that want to make you my sister so that we cannot have a romantic interaction,what are you waiting for??? Die!!!!** Aminat turned out to be a very great conversationist (if this english nor koret,leave am like dt,i dey inside bus,dey rite dis part,no dictionary here) she was totally humorous too, we talked about school, religion, politics, fashion, planet phenom, relationships e.t.c. We talked for straight 3hours from about past 6pm to about 9pm. Who cared about food? During the conversation, my fone rang, I picked it up and saw the name on the screen 'Ifechukwu' msheew! I silence the call,what is Ifechukwu? Na name of shoe? Aminat was dating a 200level law student in the university of Benin, she had also secured admission to study anatomy in the same university. Their relationship wasn't really going smoothly at the time. I was dating a yoruba girl from my alma mater (omo,c big english! E mean d university wey i for finish from jorh) her name was shola, shola was a 300level accounting student. I and Shola were already on the verge of breaking up..(Hmm,Me and shola story ennnn!!! Na anoda day story) I and Aminat continued chatting until Halimat came to call us in to have our dinner which was already cold by the time we eventually were ready to eat. I spent almost the whole of the next day which was a saturday talking with Aminat. We had suddenly become best friends over night,even my mum had to make some funny comments regarding our newly found friendship. The saturday was so funfilled for I and Aminat that we sure weren't prepared for the unexpected event that occured the next day... 

CHAPTER FOUR 

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a white ceiling, obviously this wasn't my room, I turned my head sideways and saw an empty bed a few metres away from where I was lying. The room was painted all white, the door directly opposite me was shut, I was lying on a small bed and as I tried to raise my body from the bed, a sharp pain shot through my back. Omo, the pain ring for inside my kidney, I didn't even know when I let out a very sharp cry of pain. Immediately I shouted,the door opened and a nurse entered the room and moved very quickly towards me. She was very ugly with very deep tribal marks running on both sides of her face, she was black like kiwi polish and short like can malt. She struck me as a yoruba and i guessed her age around early thirties. She tried to lay me back on the bed as she told me to calm down, I tried to raise my left hand in defense to stop her from touching me,it was only then that i discovered for the first time that there was a drip attached to my hand. I touched my head with my right hand cos it ached badly and discovered it was bandaged. **shuu,wetin dey happen here sef** 'Mr. Hassan, please relax, your family is here already' it was the nurse speaking, she wore a smile as she said this *omo, e b like say the smile even they make her look uglier, i swear this babe na female version of taiye taiwo* (it's play I is o). As I laid there wondering what I was doing in a hospital bed and how I got here, the door opened and the first face I saw was my Mum's. She had worry written all over her face as she walked towards me, Zainab and Aminat followed closely behind her *omo, as I see Aminat, all the hairs for my body stand attention, i begin form Boss, infact all the pains vanish, one time* 'my pride and my strength, how are you feeling now?' My mum asked me, my mum was talking to me but i was engrossed with looking at Aminat, staring into her lovely pair of eyes, i felt like answering my mum's question with this song 'am feeling good, feeling fine cos INOCHI don come o today' (lolz,nor worry if u didn't get the joke,only phenomyts wud get d joke). 'Hmm, I feel ........' My answer was cut short as Aminat moved forward and touched my head *omo, it felt like heaven, heaven on earth* Aminat looked deep into my eyes, she had worries written all over her face, she held my right arm and said 'thank you'. Immediately, she said thank you, all the events that occured began to flood my brain as if I just recovered from amnesia. I immediately recalled how and why i was in the hospital bed.... 

CHAPTER FIVE  

(Flash back - how i found myself in the hospital bed) That sunday morning, I had left home earlier than everyone else since I was a sunday school teacher in church. Zainab attended a different church from us, she worshipped at winners chapel while the rest of the family worshipped at Shadow of christ deliverance ministry. Aminat had decided to follow Zainab to winners chapel so i had waved them goodbye with high hopes of seeing them or rather seeing Aminat later in the day. When I closed from church, I didn't even stay behind to greet friends, I even had to lie to my PLANET PHENOM galaxy leader that we had special afternoon prayers at home so i could excuse myself from rehearsals. (Planet Phenom is an entertainment organisation which i joined in church while I was in S.S.3. I was a good singer and dancer ni,infact i was one of their best assets.... Hmmm, abeg all those one na story for another day) I was already hurrying home when my best friend Ifechukwu shouted my name from behind me 'Hassan!!! E don reach like that abi? U nor even dey fit halla person again shei?' I turned back to face a frowning Ifechukwu *omo, i don dey calculate lie wey i wan take discharge my guy* 'Ife, my guy! Nor be so o, na mumsi just call me now, say make i dey come house now now now' 'hope no problem o' Ife asked, 'no,i don't think so sha' I replied and quickly started walking away before further questioning, I could imagine Ife looking at me from behind in amusement, *omo, i nor even send... Aminat on my mind* As I branched off into my street, i looked up ahead of me down the street and could see a group of boys about three of them in number making trouble for two girls. It seemed they were obstructing the girls from passing. I looked carefully and discovered it was Zainab and Aminat, probably they were on their way home from church, the rascals were trying to talk to them and they had ignored them so the rascals were trying to make trouble. Omo, as i see say my Aminat dey involved for the matter, I don begin dey run go there sharply, ZOOM!! Like flash! I don reach there. 'Hey,what's going on here? My voice caught the attention of the three boys. I knew one of them,he was a cultist, they called him DADA, he was huge and very muscular, he didn't live in our street though, we always saw him around. I didn't know the other two rascals but i assumed they were cultists too. 'So na you be George of the jungle abi? Defender of the innocent' one of the rascals answered me. ** i nor know who say make Zainab go talk o** 'uncle Hassan, don't mind these idiots, they think it's every girl they see on the road, they can talk to' *omo,Dada head don spark o* 'guys una dey hear this yeye fowl dey call e mama idiot?, i go teach this stupid girl lesson today' He grabbed her arm and was pulling her towards himself *omo,I don confuse,if like say my director for planet phenom pictures, Oga Joshua aka Dr luv dey here nw,e go use e big body intimidate these guys,wetin i wan do nw,this zainab with her sharp mouth wan land me for soup o* I quickly intervened and came in between them 'Bros, abeg nor vex,na my sister' Dada loosened his grip on her and sized me before he replied 'na your sister,naim you dey look am dey insult me abi?' As i dey think of how to beg Dada, naim Aminat hiss. Chei!! Who send Aminat make she hiss? One of the other rascals head spark 'na who you dey hiss for? Your father there' omo, the next thing wey i see, this guy land slap for my very own Aminat face.... **************************************** Wait o,make we reason dis mata first, if na u,wetin you go do? Omo, i swear I tink my next action well like who dey hot seat for who wants to be a millionaire,guy!! This was a clear case of between the devil and the deep blue sea ****************************************** As i saw tears coming down the face of my beloved Aminat,I could take this oppression no more. I could hear my spirit whispering to my soul and my soul to my body that it's appointed unto men,once to die and after death is judgement. I could hear my innermost mind say *guy,defend your pride* i swear at that moment seeing the tears in Aminat's eyes, I threw caution to the wind and SLAPPED this rascal, GBOZA!!! infact when I hear the sound of the slap wey i give am,even me shock, as I slapped him,before he could retaliate,i followed it up with a head butt to his stomach *omo,those days wey i spend for karate school don dey work o* as my head collided with his stomach,the rascal went down, as i attempted to finish him up with upper and lower cuts, my hand was held in the air, omo as i look up,na Dada hold my hand, i swear the fear wey catch me nor be small, my liver fail me, the sweat wey i sweat fit full one bucket, the next thing i could remember was a torrent of blows,kicks,slaps,everything reigning down on me *omo,nor b small rain,fall that day* I couldn't even find Zainab and Aminat again as i was being brutalized by these three rascals, it seemed they had run away to get help. As i laid on the ground trying to protect my face from their assault,the last thing i remembered seeing was Dada running towards me with a very big wood *omo,as I see am dey come,I don already talk my last prayer* I didn't hear the sound of the wood when it hit my head but I knew I felt the anointing and my eyes closed as I entered black out, totally slain in the spirit - brutalized in cold blood....... 

