Tales

TALES OF A WIDOW SEASON 2 

SEASON 2
EPISODE 21

Her dress was wet with her dripping tears, mucus couldn't stop streaming from her nose, her husband tried to pacify her, but she slithered away from him and sank herself in the bed with pillows abreast, she continously stared at the white, blank ceiling.

"My husband has deceived me! SubhanaLlah! Siddiqah of all people? So, Siddiqah's new dressing, attending Quranic classes in my home and sending me out of this house, was all a planned work.. I'm not against you marrying another woman, but not this way.. After all, I can't deprive you the chance of being a father and I'm sure it's not too late for me as well..
Why did you have to deceive me all these while under the pretence of helping Siddiqah...? And as soon as I left, you couldn't keep it to yourself and decided to formalize your union.... Habeebah was so stupid to have trusted her husband all these years. ..

 This is not my Ibrahim! My own Ibrahim will not stab me in the back.. Ahh.. hh.. hhhh! All my life I thought our love was real, little did I know my sweet dreams will be deranged one day." Habeebah lamented weeping profusely.

"Habeebah, I never expected you to doubt my fidelity and commitment. Since I married you, I have learnt to love, appreciate and support you.. I thought you'll understand me and reason from my own point of view.. What else should I have done? Disown my mother for you? Abandon you at your brother's house? It's not even as if, I have done a strange thing. You were the one who volunteered to be Siddiqah's teacher, I didn't force you." Ibrahim retorted.

"So, you have done me a great favor by bringing me back home right? If you are not deceitful, why didn't you tell me before returning to your house.. Ibrahim! I'm disappointed in you." Habeebah replied with a grimace.

"Enough! Habeebah! The last time I checked, I'm still the head of this house. You can't expect me to dance to your tune everyday. Don't forget I'm entitled to four. I expected you to understand me better than anyone... I'm sorry, this is not my Habeebah.... The Habeebah I fell in love with, will never doubt her husband's faithfulness. Ibrahim uttered with annoyance.

"Ibrahim! Get out of my sight! Your sight infuriates me.. I can see that, the love you have for Siddiqah has turned you to something else.. Why don't you just marry four women at a go and divorce me.... Saying it to my face he's entitled to four... Metchew...... Ibrahim get out! I thought our love was true and real. Now I know true love doesn't exist.... Just goooooo I don't want to see your face.... Ahh.. hhhh.. hh....!" She wept copiously..

"Allright I'll leave! But no matter what, you'll always be in my heart and I will always love you as a husband should ..." Ibrahim said as he left for the Masjid.

"Yah Allah! Why me? At first , you took my baby away from me and now, I'm loosing my husband as well. Ibrahim has always been my treasure. His sight gives me a cool and peace of mind. I easily forget my pains and sorrows whenever we're together. Whenever he praises me, I feel on top of the world... But he's slippering away from me now. I don't want to believe his mother instigated him against me, isn't he old enough to decide for himself? .. Why didn't he inform me about his mother's condition before accepting it, if truly he conceded under pressure.

Perhaps I made a grave mistake by leaving this house in the first place..

And Siddiqah? I don't believe she isn't involved in this. How come she's maami choice all of a sudden, what is going on between them? It was her plan to get closer to me. She definitely have something up her sleeves ... My instinct tells me her hands are filthy... The first day I spotted her in his office, I wasn't pleased with her appearances but because I so much trust my husband and I felt pity for her as a jobless lady going through financial difficulties, I couldn't go against employing her.. But to be sincere I'm better than her in every way." she whimpered to herself and walked to her dressing mirror.

"I'm still the pretty Habeebah, Ibrahim fell in love with! I haven't changed, it's not as if I've gain weight... In spite of being married, I still look a spinster. Even if he wants to add more wife, he should have look for a better and more religious woman and not Siddiqah. What if her intentions are not pure towards me... What if she's coming to destroy my marriage? .. Will Ibrahim be just and fair between us.? Will he fulfill all the promises he made to me? And I'm pretty sure, Maami will always stay solidly behind her. Seeing all these will make my life more miserable.

