A Babban Gida Part 2 Complete Hausa Novel

t was around eleven o’clock in the morning (11:00 a.m.), when the sun was already shining brightly, since it was the hot season and daylight came early.
The shouting I heard made me head toward the house to get the report.
It was an average block house, with an iron gate painted red, though from constant beating by the rain it had turned brown with rust.
Some people were seated in a small shed attached to the house, built right under a neem tree in the compound. At a single glance, you could tell they were no good, because their appearance clearly reflected their drug-taking habits, and the shouting and noise among them showed that some kind of commotion was going on.
I went straight into the house to see who was screaming, and to my surprise it was a beautiful woman, no older than about thirty-two to thirty-four, along with a little girl of around ten years old.
A man was beating them mercilessly. One look at him was enough to tell you he was not in his right senses, and from his appearance he was clearly the girl’s father, that is, the woman’s husband.
He did not stop for even a moment, as if he had been given a contract for the beating, while Mamah did nothing but cry.
As for Zahrah, her mouth had not died either, while he too refused to stop beating her.
“Wallahi, we will never forgive you, you wicked and heartless man!”
The man, who could not have been more than forty-five years old, stared at the girl in complete shock, mouth open. He was used to Zahrah’s sharp tongue, since it was nothing new, but he had never imagined she would go this far. Now she no longer even felt ashamed insulting someone as old as him.
(And I said to myself, old indeed, when you cannot even carry yourself with dignity.)
Seeing that he had stayed silent for too long, she wiped the tears from her face and threw him a look of contempt.
“Wallahi, Uncle, you will never enter Paradise unless you repent. Just like that, we did nothing to you, yet you grabbed us and started beating us. Wallahi, Allah will surely repay you for us…”
She did not get to finish what she intended to say before a slap landed hard on her mouth. She was not surprised, because that was how Mamah behaved, as spineless as a caterpillar. Even though Uncle was beating them without any fault on their part, she could do nothing, and the little she tried to do was stopped. Truly, this was the kind of situation where you are beaten and then forbidden to cry.
“Zahrah, why is it that you have no sense at all? Eh?! That is your father’s brother you are insulting!”
she said as she dragged Zahrah by the hand into the room.
As for Uncle, he was so filled with shock at Zahrah’s boldness that he could not do anything until they had gone inside. Only then did he manage to leave the house and head toward his friends sitting at the gate, still boiling with anger.
Tears kept streaming from Zahrah’s eyes, while Mamah gave a faint smile, pained by the kind of life she had found herself in. Slowly, she began to speak in a gentle voice filled with weariness.
“Haba, Zahrah! Tell me, when will you change your behavior?”
she finished, looking at her with accusation in her eyes.
Zahrah pushed out her little lips and looked at Mamah.
“Haba, Mamah, then when will you gain freedom in this house? You know Uncle does not love us, so why should he be beating us like we are his slaves? Wallahi, Mamah, I will not just sit and let him keep oppressing you. That is final.”
she finished, twisting her mouth as if Uncle were standing right in front of her.
Mamah, however, felt her body go cold at Zahrah’s words. Zahrah was only a child, but once she started talking, even a grown adult would have no answer. Still, she would not just watch and let her ruin her future marriage. Zahrah had no patience at all, not even the weight of a mustard seed, but Mamah had resolved, by Allah’s will, to change her.
After they had both cried, Mamah again warned Zahrah about the bad behavior she kept displaying.
“Zahrah, you are still a child, but I will continue to guide you for the sake of your future. If I am no longer here, you will suffer greatly.”
Zahrah, who was already tired of Mamah’s lectures, simply nodded her head, then stood up and headed for the door.
“Mamah, I’m going over to Amira’s house to play.”
Mamah could only send prayers after her daughter, then she got up to finish the washing that had been brought to her, because by evening she would be going to the market.