Deena: Tale of a mother (cont'd)
Lead Image https://pixabay.com/photos/portrait-woman-fashion-963307/ In case you missed the first part, you can find it here. https://read.cash/@Hillary_Powers/deena-tale-of-a-mother-b8166b0e Deena didn't sleep all night. Instead, she had stayed awake, thinking about her younger self, and crying about her inability to avert the awful fate that awaited her daughter. The following morning, Nadira came into her room to sweep the floor. She noticed her mother's teary face. "Yuuma, what's the matter?" she asked her mother. "Did baaba beat you again?" "No, my dear," Deena faked a smile, "a fly got into my eye." That was a lie. Dropping the broom she was clutching, the teenage girl offered to take a look at the eye but her mother insisted it was fine now. "Sit with me, my child," she requested instead. She was a little confused. Her mother saw it in her eyes. "Sit, I just want to have a word with you," the mother explained. Nadira obeyed. She gazed at the girl for a while before speaking. "Tell me, my dear. What would you like to do now?" "I want to sweep your room," the girl's eyes dilated, an indication that she was confused again. She didn't understand why her mother was asking such question. Was it not obvious enough? Could she not see the broom she'd entered into the room with? "Ok. This is what I mean," Deena attempted to explain better, "As Hassan is planning to continue his secondary education, what about you? What do you want to do?" "Oh, Yuuma, you asking about what I wished to do after school. I would like to further my studies like Hassan, too. I wish to become a lawyer, then I'll make a lot of money, and build a bigger and better house for us all" Nadira's face beamed with a longing smile as she spoke, looking into her mother's eyes. As she tried to meet her daughter's eyes, Deena made that false smile again, but the girl could see right through it. "But I'm only just going to JSS three. Why are you asking, mother?" she asked. Deena sighed. "Are you worried that I'll leave you like Hassan is about to leave us? Tell me, yuuma, is that why you are sad?" Nadir asked again, this time her face was tainted with worry. *Shout out to my wonderful sponsors!* Every of her daughter's questions seemed to break something inside of her. She couldn't bring herself to tell the girl. How could she bring herself to tell her sweet little girl that she was about to be sold to someone older than her own father under the guise of marriage? How could she poison her daughter's sweet dreams with such a terrible news? What kind of mother would that make her? "Not at all, my child. I'm just considering your school fee. You know, with the ways things have been hard for us these days," Deena said, lying about the real reason she'd started the conversation with her daughter. "Mother, it will be fine. Allah will provide if it's his will," said Nadira. Allah's will? Deena scoffed in her mind. And what would little Nadira know about Allah's will? Only her father knew that. It was for the 'man of the house' to decide, after all. Nevertheless, she assured her, "Yes, Allah will provide." "Now, mother, let me get on with my sweeping so I won't be late for school today," Nadira said, getting up to pick the broom. She watched her daughter as she began to sweep the floor of her room. No, Nadira would not end up like her, or even worse. She wouldn't allow it. She knew what she had to do. That evening, when no one was looking, she made her way into the room where they kept Nunu, a kind of fresh milk produced from a cow's udder. Mubarak especially loved his Nunu to be fermented till it became alcoholic. So there was a special container for storing his Nunu. Deena opened the container. She reached for a wrapped powdered substance hidden in her bosom, it was rat poison. She unwrapped the substance, and began to pour it into the container. As she watched the content dissolve in the liquid milk, Deena prayed for Allah's forgiveness. The End.
11 comments
Am hooked with the story.. i can't wait for the next episode... i wonder if Mubarak would drink the milk with poison.. i feel Deena's heart, she just doesn't want her daughter to be like her.. i guess she will do everything for this fight
Actually, the story's ended here. It's left for the readers to imagine whether Mubarak would die or not. And yes, she has been driven to the edge. When you chase a prey for so long, it's only instinctual that it turns back at its predator and fight for life. That's the same situation Deena's been put in. Thank you for reading!
Oh really.. i was looking forward to it ... anyway, I guess it's time for another story then
Sometimes mothers have to do what needs to be done to protect their children. I can't blame her for doing what she did. She has the best interest at heart. Some may not understand though but we have our own convictions.
I'm glad you're also seeing the message of the story from my perspective. Sometimes, we are pushed to the extreme, thereby leaving us no choice but to do the unexpected if we must survive.
That's right. We don't think the same so our decisions might have been the best we could think of at that time.
What a poor woman. She has no other choice than to do what she has done. The man had made his final word but as a true mother, she did what she has to do to save Nadira from what she Experienced.
Yes, bestie. A mother would do anything for her children. That's the message I'm trying to bring out here.
Exactly! One cannot really blame her for doing what she did.
Oh my Gwad!! She has done the worse, why!!! Why did she want to kill her husband, what a costly mistake, that's not the best to solve the problem, but will rather cause more harm than good. She could have think twice before carrying out that act, what if her daughter decided to take from the drink?? Then what will be her fate?? It's a very terrible act. There's are other ways to fight against this early marriage of a thing, there's are other things she can do to stop this early marriage, perhaps, she might tell her daughter to reject the man , or just ran away from the house , still better than killing her husband. Ho poor Deena , she did that out of frustration, though very wrong. A girl getting married at the age of 14 and 15 is too early, and this is common in the northern part of Nigeria, and they also get married to many wives, which make them to end up in abject poverty. This people needs to be given a proper lecture about this early marriage. It has to stop because it has ruin the life of so many girls. I was directed to your post by @dreemport, i enjoyed reading your story from the PT.1 to the concluding pt. So interesting. Weldone 👌
Thank you, Maryjacy. I'm glad to see your feedback. You're right! Maybe Deena took it a little too far, but then there are times when people don't think clearly anymore as a result of the pressure they are feeling. It's that same kind of pressure that usually moves a prey to turn on its predator. Hope you understand why she did that now?