Yah Allah! I love you as my God, I worship you as a servant. I believe in Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as your messenger, I offer my five daily salaawat. I always engage in giving Saddaqah with sincere intentions. I've been to Your House in Makkah... What else can I do to make you love me? What else can I do to free myself from being a barren? You give children, You don't need them, but why are you depriving me of this happiness? If you give me children I won't stop worshipping you, in fact I'll let the world know that you've done me an irreplaceable favor. Or is there something you want me to do, that I haven't done? If I know it, I'll surely do it.. Pleaaaa... see ee.. eee! Yah Rabb! Grant me my own children among the pious ones. I'm tired of all these...........

 "Habeebah wept till her eyes became swollen. She offer her Maghreb Salaat and Isha respectively... Then she fell asleep on her praying mat..

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Ibrahim didn't realize time was far spent in the Masjid. He was perturbed and perplexed. His eyes were full of pains, and heart was indeed in turmoil..
Everyone has left the Masjid except The Muhazzin who was waiting for him, in order to lock the Masjid gate.

"Yah akhii! Hope everything is fine? This is my first time of seeing you like this." Muhazzin said calmly.
"I'm fine sir, I never knew time was far spent. Insha Allah I'll be heading home now" ... He said and left for his house.

"How can Habeebah say it conveniently to my face that, my sight infuriates her? I expected her to reason with me.. I was left with no other choice than doing this. Anyway she's a woman. I need to understand and assure her, my love for her will never depreciate. I'll always strive to be a good husband to her." Ibrahim soliloquized on his way home.

Ibrahim entered his apartment with Salaam, he found his wife sleeping helplessly on the praying mat and he lifted her on the bed.

"Poor pretty queen of Ibrahim! She's been crying all day. My love for her will always increase, insha Allah I'll never let her down." Ibrahim said with a smile, he pecked her forehead and covered her with the duvet then, slept beside her fondling her hair..

At the middle of the night, Habeebah woke up to find her husband beside her and bursted into another round of hot tears..

"Why? What went wrong? How come? I don't even have answers to these questions." She said amidst tears in eyes and left for the guest room.
Ibrahim woke up for qiyamulayl. He searched for Habeebah and was later found praying in the guest room.

"is she running from me? Why the guest room? No matter where she goes I'll always accompany her like a snail and it's shell" he said smiling and also said his tahajjud prayer In the guest room as well.

The next morning Habeebah prepared breakfast.  She served her husband's food... But refused to eat, as she sat on a chair in the living room watching a news programme.

"Aren't we supposed to eat together? What's wrong with you now? Till when will you being childish?" Ibrahim asked.

"Can't you eat alone? After all, you ate alone while I was away, moreover I have to start preparing myself now, very soon your darling Siddiqah will come here in a month as your wife.... Hence eating together will be of no use. How do you even expect me to eat after that bad news."Habeebah blunted.

"That means I'll go to the office with an empty stomach. If you don't have appetite, I also don't have. Starving yourself can be harmful to your health you know... Perhaps my baby is growing in your belly already will you also starve my child because of his father's offence? .... You didn't eat last night before going to bed as well." Ibrahim said pitifully as he sat beside her, looking into her eyes.

"If you can't eat with me can you please help comb my beard?" Ibrahim asked as he gild his face with smiles.

"Which beard? Your darling Siddiqah must be waiting for you at the office... Don't you think it will be nice and romantic, if you take your comb to her to dress your beard for you?" Habeebah replied codly.

"She isn't mine yet. We only did introduction and not aqid. She can only comb my beard starting from the day she becomes my wife... So, till then only my pretty Habeebah Omowumi Omolewa Ajokeade, has the right to that.. Habeebah don't be lazy now." Ibrahim said, winkling his eyes.

Habeebah hissed and headed her room, Ibrahim ran after her and tickled her continously.

"Will you eat with me and comb my beard?" He asked as he tickled her non stop.

Habeebah tried to prove stubborn and to slither away from him, but he didn't let go of her, alas! She finally surrendered.

"I.. Will.. llll.. I will" She said giggling loudly.


To be cont'd. 
© Olafiku Maryam Umm Muslimah.

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