By Maryam Altine Baba
Chapter Eighteen
Zainab quivered and reluctantly opened her eyes. She saw herself lying on a hospital bed helplessly with a crowd of sympathizers around her. She quickly recognized her sisters and mother. Oh, how glad she was when she’d heard their voices outside her door earlier. She’d all given up hope at a chance of survival, especially after a bout of that excruciating pain across her underbelly.
When she’d heard their voices, she was almost certain they were in a dream or she’d imagined them in her head, until she heard the knocking on the door. Never had she been happier at that moment. She was going to survive, going to make it, she’d almost shouted in her head out of joy.
And then she’d heard their voices receding, pulling away. She became more frantic, had propped her head slowly and looked about her. She was lucky to locate the metal plate; the one Ali had banged on her head while he abused her. She seized it and banged three times, each attempt slower than the one before it. But thank Allah for Hauwa’s ears. She’d heard her.
“Water!” she said in a whisper. She looked dazed, tired and thirsty.
“Alhamdulillah! Allah be thanked!” their mother couldn’t contain her relief and happiness as she swiped her hand across Zainab’s forehead in a swift motion, checking for her temperature.
It’s been a while since Zainab last saw her. She’d darkened a little, with a deep somber look to her eyes. It was the first time Zainab ever saw her let her genuine emotions reflect on her face.
Her sisters were by her side in no time, all looking relieved and smiling amidst tears that glistened in their red puffed eyes. Her regain of consciousness apparently threw them all in to a frenzy of delight.
“Allah be praised.” Maman Mus’ab, the number one contender of the village gossip squad remarked. “We thank Him she’s been brought back to consciousness. I am much relieved wallah!”
Khadija had brought a cup filled with water which Zainab gulped twice after she had been helped to sitting position by Asma’u and pillows propped behind her for support. A sharp pain radiated through her throat and blasted her head. She closed her eyes painfully, willing everything to just end, wishing it never happened.
But it did. She’d been brought to this by the one person she’d invested her time and love for, one she’d expected an unadulterated return from. But the more she tried; she had failed to secure the peace and tranquility she’d so much craved. Because of that, her unborn child’s existence was threatened.
Instinctively, her hands went to touch her stomach again. She wondered if her child had survived the whole ordeal. She certainly hoped so. The action caused her more pain in her chest and she winced.
“Make way.” A nurse with a bulky feature and dark complexion that donned a lap coat over her ankara wrapper appeared and addressed the crowd. “All of you should wait outside, she needs fresh air please.”
Despite her command of authority that sent the unwanted crowd away in no time, she was friendly and kind and had smiled assuredly at Zainab.
“Don’t worry dear, you’ll be okay. The Doctor will soon be here to check up on you again.” She regarded their mother, “She needs total rest and the less the noise, the better.”
Her mother nodded her head curtly. After the nurse had left she donned her khimar properly and said to no one in particular, “I need to go home so I can prepare dinner.”
She was out before any of them moved. It was minutes after that Hauwa followed after her. That’s their mother alright, Zainab thought ruefully. She was a super woman of some sort, with super power and a large heart. She never asked for help or any assistance. She slaved away in silence, and most of the times in pain. She had accepted it as part of her destiny, her fate.
Looking at her life now and how far she’d come, had their mother impacted on them some of her bad omen?
