Their foreheads were still resting against each other, when Zeenah finally opened her eyes. She stared at him with the same intensity he was staring at her. She felt her knees suddenly jiggle and shake beneath her. "That...that was..."
"Intense?" AbdulRasheed breathed softly, his thumb grazing her lower lip once more. "I guess so." He added, kissing her softly again.
Zeenah had no idea what was happening, or why she was allowing this to happen, but she was enjoying this as much as he was. "Ohhh..." she began but quickly kept quite when AbdulRasheed suddenly let go of her. He moved back, a cynical smile playing across his lips.
"You liked it?" he asked smugly. He knew he had enjoyed what had just happened, way more than Zeenah had. But he wasn't going to give her the pleasure of knowing that. Wasn't she
It's been ten days since he had last set his eyes on her, ten days since their last encounter, ten days since he had kissed her. That single kiss that had him unnerved for days, And today, they've been married for fifteen days already. Yet, nothing had changed, Zeenah still avoids him.He sighed deeply as he eased his car into his parents' house, it was past Isha and he had just said his prayers in the mosque nearby before he decided to go see his parents.He had no idea how he can be able to get through Zeenah, her phone was not going through, which means that she might have probably blocked his number because he sometimes do hear her laughing from her room which was directly across his. He had tried timing so he could trap her when she was coming out of the room. But that had seemed impossible because Zeenah totally seems to disappear when he was around. All she does was drop little notes by his food on the dining table asking after his
She applied the last detail of her makeup, a fruity scented lip balm. Smacking her lips together, Zeenah gazed at her reflection in the large mirror before her. She was wearing a peach Ankara with flowery touches of black, and she wondered why in the world she had bothered about details like that, why she was actually wearing clothes with the color he had suggested. Wasn't she supposed to say no? Or maybe, refuse to follow his command and wear what she wants? But, who was she kidding, she definitely does want to see his expression when he actually sees she was wearing what he had asked.She stood up, draped the black veil she had kept on the bed, picked up her black bag and wore her black shoe, before looking into the mirror once more. Her lips spread conspicuously in a beautiful smile at what she was seeing. A strong woman willing to fight it all for her sanity to return and find happiness once more, that was what she saw w
AbdulRasheed stared blankly at the text before him. He’d read it nearly a thousand times over the course of the last three days, so much so that it was nearly engraved in his mind. The words swirled around his thoughts, making his head pound from sheer exhaustion.For the life of him, he couldn’t stop thinking about his past. Funny how we never seem to evaluate our lives in the present, rather preferring to look back at actions past. He thought about his life with Aliya, that bleak year that was supposed to be dispelled from his mind now. But seeing her text message has brought all the emotions back, in a massive wave that threatened to swallow him whole.The most frustrating part, however, was the fact that he couldn’t share his problems with his ever-loving, cold as ice new bride. Bitterness rose to his mouth at the thought of even try
The sound of birds chirping woke Zeenah up. She stirred slowly, involuntarily snuggling into the warmth wrapped around her. Sighing in content, she inhaled the deep scent around her and felt herself smiling. She was happy, and nothing was going to ruin the day for her.For some reason, the bed felt lumpy. Zeenah didn’t remember her bed feeling this way. She groaned as consciousness slowly returned to her, and she suddenly became aware of a hard body engulfing her.She heard a soft chuckle above her and stiffened. A chuckle? She felt herself being tightened in an embrace, and she widened her eyes in shock.Zeenah sat upright quickly, shoving the man aside. Sitting up, she looked around the room slowly, blinking at the unfamiliar walls before her eyes finally settled on the man lying beside her, his eyes glittering with amusement."Oh my God!" She exclaimed, as she quickly covered herself with the quil
Days rolled into weeks and weeks turned into an entire month. Zeenah and AbdulRasheed had been married for a month, and yet nothing had changed in the way they were living. They were two strangers pretending to be a couple. It was almost as though they never shared an intimate moment. As the days rolled by, AbdulRasheed had totally ignored Zeenah as though she had never existed.Saying he was hurt at their last encounter was definitely an understatement. He had been stung by her reaction towards him. Had she assumed he was like those men who batter and abuse their wives? What had made her think that way about him? He hadn't given much thought about it, but now that he did, something must have triggered that reaction from her.She had resumed school, and on most days before he even left for work, she would be out of the house already, leaving his breakfast on the table and a note like she always does. The note was always short, simply w
It was exactly one week since Samirah put to bed, and as Hausa tradition demanded, the baby was to be named on the seventh day. There was to be a small celebration, where a ram would be slaughtered in the name of the child (although the slaughtering was not a prerequisite for the naming). It was always a festive occasion, and a naming ceremony was just always a cause for joy and celebration, especially if it happened to be the first child.Zeenah woke up that morning feeling giddy and excited. For some reason, the sun seemed brighter, the air smelled sweeter and even her breakfast tasted splendid. She hummed to herself as she set about cleaning, and even while she showered.It wasn't just the ceremony she was looking forward to, although it was always a joy to celebrate and socialize. Zeenah was looking forward to seeing Khadija as well, having been unable to contain her giddiness upon hearing that she would be attending the ceremony. Th
The day went horribly.He'd spilled his coffee twice, and all his pens seemed to have mysteriously disappeared. To top it all off, he was barraged by a constant flow of patients so that he missed lunch.All in all, it was a horrible day.AbdulRasheed read through the file before him for the umpteenth time, dreading the way he was going to start explaining to Mrs Yusuf what her real problem was. She might get angry, he thought. She might even become hysterical or even claim he was wrong. But it was his duty to make her understand that. Part of being a doctor was learning how to break the news to patients, either good or bad.He pressed the buzzer and asked for Mrs Yusuf to be sent in."Spit it out, doctor. I'm ready for anything coming," Mrs Yusuf said, as soon as she settled into the chair before him."Good afternoon to you too," Abdul
Zeenah debated getting up or trying to sleep for another hour. A gusty morning wind was rattling the windowpanes, threatening to smash them against the side of the building.The early morning light filtered through the drawn draperies. She loved a cold room and the tranquillity that came with it. Weird as it may be, Zeenah had always preferred the cold season to the hot season. She had been dreaming about Maama, holding a baby and smiling up at her. Who was she kidding? Ever since Samirah had given birth, she had been wondering how it would feel for her to also have a child to call hers.Groaning loudly, Zeenah tossed to the other side of her bed and stretched. She was still tired, despite the fact that she had actually slept early. Grabbing her phone, she checked the time and quickly sat up, almost hitting her leg on the edge of the bed. "Dear God! I must really have been so tired!" She picked up a wrapper from her closet and tied it over the