CHAPTER SIX 

It was a year after the brutalizing and hospital episode. My Dad got Dada and his group arrested,though some members of his gang came to beg and we settled the matter outside the police station. That one nor mean say I nor still buy continuous beer for one full week for Dada and the two rascals o, although we were now on good terms after the episode. Meanwhile Aminat was now in school, almost rounding up her 100 level in Anatomy, I had eventually broken up with my University of Illorin girl friend or rather she had caused us to break up, because during the period, she had become so demanding,financial wise, ignoring the fact that I was still searching for a job. At that time, I was managing a teaching appointment in one secondary school that paid me ten thousand to teach five subjects from s.s.1 to s.s.3. *omo,wetin hustle nor go do person? And nazo the proprietress go dey shout for your head on top the change wey she dey pay you* I couldn't keep up with Shola's endless demands so i had to press STOP in the relationship and as if she was expecting it,the next I heard was that she was getting married in the next three months *ladies,I hail oooooo* I and Aminat had become closer since after the hospital episode, infact her full family began to love me o, Her Dad,her mum, Rukayat *coughs* and of cause the angel that I almost died for, Aminat. Aminat practically loved me but more as a brother,she never forgot to tell me how much she loved me and saw me as an elder brother *omo,anytime she talk that elder brother gist en,i go just dey vex.. Which one be elder brother? Na the same mama born us?* I loved Aminat too, I loved her so much but my own pass sister love o, we always communicated day and night, *e get one time wey mtn do one bonanza called magic number, i sure say na bcos of me and Aminat dem scrap am, cos we began to talk for almost 24 hours daily* we spent most of the nights talking too, infact MTN midnight calls suffered a great deal in our hands. I really loved Aminat so much, I really wanted to date her but there were two problems..the first was that she saw me as a brother and the second which was the important part was that she was still dating Chris, the Law student at uniben. Their relationship wasn't at it's best but she was enduring the relationship all the same. On many occasions, Chris had questioned her concerning our closeness but she always waved his suspicions off with the fact that I was like an elder brother to her. During this period,the entertainment organisation I worked with, Planet Phenom Entertainment, decided to organize a mega program to end the year. The program was aimed at enabling us affect the world with our talents. We usually had many programs of this sort before but this particular one was very mega for two reasons, the first being that all the top names in the state were going to be attending and the second being that I was now officially signed into the planet phenom records label.. That meant I would receive a percentage of the total money that would be made from the mega event. Preparations began in top gear,i worked on myself day and night,planet phenom rehearsals were not left out, it was stressful and as demanding as hell, our leaders especially the records director, Vikky Wattz was a no-nonsense person o, Emmy Blinks and Dr. Love fit hear excuse but Vikky Wattz? Nah, you die there. I spent less time with Aminat during this period we saw less and spoke less on phone too. Rukayat's school had an internal strike and so she was home during this period, she always found time to come to our house and she kept me company most times and was a major support during preparations for this mega event. I was in planet phenom records while my padi Ifechukwu was in planet phenom pictures,we worked our a*s hard and most evenings we were together before Rukayat would come and join us. We would spend long hours together before Rukayat would eventually go home.Most times Rukayat would bring food for us in coolers,*omo, i must confess, she was a very great cook sha* other times she would buy fruits but the important thing was that she never visited me empty handed. On one of such evenings after Rukayat had left, Ife looked at me and asked me 'Hassan, have you seen what I'm seeing?' I looked at him and asked him 'what?' Ife put on a serious face and said ' I think Rukayat likes you much more than she should' I immediately burst out into a laugh and replied him 'haba, how you go talk like that? We are like family na, we all like ourselves so much, and moreover you know it's the younger sister I like o, nor come dey see evil vision for here' Ife didn't laugh as I expected him to, rather he just asked me to be very careful and observant too. ***Ife was a very deep person,he had a way of studying people and undestanding their intentions. Most times, his judgements about people was always right. I just hoped he was wrong this time around.....*** 

CHAPTER SEVEN 

Soon most universities went on break as it was december period, our mega event was slated for December 20th so preparations were on the highest gear. Aminat was home now having rounded up her second semester exams, she always came around, sometimes with Rukayat but most times alone. Aminat even went with me most times to planet phenom rehearsals to give me moral support. During this period, I observed whenever Chris called Aminat on phone when she was with me, she always ignored the calls,whenever I asked her why,she would smile and ask me to mind my business. This continued for a while until I eventually forced her to talk to me one day and she told me, Chris had suddenly become too jealous of the way she was always around me and was threatening to break up with her if she didn't refrain from being close to me. *omo,c wahala o* I didn't even know how to advise her on that matter, but she assured me that she could take care of herself. Finally the D-Day arrived, Planet Phenom's Mega event tagged APOCALYPSE officially happened. All the top names in the state were in attendance, the state governor couldn't attend but he sent a representative, some top entertainers from Lagos honoured our invitations. My entire family and friends attended the event. Everytime I climbed the stage to perform, I would look towards my dear Aminat and be sure that she was watching me with smiles.. Rukayat was there too, anytime I climbed the stage, Rukayat would shout at the top of her voice and clap excitedly *omo,me com dey fear sef* meanwhile Aminat was rather very calm,infact too calm for my liking, she would just smile but her eyes appeared far deep in thoughts.. The event ended in grand style and Planet Phenom officially made the day for all participants and guests. My Mum and sisters almost destroyed my ear drum with *we are so proud of you* aunt Aishatu came towards me and gave me a big hug, Rukayat did the same, but the hug lasted longer than it should have and she pressed herself unto me in an unusual manner, I didn't see anything wrong in it though, then she dipped her hands into my pockets and dropped a little well folded envelope inside, she asked me not to open it till I got home. I still hadn't seen Aminat come to hug me, I looked towards the hall and saw her sitting all by herself, her face had a pale look. I moved quickly towards her and pulled her arms and pulled her backstage with me. 'Aminat, what's wrong with you, please talk to me' she raised her head and tried to force a smile 'Hassan, you did great today, i am proud of you' that was her reply. I looked at her again, I knew all was not well 'Aminat, please talk to me, what's wrong with you?' She looked away from me. As i held her face and turned it to face me, I saw tears drop from her eyes. 'Aminat, please stop this, please talk to me, what's wrong?' She looked up at me, with tears in her eyes and handed over her phone to me, I collected it and looked at it, there was a text message on the screen, it was from Chris, this was the message on the phone *I am tired of your lies and deceit, you can go ahead and be with your so called brother, Hassan, have fun while you are with him,I don't love you anymore,I never loved you,I have found another, it was nice doing business with you* the message was strange and totally uncalled for, I immediately felt sadness, anger, infact I couldn't explain how I felt. I looked up at Aminat, by now the tears were dropping freely frrom her face, I drew her to myself and hugged her very very closely, she continued sobbing on my shoulders as I tried to console her, I told her that if Chris could send her a message like that,then he didn't deserve her. Suddenly she held onto me stronger than she did before, and raised her head to face me, she looked deep into my eyes, I didn't know what to do, I was confused and out of confusion I kissed her lips, she was shocked and embarassed, she immediately freed herself from my hug and wanted to go out but I held her hands back and said the words I had always wanted to say 'Aminat, I love You, I can't live without you, I'm sorry it might be coming at this wrong hour, but I just want you to know I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you' Aminat looked at me again, this time her eyes bore even greater shock than it bore the first time, she released herself from my grip forcefully and ran out into the hall.. *OMG! What have I done? It suddenly became clear to me that I might have just destroyed our friendship, at that moment I wished the ground would open up and swallow me...... 

CHAPTER EIGHT 

How I even got home that day I couldn't explain, immediately Aminat left me backstage, she had also left the venue and had gone home too. I couldn't muster up enough courage to even come out from the dressing room and face anyone, my heart would have been beating at an alarming rate at that point. I really wished I had excercised more control in that dressing room *the devil kept repeating the words of the bible to me 'if your lips would cause you to sin, cut it off* omo,if I had a knife with me, I guess I might have actually considered cutting it off. I felt bad and all the joy I had from being a star act at the APOCALYPSE had suddenly become a sour taste in my mouth. I arrived home a little later than I should have cos I purposely delayed so I would have a little alone time to myself. When I entered the house, they were all shouting my praises, Mum, Zainab, Halimat even my Dad wey nor dey send those kain paroles gave me a big handshake. I wore a fake smile and tried to appear fine so my Mum wouldn't notice anything odd. I rejected dinner on the grounds that our planet phenom directors already fed us sumptuous meals after the show. Immediately I entered my room, I locked the door. I grabbed my phone and dialled Aminat's number, it rang but there was no response, I dialled again and the same thing happened. I dialled again and the operator's voice came in *sorry, the mtn number you have dialled is currently switched off, please try again later* 'hmmm, she has switched of her phone' I muttered to myself. I tried the number again, the response was the same, I thought about calling Rukayat and asking to speak with Aminat, but I quickly decided against it. I decided to send her an sms so that whenever she switched on her phone again,she would see it. I quickly typed an apology sms on my phone *Aminat Dear, I am indeed sorry for what transpired today, I knw my actions are unforgivable but please find a place in your heart to forgive me, I am deeply sorry* I sent the message and lay down on the bed with nothing on my mind but hopes. *omo,I gree sleep? Naso my eye dey shine like policeman torch throughout the night,I couldn't stop thinking about Aminat and how she would be feeling at that moment* I opened my eyes and found out that I was tied to a tree, I had only a pair of red boxers on, my mouth was gagged with a dirty red cloth too, I looked around and found out that i was in the middle of a dense forest, as i was still wondering how I got here, I saw a group of savages surround me, all with spears, their leader was a female and she wore a mask, she stood directly in front of me and brought out a shining sword, she took of the mask and it was Aminat, 'Aminat!!!' I gasped in shock, she lifted up the sword and as she was about thrusting it into my stomach I shouted in horror 'Aminat, No!!!!' I woke up breathing heavily and sweating profusely despite the fact that the fan was on, 'ha,thank God it was a dream' I said to myself,I didn't even know when I drifted off to sleep in the first place. I looked at the clock,it was a little past 6am, I quickly got hold of my phone to see if my message to Aminat had delivered, I saw a message on the screen, my heart beat immediately increased. The message wasn't from Aminat, it was from Rukayat, I opened the message, and indeed it was from Rukayat, brief and concise, it read thus *hey! Have you opened the envelope? Awaiting your response* I immediately remembered she had dropped an envelope in my pocket the previous day, I quickly checked on Aminat's message, the message had delivered but she hadn't replied, I thought about calling her but decided to check first on Rukayat's envelope. I didn't even bother to change my trousers before I fell on the bed the previous night. I quickly dipped my hand into my pocket and brought out the envelope. I tore it open and there was a small card in it, I opened the card and the words I read threw me off guard. *Hassan Darling, I know this is weird but I am a Lady that knows how to go for what she wants. I love you and I want to be with you, I know you want to be with me too, let's make this happen - your love Rukayat* 'kweke!!!' My jaw hung open in shock, I couldn't close my mouth, as I was trying to recover from the shock, my phone rang, I quickly picked it up, it was Aminat, I answered it quickly like a possesed man, she had tears in her voice and she said only a few words and ended the call... These were her words 'Hassan, I am so sorry about yesternight, I LOVE you too, I have always loved you' 

