“Aisha, dube ni. I’m your mother. If I don’t tell you the truth, no one else will”. Alhaja Fati sparked, and then softened.
“Danladi is not the man for you. All that boy wants is to lay his hands on your father’s money. Does he look like he cares about you? Ehn? That man is too young to know how to care for a woman. Open your eyes, my daughter, before it is too late”.
Aisha nodded and even feigned a smile. She looked at her mother’s swollen face and tears well up in her eyes.
For twenty-two years, all she and her three siblings did was try to keep the peace between her parents. She tried to remember one day they had gone without fighting; there was none. Truth is, even though she had all the comfort she could ever want, the love they didn’t have steals her peace and joy.
For her, it is time to move on. She looked forward to building a new life for herself and that was what Danladi promised to her. She wanted to able to speak and be heard. She needed so much to be understood, and be loved.
So she thanked her mother and started to walk away.
“Never forget that I want the best for you, dear”. Her mother called out. Aisha nodded without stopping. If her mother’s choice is a man three times older her, then she is doomed.
She walked into her room and began to throw things into her bag. Somehow, she sensed that life with Danladi will not be easy, but she was ready to try.
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