" she is sixteen, will be seventeen next two months"
I froze. Sixteen? Almost seventeen, that's about five months younger than Rabbiyatu. At this point I was no more interested in Hauwa's story, what is going on with Rabbiyatu? She had promised to call? I hope she has no senior wives to fight? Although, her husband seemed young too but you can never be sure. I cant even bring myself to imagine what might be wrong with her. Its a month now and I don't know how she is doing?
I opened our gate and noticed mum outside the compound sieving kunu (pap).
" Good evening, mama" I greeted
" Good evening Koko... Yaya makaranta?" She asked
" it was fine" I lied, that's because my mum herself seemed faraway. " mama, what is wrong?" I asked, my heart racing like an ambulance with a dying victim in it
" Nothing koko..."
" Mama, what is it, has Rabbi called?" I asked cutting her off.
" No, no its not Rabbi"
" then who? What happened?"
" Its sefiyat..."
" Who is sefiyat?" I asked completely forgotten the story from Hauwa
" Sefiyat, mama Hassan's first daughter"
"Oh!" I remember now " Hauwa told me about it. She says she is in intensive care or is it emergency unit?"
" That was this morning, Koko" mum said suppressing a tear
" what happened?"
" sefiyat is dead"
" what?"
" she died this afternoon"
" are you sure, Hauwa said... She... That" I stammered.
" She is gone already, her mother fainted immediately" my mom tears finally escaped her eye lid. Still shocked, I didn't know what to say. In fact, I was still blank. I just left my mom and went into my room and then something Hauwa said strucked me. Her father had married off Sefiya and used the money to get a farm land.
The same farm land he had sold to pay for the series of operations performed on Sefiya. What if he had sold the land when Sephia was returned so many times in the past? At least the land would have appreciated and he would still have made profits. But that wasn't the case, he had waited until he couldn't do anything to protect his daughter. Until it was too late for Hauwa to behold her sister. Until it was too late for Sefiya's mother to reap the fruit of her labour.
I am sure, Sefiya mum too, will be full of regret wherever she is. Why couldn't she stand for her child and saved her from the calamity of being married at sixteen. Why couldn't she save her when Sefiya was returned to her one... two... three... Four times in a year to live with her? Why couldn't she face her husband that they were crushing the future of their first daughter.
Now a whole Nation is wasted and I wonder if God will spare Rabbi for me. I can't cry for Sefiya but I may, for Rabbi, if anything happens to her.