CHAPTER NINE 

It's at times like these that one gets to recall Davido's song *omo, see gobe* this wasn't funny at all, I pinched myself severally to be sure I wasn't dreaming. The one I have always loved had finally confirmed the fact that she felt the same way about me but right now the joy I should have had at such a news was being converted into something else. Her very own elder sister, Rukayat was also professing love for me. *omo, hot piss don begin catch me now now o* I rushed to the toilet and de congested my bladder but that didn't change my state of confusion. What would I do? Only one thing to do at the moment, I picked up my phone and dialled the number 08038584863.... (Nor go dial the number o, na killer number o... lolz). 'Hey Uzon,how far?, why you dey call my phone this kind early morning? You dream see winch?' It was Ifechukwu on the other end of the fone in his usual non chalant manner 'Ife, this one pass winch o' I replied, when Ife heard the tone of my voice, he knew it was a serious matter 'wetin dey sup my guy?' Ife listened carefully as I narrated all that happened from the previous night till that morning. After I had finished my story, he asked me a simple question 'who do you love?' 'How can you ask such a question? You know I love Aminat so much and would do anything for her' I replied, almost angry that he could still ask me such a question. 'Hassan my man,if u really love this girl, then follow your heart, but be careful with Rukayat, hell hath no fury as a woman scorned' I thoroughly understood what Ifechukwu meant, this wasn't going to be easy at all, then it suddenly clicked in my head, somehow I had caused this to happen. Rukayat had asked me so many times on different occasions if I and Aminat were dating, I would always laugh and remind her that Aminat was like my kid sister. On another ocassion she had asked me if I had feelings for Aminat, I had also replied in the negative. The most vivid one was when we played Truth or Dare and she asked me If I had to chose between her and Aminat, who I would chose and I picked Rukayat because I didn't want to hurt her feelings. It suddenly dawned on me that I had been leading Rukayat on, all this while, showing her green lights that didn't exist,when she came to my room then, she would lie on my bed, place her head on my thighs, I would stroke her hair, tickle her as we joked, tease her, she would laugh and fall on my body,I even wrote her some songs and some poems too... OMG!! I had started what I never had any intention to finish and now see where it had landed me. I picked up my phone, I had to make two very important calls. I just hoped these calls would lead to a happy ending. The first call rang and she picked almost immediately. 'Aminat, I'm sorry,yesterday had to happen the way it did but I guess that's how God wanted it to be, I really do love you and I ......' (Bla bla bla... Una know how dat kain call go be na) but the long and short of the matter be say I asked her out on a date that evening so we would see and talk face to face. I could feel her warming up to me as we talked on phone, she even laughed at a few jokes that I cracked, wow, I could understand that Aminat had being loving me secretly too for a long while nw, she just dey claim sisterly love. I ended the call and now it was time to face my fears. *'grin grin', the phone rang 'grin grin' the phone rang again* then she picked up 'hey baby, come on, why didn't you call me since, you got me a little worried jorh' as I heard Rukayat's voice on the other end of the phone, I lost the nerve to say what I already planned to say 'I am ok dear, am sorry I didn't call you yesternight, I slept off quite early' that was all I could muster up courage to say, 'I guess you opened my envelope already, guess what, I am going to be coming over this evening so we can celebrate our love, I love you so much baby' I couldn't believe my ears when I heard my mouth open up and say 'ok, later then'. It was after she ended the call that I realized I just jumped from fry pan to fire... *somebody please help me ooooooo* 

CHAPTER TEN 

The evil that men do, live with them oooo. Ifechukwu had warned me about my closeness to Rukayat, I didn't listen, now it was so difficult to break the news to her that I didn't love her. The worst part now was that I was suppose to see both Aminat and Rukayat by evening. I didn't bother to call Ifechukwu again cos I knew he would be mad at me when he learns about the new circumstances on ground. I spent all day thinking about the best way to tell Rukayat that I didn't love her, the day ran so quickly and when it was evening, I had being able to develop a master plan to bail myself out of the web. At exactly 4pm, I called Aminat and asked her to meet me up at our agreed venue. Thirty minutes later we were strolling round the animal cages at Ogba Zoological garden, We were almost the only couple there apart from another couple that chose to sit inside a dark bushy corner *na only God know wetin dem dey do for there* I and Aminat shared a whole lot of secrets, she revealed to me how she had fallen in love with me the very first day I returned from my NYSC program. She told me how much she had always wanted to date me too, she told me how she felt jealous seeing me around other ladies especially her sister Rukayat. Indeed it was a revealing experience, I never knew Aminat felt that way about me, and come to think of it she had been using sisterly love as a cover up. I in turn revealed to her how I developed early crush on her even when she was less than twelve years old, I told her how my love for her had fastforwarded my break up rate with my ex girl friend.. She laughed when I said that, she confessed that she had lost interest in Chris a long time ago, that she was only enduring the relationship hoping I would be man enough one day to officially ask her out. It was my turn to laugh at this, she also confessed that even though she was confused the night I declared my love for her, she felt an inexplainable joy and it was officially her best night ever. We talked about so many things, we teased each other, laughed and when I glanced at my wristwatch, it was almost 6pm, my heart almost froze. I was meant to see Rukayat by 6pm. Hmm I had to lie to Aminat that I had to be home to attend to a very important assignment for my Dad. (Meanwhile, I was confident that this would be the last time I would lie to her cos I had already perfected plans to tell Rukayat I didn't love her and that I was dating Aminat). I and Aminat parted at kingsquare (ring road) cos she wanted to pick up something from her friend. But she shocked me with a question, as she hugged me the goodbye hug, she asked a question 'Baby, is anything going on between you and my sister Rukayat?' The question pricked me like a needle *should I tell her what was happening? I quickly changed my mind about it and answered in the negative* 'No baby, why would you even think about something like that?' *If I had known, I would have told Aminat the truth at that very moment cos Aminat never got home that night* 

