Mafarkin Farida Complete Hausa Novel

Farida’s Dream under the Mango Tree
 
Her lips pouted forward as she slept, twisting slightly while clutching herself in one spot. She turned, stretching her arms as if to embrace someone, pushing her lips even further. An old woman, wearing a worn-out t-shirt and a faded red wrapper, emerged from the room. Her clothes were completely worn, torn at the neckline as if gnawed by a rat. Her hair, unkempt and braided long ago, was thinning and lifeless.
 
Nearby, a young girl of about nineteen lay sleeping on a faded mat beneath a mango tree. The old woman bent over her, shaking her gently.
“Farida… Farida… hey, Faridaaaa!” she called. Startled, the young woman woke, sat upright with a soft smile, and looked at the ground.
“Hajiya, my mother,” she whispered. “It was a dream again, wallahi. A dream I see almost every night — the dream of a dazzling, charming, handsome prince. The Honey Prince, the Amazing Prince!”
 
The old woman, whom Farida addressed as Hajiya, laughed in excitement as if the dream were her own. Farida continued eagerly, describing his bright skin and glowing beauty that seemed almost unreal. Hajiya was overjoyed, listening to her daughter’s vivid tale.
 
Visions of Wealth and Marriage
 
“This time,” Farida said, “the dream was different. I saw us in another world, both of us dressed in pure white. He wore a luxurious white suit worth millions, Hajiya! And he drove a car worth hundreds of millions. His other car, shining white, was worth even more.”
 
Hajiya could not contain herself — she danced, sang, and clapped.
“Lale iye rambada! My daughter will soon lift us from poverty. Soon, I will wear lace and grand shadda. You will destroy this poor hut and build us a mansion, my princess Farida!”
 
Overcome with joy, Farida laughed. “Wait, Hajiya, let me tell you the end of the dream. We even got married! He held me in his arms, kissed me so deeply that I felt like I was in paradise surrounded by American dollars covering the ground like grass.”
 
Hajiya screamed with laughter, twirling in happiness. “Money is already on its way, my daughter! You are destined for riches.”
 
Preparing for a New Life
 
Farida then revealed the most daring part: “In the dream, he said, ‘Baby, give me your Jerusalem.’”
Hajiya gasped but then laughed again, nodding. “Ah, that one knows love indeed! And if he is rich, what is there to refuse?”
 
Farida stood up, twirling proudly, practicing elegant steps. “I must start walking in heels, Hajiya. I need to learn the city’s way of talking and moving, so that when the prince arrives, he will find me refined, not just a local girl.”
 
Hajiya eagerly agreed, insisting she too must learn stylish speech in case the prince’s parents came. Farida corrected her mother, teaching her to say “Hey, come in! Wow!” in English. The two burst into laughter, dreaming together of a better life.
 
Finally, Hajiya suggested: “We must visit Mallam Haru. He will interpret this dream for us. It cannot be meaningless if you’ve seen it for nearly two years. This is your destiny — I know it!”
 
The Harsh Reality at Home
 
But while mother and daughter dreamed of princes and mansions, reality struck from inside the crumbling house. Behind a locked, rotting door, their father — an old man confined to a wheelchair — knocked and called, ignored by all. Both Hajiya and Farida sighed in annoyance.
 
Farida complained bitterly: “You ruined our lives, Hajiya, by marrying a poor man. Now look at us — stuck in poverty, ashamed to even show him as our father.”
 
Later, Yazed, Farida’s fair-skinned elder brother, returned from his university lectures. Unlike his mother and sister, he cared for their father — feeding him, bathing him, cleaning the toilet, and tidying his room. Their father blessed him with tears, saying:
“You are among those I wronged in the past, but now you are my support.”
 
Meanwhile, Farida remained lost in her fantasy of the prince, barely acknowledging the hungry man who had sacrificed everything to feed them.