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN 

Aminat smiled,.. there was this special joy she felt when I told her there was nothing going on between me and her sister. She pecked me on the cheek, hugged me very close again and walked away with a promise to call me on the phone. *omo, all my inner spirit don high as she showered me with so much love, omo i just enter automatic daydream mode, dey dance shoki, so tey i nor even know when I reach house* I opened the door to my room and found Rukayat sitting on my bed appearing rather moody. Immediately I entered the room, she stood up still wearing the moody face, 'baby, this is not fair at all, this is almost 6.30pm, you told me you would be home by 6pm, i deserve an apology' I went towards her and held her hands 'ok, I am really sorry about the delay Rukky, but we need to talk' She withdrew her hands from mine, of cos we need to talk jorh, but before we talk, give me a hug jorh' before I even hugged her she jumped on me and hugged me closely' she was all smiles, joy was oozing out of every pore on her skin *omo, i nor go lie sha, whenever Rukky hugged you en, you must feel the anointing, Rukky is very beautiful, though Aminat is more beautiful, but Rukky is by far more endowed, her assets, the anterior and posterior attackin n defensive midfielders were totally on point* I tried to free myself from the hug and I was appearing not excited either. Rukky observed and asked 'baby, please what's wrong?' 'Rukky please sit, we need to talk' I held her and made her sit on the chair while I knelt down in front of her. Rukky seemed confused and was wondering what I was up to. 'Rukky, please listen to me carefully, I really do care about you, I really like you so much but.... *as I looked into her eyes, I couldn't bring myself to complete the statement, Rukky's eyes had so much passion in it, that i was scared she might just faint if I told her I didn't love her. 'Hmm Rukky.... ' She cut me short before I could continue 'Please stop all this drama jare,Hassan, I know you are the shy type, you really are so shy you can't express how much you love me?' She stood up and pulled me up with her 'don't worry Hassan, I know exactly how you feel, I love you too and I know we are going to build the greatest relationship the world has ever seen' she hugged me very close again, this time she pressed herself so much on me,*God, Rukky was killing me, I didn't want her but I couldn't tell her* She totally controlled all the events that occured that evening, she chatted continuously about how much she loved me, how she would do anything for me and bla bla bla... I wasn't so responsive to her but she didn't even seem to care, she continued ranting, touching me at every opportunity and laughing for my non funny jokes, eventually it was time for her to go, she hugged me very closely again,pecked me on the cheek and promised to visit the next day. As she made to leave, I held her hands, so she turned and faced me, 'Rukky, I don't love you' I practically rushed the words. she looked at my face, firstly she wore this surprise and I could see deep hurt on her face, but it suddenly broke into a smile 'you wanna prank me abi?' She laughed, she drummed on my chest playfully with both hands and kissed me on the lips, 'Hassan Dear, you are not good at pranks jawe, she tickled me and I smiled losing the serious face I should have worn. 'I will see you tommorrow swtie, she blew a kiss at me and walked out of the door. *The day had gone and I couldn't tell her I didn't love her... * 

CHAPTER TWELVE 

Gboza!!! The slap stung my face like the deadly sting of a bee.. I opened my eyes to reality and stared at the faces of the men that surrounded me. 'You think say na fool you dey talk to abi?' A very ugly looking man spoke, as I made to answer him, the slap I received was more precise and sharper than the first one Gboza!!!! 'Sharap there' the slap hurt so bad, that I felt like crying, I could taste blood in my mouth as the slap apparently caused an injury to my gum. I looked up at the men, they were three in number, all haggard looking , wearing black tshirts and black trousers. Two of them had cigarettes in their hands, I immediately recalled where I was. I tried to understand my surroundings *like they would tell us back in karate classes, understand your surrounding and use them to your advantage* I observed I was sitting on a chair, a table was directly in front of me, I wasn't wearing any shirt, the first thing they had done was to strip me down to my boxers, I wasn't bound in any way but I was sweating profusely, the 200 wattz incandescent bulb in the room didn't help matters at all. there were no windows and there was only one door from my point of view. The door opened and another heavily built man walked into the room 'Macomita, the b*****d don talk?' He was asking the idiot that slapped me 'leave this guy for me, he dey form goliath for David, when I finish with am he go begin sing like parrot' Macomita answered the Man. 'Wetin be the latest development nau? Another man asked the man that had just entered the room, the man looked up at me wearing a very sinister look as he answered 'I still dey await instructions o, for now I never get any further instruction but in the main time we fit just soften this guy small as e b say e still dey form hard man' Immediately the man said that,it seemed like a game start whistle,as they all began to beat me up. The first kick sent me and the chair I was sitting crashing to the ground. I hit the hard cement floor with a banging thud,as if that was not enough,it was quickly followed up with more slaps, kicks, blows, they all came down on me like the first heavy rain on a rainy season, I couldn't even make any sound, the pain stole my voice, I endured the beatings till they were satisfied. I could feel pains all over my body, my ribs hurt so bad,my head seemed like it was going to explode in pain,my thighs ached so much,I silently prayed nothing had being broken, they walked out of the room together cracking jokes and probably mocking me. I was left alone probably half dead,still the million dollar question that plagued my mind had no answer.. 'How would I survive this?' 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN 

As I sat there awaiting my fate in the hands of these mean men that called themselves the Law, the events that had occurred the days before I found myself in this situation gradually began to come alive in my head. I recalled seeing Rukayat off to the gate on that fateful night that I lacked the nerve to tell her that I didn't love her. As she was about to go out through the gate, she walked back to me, held me close to herself and softly whispered in my ears, 'Hassan darling, I am ready to destroy anything that would try to come in between our love, if I don't have you, no one else would, I repeat - No One' She smiled in a funny way, blew a kiss at me again and walked out through the open gate leaving me totally speechless. I stood there staring at the gates for a very long time, I didn't know what to do or say.. *was that a threat? Or was it just the words of a woman that was desperately in love?* I dismissed the words and went for option two. 'She's just in love jare, she doesn't mean any of the things she just said' I convinced myself and walked back into the house and into my room. *grin grin*... *grin grin*... 'The customer you are calling is not responding, please try again later' I frowned as I heard the voice of the operator again. This was the fifth time I was dialling Aminat's phone number and she wasn't picking up. I looked up at my clock, it was a few minutes past 9pm.. I had being dialling her number since past 8pm till now, I had tried five different times and was getting the same response of the phone ringing without anyone answering. I decided to let her be, probably she was very busy and would return the call when she saw my missed calls. I got my special diary and went to work trying to compose a love song for my beloved Aminat, using one of the numerous soundtracks that our music producer, Vikky Wattz gave to us to work on. I was totally engrossed in what I was doing, and i guess I had already being at it for a long while when my phone rang, I looked up at the time, it was a few minutes past 11pm. 'So na now, Aminat dey see my missed calls abi?' I muttered to myself as I quickly ran to get my phone from the bed, but to my dissappointment, it wasn't Aminat's name on the screen, it was Rukayat. I decided to ignore the call cos I felt She just wanted to complain that I didn't even bother to check up on her and ask if she got home safely. I silenced the call and continued what I was doing. The phone rang again, still it was Rukayat, I silenced it again and ignored. When it began to ring again for the third time, a thought crossed my mind 'what if it was Aminat that was trying to call me with Rukayat's phone? She might be low on airtime or something' so I picked the call but I was dissapointed when I heard Rukayat's voice. Her voice wasn't wearing the sweet flavor It usually wore, she was sounding rather very serious as she simply asked 'Hassan, Have you seen Aminat? Did you by any chance see her today?' My calculative mind quickly went into calculation mode *hmm, Rukky might have got wind somehow that I was with Aminat 2day* I quickly answered her without thinking 'No, I haven't seen Aminat since morning, why are you asking? Isn't she home?' Rukayat simply ignored my questions and said 'ok' then the line went dead. I didn't understand the motive behind the call, so many thoughts began to run through my mind, *had Aminat told Rukky about our love? Did she tell her we were together that evening?* I suddenly became uncomfortable, the way Rukky sounded on the phone gave me reasons to be bothered, her tone wasn't the usual romantic tone. I had told her I wasn't with Aminat, what was I even thinking? What if Aminat had told her we were together that evening, then it would appear I was denying Aminat.. I quickly dialled Aminat's number on my phone again, this time it didnt connect, it was switched off. I became confused, what could be going on at Aminat's house, hope I hadn't started any trouble between the two sisters??? My phone rang again, I quickly picked it up thinking it was Rukayat or Aminat, but as I looked at the screen, I suddenly felt this cold wind of fear in my lungs.. The caller wasn't Aminat or Rukayat, the name that appeared on my phone screen immediately gave me goose bumps... Why would this caller, be calling my phone at past 11 in the night and at this critical time? I suddenly began to sweat, even though the fan was on.... 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN 

I looked at my phone screen again, the name on the screen hadn't changed.. Aunty Aishatu!!! Why would Aminat's Mum be calling my phone at this ungodly hour and at this critical time? Something was definitely wrong at Aminat's house... 'Hello, goodevening ma' I answered the call with a heart that was beating very fast, 'good evening Hassan, sorry to disturb your sleep, Aminat hasn't being home since she left home this evening, I was wondering if you had seen her or heard from her by any chance today?' I remembered I already gave Rukayat a negative answer, I sure didn't want to begin to give contradictory answers at this point, so I simply replied 'hmm, I haven't seen her today ma, I even tried calling her, her phone has being switched off since' there was a short pause on the other end before she eventually spoke 'ok, please if you are able to get to her, let me know immediately, i am begining to get worried about her' 'ok ma' I replied as she ended the call. What exactly was I doing? I had just denied being with Aminat twice, by the way, what exactly was going on? Why was Aminat away from home this late? I was totally confused and worried at the same time.. I dialled Aminat's number again, it was still switched off. I prayed silently in my heart, 'God please keep Aminat safe and sound for me' I really couldn't understand what was happening.. 'Aminat, Noooooo!!!!' I woke up screaming. I had the terrible nightmare again,the same nightmare I had the night I told Aminat that I loved her. But this time, it was more real and scarier, this time the number of savages were more and Aminat's face was a whole lot more frightening, there was blood all over her face, she wore a very very angry look and this time her sword actually sunk into my stomach and it was as she drew it out with my blood flowing freely that I woke up shouting. I continued to breath heavily as the sweat poured freely from my body. I looked at the time, it was past 7am, gosh I had overslept, My mum had already gone to school by the time I came out of the room, Zainab was in school and Halimat had gone to school too. It was just me at home, I dialled Aminat's number again, it was still switched off, I dialled Rukayat's phone number, it rang twice without response. This was getting really uncomfortable, what could have happened to my dear Aminat? I quickly ran into the bathroom so that I would get ready and go to Aminat's house At exactly 8.45am when I was dressed to go to Aminat's house, my phone rang, I picked it up, it was Rukky, She told me that she and her mum had gone to the police station to make a report concerning Aminat's dissappearance and that the police were currently working on the case now. She talked quickly and I could still feel this edge in her voice like she was angry with me or something.. I told her I was on my way to her house,she asked me not to bother as her Mum was already out of the house and she wasn't going to be home either. I had no option but to remain at home praying that nothing evil had befallen my very own Aminat. At about 3.30pm, my phone rang again, it was Aunty Aishatu, I quickly picked up the phone 'gud afternoon ma' 'good afternoon Hassan' she replied, her next question threw me off balance 'Hassan, where you with Aminat, yesterday?' I suddenly became scared, I knew I had answered the same question the previous and I had given her a negative answer, if I said something else now, it could be implicating, I wasn't thinking right and I answered 'no ma, I wasn't with Aminat yesterday'. She paused and asked again 'are you sure you weren't with Aminat yesterday?' *gosh,na which kain wahala be this? Why did i even lie to Rukayat to begin with, now telling the truth was so difficult* 'I am sure ma, i wasn't with Aminat yesterday' the line went dead before I could even finish my statement. Now I was visibly shaking, what do I do? Should I call Aunty Aishatu back and tell her the truth? But what would I give as my reason for lying in the first place? I quickly decided to set things right and call aunty Aishatu back. As I made to dial her number, I heard the familiar horn of my mum's car at the gate, I ran out of the house to open the gate for her, she drove in and came out of the car as Halimat jumped out too, running to embrace me. Mum had barely come out of the car when she asked me 'Hassan' (she only called me Hassan when there was a serious matter on ground) 'Hassan, Aunty Aishatu called me and said Aminat is missing, what do you know about it?' *what do I know about it? Omo, dat question get k- leg o* 'but Mummy what do you mean by what do I know about it?' As Mum made to continue her speech, A black police van drove right into our compound as the gates were still open, three policemen jumped out of the back of the van, holding rifles as if they were going out for war. They surrounded the compound and the one who sat at the front with the driver came out of the van, looked at me, my mum and sister and asked me, are you Hassan Muhammed? My mum stepped forward and asked 'what's the problem?' The police man ignored my mum and asked me again 'are you Hassan Muhammed?' I nodded in the affirmative. He looked at my mum's questioning face, turned to me again and gave me the news I wasn't expecting to hear 'Young man, You are under arrest'.... 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN 

'Under arrest for what?' It was my mum querying the man. 'Am sorry ma but he has to come with us to the station for questioning' as the man made to grab me, My mum came in between us 'you are not taking my son anywhere until you tell me what's happening here' the policeman stared at my mum for sometime as if he was contemplating whether to push her away or not. 'Madam, your son has to come to the station with us for questioning, concerning the dissappearance of a certain Aminat Kadiri' My mum looked at me again in shock, she clearly didn't understand what was going on, 'Men, grab him and let's go' the man spoke to the men who held rifles,both of them moved towards me and grabbed my hands from both sides as they dragged me into the van, My mum tried to pull me away from their grip but the Man who seemed to be their leader, held her and warned her against obstructing the law, he further told her that they were taking me to Evbuotubu police station for questioning, that my mum could come along if she wanted, but I had to ride at the back of the van with them. Halimat was already crying 'leave my brother alone, please leave Uncle Hassan, He has done nothing to you' Halimat's cries brought tears to my Mum's eyes too, She forcefully pulled me from their grasp and hugged me very close as she whispered in my ears ' My World and my pride, I promise you that nothing would happen to you, you will be just fine, am going to get you out of there in no time' I was pulled away from her and dragged into the van, the last i saw before the van sped off was Halimat crying and Mum running around trying to make a few calls and trying to get a few stuff from the house so she could follow us to the station. At the station, it was a whole new ball game (indeed the Nigeria police are heartless) the police van arrived the station a few minutes before my mum arrived, immediately I came out of the van and was led into the station, I heard the DPO ask the man that led the team 'Sergeant Yusuf, is that the bloody criminal' Sergeant Yusuf opened his stupid mouth and replied 'Yes Sir, this is the bloody criminal, that adopted the innocent young girl, he even tried to resist arrest, but we have brought him here' *jesus, I hold my head, tried to resist arrest?* 'but sir, I am not a ....' Sharap there' it was the sergeant that cut me short, 'you still have the guts to talk? Don't worry when we are through with you, you would know why the tortoise has a bald head' 'Macomita, take him to the interrogation room' right there and then, the man they called Macomita who was among the team that arrested me, asked me to strip, they took all my clothes and left me on boxers only, I spied my mum's car drive into the compound as I was being pushed into the room they called interrogation room, As i entered the room, the settings of the room, the heat, the bad smell, everything just combined to give me a very terrible feeling *God, what had I gotten myself into, so this was me being treated as a common criminal* I didn't even realise when the tears began to drop from my eyes.. 'We never even start with you, you don dey cry abi? When we finish with you, you go confess wetin you use the poor girl do' as i turned to face the man, I received a blinding slap and I guessed I blacked out, I opened my eyes to the torture and inhuman treatment that these men called interrogation, these men that called themselves the law,beating me mercilessly like I was already a condemned criminal. As my mind returned back to my present state, the question kept plaguing my mind, 'how would I survive this' my body ached so bad, I managed to rise from the ground and sit on the chair, only God knows what these people had told my Mother. The interrogation was molestation, they didn't even ask me anything, all they wanted to hear was that I had done something bad to Aminat, was that how the police worked? I was thrown into deep thoughts again *but what could have happened to Aminat, God please don't allow anything bad happen to her, God please deliver me from this evil* I suddenly found myself rededicating my life to God all over again... 'Hey, Criminal!!! Come outside, someone wants to see you' I didn't even notice when corporal Macomita walked into the room, he shouted again 'you dey crase? I say person wan see you, stand up there' I managed to stand up and limped a little as he led me out to the front desk, when I saw my family, I couldn't hold the tears, they couldn't hold the tears either. Zainab wanted to hug me but the men stopped her, there was a seperation though that seperated me from them, my mum held my hands from across the counter, she was all tears ' Hassan, Did you do it?' My Mum's question threw me off guard, 'Mum, how do you mean?' 'Hassan,did you hurt Aminat?' 'Mum, I swear I didn't,I could never hurt Aminat' My mum looked at me deeply 'But Hassan,why did you have to deny being with her when you were actually with her yesterday?' I simply bowed my head in silence, I didn't know what to reply 'Hassan, Aminat's friend confirmed that Aminat spent the evening with you, that she even sent pictures of you and her together, and that was the last time she heard from her' I was totally broken, I still didn't know what to say 'Hassan, I know you are innocent, but this is a very serious case, the fact that you denide being with her has implicated you so much,even Aunty Aishatu and her husband are asking for your head,Hassan all we can depend on this time is God' As my mum was still trying to console me, A man burst into the Office with rage and fuming with anger, 'where is the b*****d?' we all raised our head to see who it was , behold it was Mr Kadiri himself, Aminat's Father *God, I had suddenly become a b*****d, this is the same Hassan you could do anything for because he almost died for Aminat* He walked furiously towards me and made to grab my neck but he was quickly intercepted by the policeman on duty, someone else was restraining him. That was when I even observed that Aunty Aishatu and Rukayat were with him, Rukayat looked at my face and quickly looked away, but she wasn't fast enough as I could see tears drop from her eyes *God, Rukky really loved me* Mr Kadiri was still fuming with rage even though he was being restrained by his wife and daughter 'You Hassan, You, You must Pay, No one murders my daughter and get away with it' The words hit me like asthma... As the words softly rolled out of my mouth 'Murdered!!!' No!!! God this can't be happening, Aminat can't be dead!!! 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN 

The Police on duty immediately signalled two other men and asked them to put me behind the counter, while he asked Kadiri's Family and my family to go out with him, he followed them out, only God knows how the discussions went, I guessed my Mum had infuriated him with threats of taking legal actions against them cos he came back to the station fuming with anger and as he saw me behind the counter, the next thing he said was 'throw that b*****d into the cell, legal actions my foot' God!!! My night in that cell wasn't something I would like to remember. There were about eight inmates in the cell, the cell was so small, even four people in it would have been a case of overcrowding, talk more of eight people. Like I said, my experience in the cell isn't something I would like to recall, I still remember it till this day and I feel shivers down my spine.. After the oppression and humiliation from the prison inmates especially the one they called Presido!! I eventually slept in a squatting position, with over a million mosquitoes feeding on my almost naked skin. I cried all through the night, praying to God and making a special vow to God that if he delivered me out of this mess, I would totally dedicate my life to him, infact I would never have anything to do with a woman again, till I wanted to get married. I was woken up by a very loud tap on the prison bars 'hey you,wake up there and follow me' it was the voice of the same Policeman that threw me into the cell the previous night. I opened my eyes, it was rather difficult opening it, my eyes hurt so much from the blinding slap I had received from Presido the previous night. 'Do you mean me? I managed to ask, 'dem fence your ear? Abi you don deaf? I say stand up and follow me'. From my estimation, it was the early hours of the morning. I would have made a correct guess that it was probably 5am.. He opened the cell and I came out to meet him, he had a rifle and he pointed it at me and asked me to move, as I was moving down the long passage, I saw about four other inmates being led by four other policemen down the passage too. They crossed the door that would have led to the waiting area of the police station and followed the back door which led to the back of the building, We did same and soon we were all in the grass covered space at the back of the building, the Policemen who brought the other guys also had rifles, they told the other four inmates to move forward and I stood there beside the policeman who brought me out wondering what was happening.. BANG!!! I didn't expect it at all, the rifles fired almost simultaneously and consistently, I couldn't believe my eyes, the four inmates that stood right in front of me a few minutes ago, went down like bags of rice, the bullets tearing into their bodies like they were some kind of animals. They didn't even make noises as they fell down to the ground lifeless, I guess they were already dead before they fell, because no man could withstand such torrents of bullet. OMG! I fell down to my knees, I didn't know when hot tears fell from my eyes, it was then I remembered all the stories I have always heard about the Police killing criminals during the early hours of the morning.. This didn't make sense to me at all, So I was going to be killed or rather murdered in cold blood for what I knew nothing about? This was totally unfair, I was certain my spirit wouldn't rest until I avenged my death. 'Hey You, move forward', the Policeman who brought me out nudged me forward with his rifle, I tried to open my mouth to speak but no words came out, I looked up at him in total disbelief, my heart beat rate was totally alarming at this point.. 'I said move forward,save our time' the policeman nudged me again with the tip of the rifle, I whimpered in pain, my back ached too, Presido had sat on my back for almost one hour calling it *welcome to the villa initiation rites* I looked up at the heavens, the tears flowed freely now, I didn't even know when I cried out 'God, will you forsake me in this manner?' Images of all my loved ones began to appear and dissappear right before me, I saw my Mum, O my sweet and lovely mum. I saw my beloved Halimat. My sweet beautiful sister Zainab, and then Aminat's face flashed before me too, she had this smile on her face like she was glad I was coming to join her. *God, this wasn't fair at all, I didn't even have an opportunity to tell my family, goodbye* I was standing in front of the policemen now, I looked away from them, I didn't want to see the face of my murderers.. I was already lost in thoughts of seeing Aminat in Heaven when I heard the voice of the commanding Officer as he commanded them, the words came tumbling out as I closed my eyes anticipating certain death 'Reload! Aim!! Fire!!!'..... 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 

Reload! Aim!! Fire!!! I already concluded that those were the last words I would hear before I would eventually meet my creator and probably see Aminat again. I heard the policemen cracked their rifles, I could hear the sounds they made as they aimed at me to release their bullets, I slowly counted in my mind... '1... 2... 3' I waited slowly to feel the impact of the bullet, but there was this silence all around me, I gradually began to calculate, *then it dawned on me, they always said you do not hear the sound of the gun, when you were shot* does that mean I was already catapulted to the silent world of the dead?? As I was still contemplating in my mind, I heard the harsh sounds of laughter, the voices were much *hmm, this was definitely hell fire, and the laughter must be coming from satan and his agents* I slowly opened my eyes hoping to see satan with a long fork and a tail laughing at me, but when I opened my eyes, I discovered I was still at the same position, I was still at the grass covered police yard, the dead criminals were still on the floor and the laughter didn't stop, I turned around and saw the five policemen laughing at me with all the power they could muster, I looked at them with two deep feelings, the first was that feeling of being alive, for once in my life I really appreciated the gift of life, the second feeling was one of puzzlement, why were they laughing instead of shooting me as I had expected. The Policeman who led me out moved towards me held my throat as if he wanted to suffocate me and spoke angrily, i could perceive alcohol in his breath. 'See am, we just bring you come here, make you come use your eye see wetin go happen to you tommorrow morning, if you nor confess say na you kill the poor girl. Your mama dey form say she wan bring lawyer abi? Make i tell you, na we be the law for here, make I advise you, you better confess when dem dey interrogate you today, na only when you confess, you go even fit go court, but if you continue like this, i swear by this time tommorrow, na your dead body go dey dis ground' he freed my neck and asked me to move back to the cell. When I got back into the cell, I still couldn't control my shaky legs, my heart was still beating at an alarming rate *God, did I just see death, face to face?* what the policeman said troubled me a great deal, was it true that if I didn't confess they wouldn't even allow my case to be taken to court? Was it true that I would be murdered in the same way the other criminals were brutally murdered before my eyes? God, I was so scared, I had never being so scared in all my life. And then I remembered the policeman talked about another interrogation for that day, I shuddered at the very thought of an interrogation, so this people were going to subject me to another round of torture and humiliation in the name of interrogation? I suddenly found myself wishing they had killed me, at least I would have been resting in peace now. Surprisingly, the day went very fast and surprisingly again my cell mates decided to allow me be, I guess God touched their hearts to leave me alone, the hunger I felt at this time could kill, this was my 2nd day in the Police station without food, they gave us a miserable water logged,tasteless beans as breakfast, but I refused, Presido was happy to have my share too. They didn't allow any visitor see me, I knew my family would have come to see me and I suspected the Policemen didn't allow them see me. I was looking forward to my Mum's promise of taking legal actions, I really needed it now, more than ever, this case had gone beyond a police investigation, it was now a simple case of man's inhumanity to man. I was woken up from my nap by a loud tap on the prison bars, 'hey criminal, stand up and follow me' it was Macomita, immediately I saw him, I knew it was time for interrogation.. My blood went cold, *God, I hated that room* I found myself walking towards the room as he slowly shoved me from behind, immediately I opened the door to the interrogation room, I saw three other heavily built men standing and resting on the wall, arms akimbo. I saw a basin of water on the table, I saw an electric heater lying beside the basin, I saw a set of pliers lying on the table, i saw two wicked looking soldier whips on the table too... My heart immediately sank, *this people had no intention of interrogating me, it was obvious that they just wanted to murder me. Macomita pushed me roughly from behind as I fell on the floor inside the room. An angry looking heavily built man picked me up from the floor like I was paper and dropped me on the chair with much force, that my back felt the tensile stress. It seemed he was the one in charge of the interrogation, he looked at me and spoke directly into my face. 'Young Man, my name is sgt okalamo okalamadu and you know why they call me that?' He paused as if he expected me to reply , I shook my head in the negative, he looked at me, nodded and continued 'it is because whatever I want is what I get, all I need from you is a confession, once I get that, we can take you to the court, but if I don't get that from you, I swear you will never ever forget this day in your miserable life' He looked at me again and smiled, then he asked me 'Did you murder Aminat?' I looked at him, I was scared to my knee cap, I shook my head in the negative as I answered stammering 'no no ... Sir, I didn't murder Aminat, I can't hurt Aminat' He smiled again, stood up from the chair and turned away from me... GBOZA!!! I didn't see the belt coming, the iron head of the belt hit my forehead with such force that could have cracked it open, the pain was so much, I touched my head and touched blood. He smiled wickedly, bent down again and looked me in the face 'this is what am going to do to you, am going to plug that heater in the water and dip your head into it, so that you would know what electricity does to the sturborn bird,after that, I would remove some of your teeth with this plier and if you still refuse to confess, maybe your testes would be next in line for a miracle' I looked at him as he signalled his boys to plug the heater and put it into the basin, I thought he was just trying to scare me, I saw him put on an insulating handglove on his hands and before I knew it, he grabbed my head and dipped it into the water, *OMG, the electric current that went through my body, was killing, all I could see at that point was death, i thought about all the people I was going to leave behind and before I knew what i was doing, I heard myself shouting, 'I will confess!!! I did it, I murdered Aminat' The Man released my head, *OMG, what a relief, I could feel pains all over my head and neck region, I guess it suffered some electrical burns. The Man looked at my tortured face and smiled, he got his radio and pressed the record button, he held it to my mouth and said 'young man, what did you say? I looked at his evil eyes, thought about all the evil tortures he had planned for me, I looked at him in his eyes again and confessed 'I killed Aminat'..... 

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 

Sgt Okalamo Okalamadu grinned wickedly as he heard me repeat what he wanted to hear.. He pressed the stop button on the radio and patted my cheek ' that's good boy, thanks for your co-operation, that's all I need for now' He turned to corporal Macomita 'you can clean him up and take him to see his mum and his lawyer now, we already have him where we want him' OMG!!! My mouth hung open in shock, so my mum had already got me a lawyer and was waiting to see me, yet these people cornered me and forced me into convicting myself for what I knew nothing about... This was pure wickedness but I was very sure they wouldn't get away with it. I entered into the reception hall and saw my mum sitting beside a very fat woman, she was dressed in suit, I concluded she was the lawyer. They allowed me go out to meet them at the reception this time but Macomita followed me closely, caressing his rifle as if I was going to escape. 'This is total abuse of fundamental human rights, this is totally unacceptable' It was the Lawyer, she jumped up with such agility that I wondered if she wasn't as heavy as her stature implied, she looked at my face again, saw all the scars and bruises, she pointed to Macomita threatenly, 'I swear, I would make you pay for this, I would bring down this whole station, am going to have all your badges for this inhuman behaviour, you would know that 'I' the great Barrister Ibadin was involved in this case' I never knew the Police feared lawyers so much, Macomita kept his mouth shut, he couldn't even make a single noise, as he stared at Barr Ibadin with so much fear in his eyes, all the policemen were visibly shaken, it seemed Barr. Ibadin wasn't the kind of Barrister, Policemen wanted to mess up with. I felt this inner joy in my stomach, it was glorious to see this idiots that called themselves policemen, trembling before my Lawyer. My Mum locked me in a very warm embrace as she patted my back slowly and struggled to keep the tears from falling. Barr. Ibadin wasn't through with her threats, she kept on raising hell 'You Policemen, you are called to protect and serve but what you do is destroy, I swear if I don't make you pay for this, then I will resign from my profession, as she was still talking, Sgt Okalamo Okalamadu walked into the reception from behind the counter, wearing a smile like one who had just won the lottery, immediately I saw him, my heart skipped a bit, I knew he had enough evidence to throw everyone into confusion. He walked towards my lawyer and cleared his throat. Barr Ibadin stopped talking for a minute and used her eyes to size the sergeant from his head to his toes, as she made to continue her threats, he used his hands to ask her to calm down and he spoke 'am sorry, Barrister Ibadin, first of all, I wouldn't blame you for all the hell you have been raising here, but I would advise you listen to this tape before you start making unneccesary noise here. Barr. Ibadin looked at him with anger in her eyes but her instinct told her to sit and listen, we all sat and Sgt Okalamo Okalamadu pressed the play button. *at this point I began to wish I was a wizard, so i could destroy the tape with magical powers* My voice rolled out of the tape as the words tumbled out into the air for everyone to hear 'I KILLED AMINAT' I could see a mixture of fear and confusion in the eyes of my Mum, My Barrister didn't show any emotions on her face, she just remained calm, I immediately blurted out tearfully, 'it's not true, I didn't kill Aminat, I was forced to make that confession when I could bear the torture no more' My Lawyer put her fingers to her mouth signalling me to keep quiet, as she stared at Sgt Okalamo Okalamadu. She smiled again, stood up and straightened her suit. 'Sgt Okalamo, You and I know that this tape can be easily dismissed in court as confession under duress' Sgt Okalamo smiled too and stood up to face my Lawyer. 'Barr Ibadin, you also know that with the circumstances on ground and the fact that your client is the sole suspect in this case, even an evidence less than that, would give him a death sentence' he laughed as he said that. My Lawyer wasn't smiling anymore, it seemed, Sgt Okalamo had just made a vital point. She seemed to be lost in deep thoughts, then she asked him 'ok, what do you want?' Sgt Okalamo smiled mischievously and answered her, 'now, you are talking, can we talk outside?' My Lawyer nodded and they both walked outside, I sat with my mum, she kept patting my back assuring me that God was in control and all would be well. We waited for a long while before my Lawyer walked back in, she was wearing a very worried face, she sat beside me and my mum as she whispered in low tone. Sgt Okalamo is asking us to drop all the charges against the police and he would in turn destroy the tape, he also asks that Hassan pleads guilty at court so that the police could influence the judge and seek for thirty years imprisonment instead of the death sentence. *thirty years!!! I screamed in my mind, God forbid, what would be remaining of my life when I get out?* 'God forbid' it was my mum speaking, I guess she read my mind, 'Barr, what are you talking about, dropping the charges against the police would be manageable but my son pleading guilty to a crime he never committed,never! And by the way, who says Aminat is dead? Since when did dissappearance turn death?' The Barr looked at my mum, she could understand how she felt, 'am sorry ma, but I am a professional and with the odds before us, Hassan is looking at the death sentence or life imprisonment, if her body was found, it might have even been easier, at least there would have been medical examinations to determine cause of death, but this case is very dicy, the last time she was seen was with Hassan, please understand ma, I really do think thirty years in jail is better than the death sentence,who knows before he completes his term, a miracle might happen and he would be released.. Sgt Okalamo walked in, and cleared his throat, 'do we have an agreement yet?' He was speaking with the Barrister, she looked at my Mum again, My Mum had tears in her eyes and it was obvious she was still considering what the Barrister had just said, as we were still in that mode of indecisiveness, some people rushed into the police station and behold it was Mr Kadiri and his wife as well as Rukayat running into the station. Mr Kadiri and his wife were panting heavily, Rukayat was crying, she immediately ran to me crying 'Hassan, I am sorry, Hassan, I am so sorry' I still didn't understand what was happening, Mrs Kadiri went to my Mum and held her hands, she was crying too, Mr Kadiri looked at Sgt Okalamo Okalamadu and greeted him, his next words got us all interested.. 'Mr Officer, Please give us a few minutes, my daughter here has a confession to make' 

CHAPTER NINETEEN 

We all sat down in silence as Rukayat began her confession, all the policemen on duty gathered at the reception too, Sgt okalamo's face twisted from one confused form to the other as her story continued. There was pin drop silence in the station as she continued her story, I for one found it a little hard to believe what I was hearing, My Mum at some point would look at me with puzzling expressions as some of the things she heard from Rukky where things she had absolutely no idea about. At some points in her narration, Rukayat would stop as if contemplating if she was doing the right thing by confessing but Barrister Ibadin would urge her to continue with an affirmative nod of the head. She finished her story and there was an awkward silence that lasted for a few minutes as if everyone was wondering whether to believe her story or not, then Sgt Okalamo broke the silence, 'at this point, I wouldn't want us to waste any time determining the validity of this seemingly incredible story, there's is only one way to confirm your story' he turned towards Rukayat and asked her 'can you take us to this hide out, you mentioned?' Rukayat still had tears in her eyes, she nodded as Sgt Okalamo swiftly swung into action, He signalled three men to move with him, mr kadiri insisted on going with them, they didn't decline, meanwhile Rukayat led the way as they made to move out of the station, as she got to the exit door of the station, Rukky turned back and ran towards me, she hugged me closely and with a tearful voice whispered into my ears though everyone could hear her, 'I love you so much Hassan, I couldn't bear to allow you suffer even though you hurt me so much' she made to leave but I held her onto myself, I couldn't help it, the tears flowed freely from my eyes too 'Rukky, I am so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen, I know it's hard to explain but I never had that intention in mind' Everyone just looked on in silence, I guess Rukky's strange story had gotten everyone in a state of confusion and indecisiveness, it was Sgt Okalamo that took the initiative and came towards us, he patted Rukky on her back and muttered softly, 'young lady, please you have to take us there right now' They left the station leaving Me, My Mum, Mrs Kadiri and Barrister Ibadin as well as a few other Policemen on duty in the station. My Mum looked at me with quizzing eyes, I know we had a lot of things to talk about, Mrs Kadiri was still trying to dry her eyes, she kept on saying sorry to my Mum and to me, this event had severed their friendship so much, she and her husband had refused to listen to the voice of reasoning as they had being bent on having my head for murdering their daughter. She held my Mum's hands, My Mum looked away from her, She continued crying and asking for forgiveness, she would leave my Mum and come to me, crying and asking for forgiveness.then she would go back to my mum, we just kept on staring at her in silence. Barrister Ibadin just looked on in silence too, she knew better than to interfere in family matters. As I looked at her all I could think about was 'what if Rukky had decided to keep this secret to herself? I would have been negotiating for thirty years imprisonment by now? Again, I thought about it, how would this have ended? What story would I have even given in court, that I killed Aminat and ate up her body?' I was still trying to reason what would have happened to me when I heard my mum's tearful voice break the silence, 'Aishatu, I never would have expected this from you and your husband' she was talking to Mrs Kadiri, who still held onto her hands like she was oxygen, 'you especially, you were like a mum to Hassan, he even calls you mummy, I never knew you would later be the one asking for his head on a platter' Mrs Kadiri could say nothing, all she could do was burst into more tears as she kept on repeating 'I am so sorry, I am so sorry, we weren't thinking, Aminat was so special to us' My Mum looked at her again and continued in tears 'haaa, Aishatu, even when you knew my Husband was out of the country, even when you knew he needed at least three days to get back, even when he pleaded with you and your husband to at least allow him return before seeking vengeance, haa, Aishatu, you really hurt me soooo much' Mrs Aishatu kept crying, she turned to Barrister Ibadin and held her hands urging her to help her beg us. The whole station was engulffed in an emotional shut down,the tough Barrister Ibadin now had tears in her eyes too, I could see tears in the eyes of one of the female police clerk too, as we were still in this state of emotional topsy turvy, (lolz, abeg i nor know the english to write there) the police van sounded outside the building. We all stood up in anticipation, the three policemen entered the station, then Rukayat and Mr kadiri entered, then Mercy entered too (Mercy was Aminat's closest friend) and then Sgt Okalamo Okalamadu entered the station with the person we all wanted to see.... I can't explain how I felt when I saw her entering the station, was it joy, or anger or happiness or relief, I really don't know but what I know is that hot tears dropped from my eyes in torrent as I saw the lady that had made me go through so much pains and torture. I saw Aminat! yes the supposedly dead Aminat walked into the station, walking slowly beside Sgt Okalamo Okalamadu.... 

CHAPTER TWENTY 

Aminat walked slowly beside Sgt Okalamo as they entered the station. As she saw me, she couldn't look me in the eyes, the tears dropped from her eyes like a tap was turned on in there. I couldn't explain how I felt at this moment, Sgt Okalamo advised everyone to sit down so we could all hear the story from Aminat's point of view, we all sat down and listened in rapt attention as she told her own story. I had hoped it would be different from what Rukayat had told us but it was the same story, I couldn't believe that Aminat could have been the master mind behind my whole torture and suffering in the hands of the police, I couldn't believe that Aminat could go this length just so she could punish me for daring to play a game with her and her sister, I looked at Aminat's face, she had tears in her eyes and sorry written all over her face but I just didn't know how I felt anymore, how could I ever forgive Aminat for this evil. 'Hmm, this is a very serious case that could have led to the death of an innocent person, this is also a case of leading the police astray, these two young girls would have to remain in our custody for questioning and interrogations and they would be punished according to law' it was Sgt Okalamo speaking again, Mr Kadiri looked up at him and swallowed hard, he couldn't say anything as he looked on helplessly. Sgt Okalamo continued 'unless of course Hassan and his family decide not to press charges' 'Of course, we are pressing charges' it was my Lawyer that spoke now, 'We are definitely sueing,and I swear we are not just sueing the Kadiri's, we are sueing the police as well, this case has just begun, every single one of you would drink from the same bitter drink that you gave my client' Her voice shook the whole station to quietness, 'if the police had been more careful with their investigations, we wouldn't have gone this far in the first place' Sgt Okalamo just looked on helplessly, he knew he would be in deep trouble if we actually sued, Mrs Kadiri went on her knees instantly as she begged my mum to not press charges, Rukayat and Aminat held my hands on both sides crying and pleading with me too, Mr Kadiri still had so much pride in him, all he did was stare at us helplessly wearing a sorry face and muttering 'we are very sorry' at intervals. I felt like kicking him in the groin. My Mum raised Aunty Aishatu from her kneeling position and hugged her, I already knew she was going to forgive, she had a heart of gold, My Lawyer looked on in confusion as my Mum walked towards her and told her we were not going to press charges, I could see dissappointment in her eyes as she calmed down and took a seat, Mr and Mrs Kadiri almost destroyed our ears with more apologies and thank yous, Aminat was too ashamed of herself, she left me and walked outside to continue her crying show, her friend Mercy followed her as she tried to comfort her, Sgt Okalamo for the first time wore an humble look as he thanked me and my mum for not pressing charges, He ordered his men to get all my stuff and offered to personally drop me off at home.... I sat on my bed playing Aminat's story again in my head. This was the story... Somehow after our I and Aminat's fun outing at the zoo, and Rukayat meeting me up later at home that evening, both sisters had met on their way home and sharing their experiences had opened their eyes to the shocking revelation that their darling Hassan was actually trying to get down with both of them... To them it was an unforgivable betrayal, how could Hassan whom they trusted so much decide to take them for a ride in such a wicked manner? And it was Aminat's idea that they punish me, and what better way to punish me than for Aminat to disappear and since I was the last to see her, I would be implicated and probably suffer some punishments before she would resurface.. And that was how Aminat had gone into hiding in her friend Mercy's house and Rukayat had stylishly led me into a trap of denying being with Aminat which became the perfect exhibit to implicate me. To them they never expected it to grow so wild and life threatening, it was when Rukayat saw death hanging over my head that she knew they had to speak up and face the consequences of their actions.. I weighed the story over and over again, I knew I had my own faults in so many ways, I knew I took many things for granted, I knew I couldn't blame the sisters for thinking I took them on a ride but that wasn't enough for them to go to such a life threatening length to have revenge, If Rukayat had planned it alone I wouldn't have been surprised. After all, she once said if she didn't have me, no one else would, but how could Aminat, be a part of such a plan? How could Aminat hurt me so much???? My phone rang again, it was the twentieth time it was ringing that night, I looked at the screen again. It was Aminat, I ignored the phone again and continued in my thoughts. My mum had expressed her total disappointment in me, how could I have been taking two sisters on a ride, my Dad had returned now, he had said his own piece too, I shouldn't have anything to do with that family again, if they could have gone that length, then indeed they could kill... Zainab didn't have anything to say, she was just thankful I was alive. This was the second night I was spending at home after the incident, I had ignored both Aminat's and Rukayat's calls since I returned back home, I really wanted to forget about the Kadiri's and their daughters and start a new life. But the more I tried, the more I couldn't be at rest, I went to bed with troubled thoughts, indeed I had so many troubling dreams throughout the night and eventually slept very late. I woke up to the sound of a knock on the door, I wiped my sleepy eyes with the back of my hands, as I lazily stretched on my bed, I looked at the time, it was 7.00am, who could be knocking on my door? I stood up and opened the door and there she was standing, looking rumpled, hair rough, absolutely no make up, eyes heavy and red, probably she had being crying all through the night, I looked at Aminat standing there at my door, I caught my Mum walking away, seems she led Aminat to my door... The tears were still in her eyes, She opened her mouth and the words tumbled out 'Hassan, I am very sorry, I love you so much, Can't live without you, please forgive me, without you, I am nothing' I looked into her eyes, images of the first time I saw her when she was a little above twelve years displayed all over my head. I looked at her for a long time, I wanted to forgive her but I still felt deeply hurt, I stood there staring at her, she spoke again tearfully 'Hassan, I know I hurt you so much, Hassan, I know you may never be able to forgive me again, but I just came to let you know that I am sorry, and I would never ever stop loving you' the tears flowed freely from her eyes as she turned to walk away,hoping I would hold her back, but I didn't, I watched her walk away from me, I really wanted to tell her I forgive her, but I still felt so much hurt, I simply watched her walk away that morning, as she walked away from me and out of my house and out of my life... 'Hassan, so you still remember every single thing that happened between us? Jeez, you even turned it into a story???' Aminat looked up at me from the cushion she was lying on as she lifted her eyes from my manuscript she had been reading, I titled it 'AMINAT - A MODERN LOVE TALE' I smiled at her as I asked her 'how did you feel when I came running after you, that early morning you left my house in tears?' Aminat smiled and said 'Hassan, if you hadn't come after me that day, I am very sure I would have committed suicide' I smiled,went towards her,raised her from the chair and held her in my arms 'Aminat, you mean everything to me, whatever happened between us made our love stronger' she held unto my shoulders and whispered in my ears 'I love you so much Hassan' The door burst open as Zainab and Rukayat burst into my sitting room, zainab looked at us and hissed in a funny manner, Rukayat picked a pillow from the chair and threw it at us as she spoke 'both of you should be playing love there, you (she pointed at me) don't go and get prepared for your music concert, be hugging there like Romeo and Juliet, we all broke into laughter as Aminat picked a pillow and threw it back at Rukayat, Zainab picked a pillow and threw it too, and I raised the alarm 'Pillow fight!!! as the pillows began to fly in the air. 

(the end)

Author's Note

What do you think about my writing style?