ABOUT THIS BOOK
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Within two weeks of giving birth, Aneesa had completely regained her strength, together with her babies. It was as if she had never even given birth, because of how fresh and healthy she looked. The babies too were thriving, healthy and growing so well that they hardly looked like twins. From the very first day, Hajiya had been taking care of her. Every morning before she even had breakfast, Hajiya would bring her a cup of a honey mixture to drink. In the afternoon too, it was honey mixed with cow’s milk and a preparation made with raw rice. It increases a woman’s breast milk and restores comfort and pleasure to her body.
Whenever she wanted to bathe, special bagaruwa was put in her personal bathing bowl, then hot water was added for her to wash with. This helps tighten a woman’s private part if it has loosened during childbirth. Sitting in hot water and washing with bagaruwa makes a woman return to how she used to be. Otherwise, her private part would remain wider and bigger, and her husband would not enjoy her the way he used to. Especially for Aneesa, since two babies had come out of her, it really needed proper care.
Hajiya also gave her different kinds of perfumes. She gave her musk perfume and Aisha perfume, which is similar to musk, and told her to keep applying them to her private area and also to the cotton wool she used. That helps reduce the odor of postpartum discharge, and even during normal menstruation it is recommended to use such perfumes after one is done. As for musk, it is usually rubbed onto cotton wool and inserted inside for a few minutes, then removed. If you use any of these, there is no way your husband will come close to you and smell any bad odor; all he will perceive is fragrance. It also makes a woman tighter. That was why, by the time Aneesa completed three weeks and her bleeding had stopped, she started using it, besides she had always loved perfumes.
That week, Ishaq came while she was in her room taking care of the twins. She had dressed up beautifully because she knew he was coming. She was breastfeeding Hussaini, the king of suckling, while Hassan was asleep. As soon as he entered, he took the baby and held him to his chest. The boy immediately burst into tears because he had been separated from his food. Ishaq quickly placed him back on her lap and guided the breast to his mouth, and the baby resumed sucking while crying. They looked at each other and smiled.
He said, “Is he always this troublesome?”
She said, “You know him, don’t you? If it is daytime, once he starts eating, he doesn’t like to stop breastfeeding.”
He went and peeped at Hassan, who was sleeping on his bed, and said, “Do they really agree to sleep on their own?”
She replied, “I have to train them. At night, when Hajiya lays them close to my body so they can feel my warmth, I later get up and arrange another bed for them and cover it with a blanket. I also don’t breastfeed them at night except at dawn, so they can get used to it before we return to our house. I know you don’t like anyone sharing my body except you, that’s why I started this habit for them so they won’t suffer later.”
He smiled with pleasure and said, “So you really do care about me. You won’t turn your back on me just because you now have children. Thank you so much for this help. You see, even now I can come quietly and enjoy my own share of your warmth too. Or should I not come?”
She widened her eyes and said, “Where exactly do you want to come and enjoy warmth? Please, spare me. The day Hajiya catches you, she will blame me and say I was the one who invited you.”
He said, “Wallahi, I won’t do anything to you. I only miss the warmth of your body.”
Just then Yusra and the others rushed into the room happily shouting. He said, “Where did you all go? I didn’t see you when I arrived.”
They said, “We went to take Ladidi home. She left for her village. Her mother died last night from measles.”
He said, “Oh, what a pity. May Allah have mercy on her. So the person who keeps you company at night has gone, and I came thinking I would be the one to keep you company.”
She said, “I’ll just go back and sleep in Hajiya’s room until she returns.”
He said, “Please do me this favor, stay here. You know that if you sleep there, Hajiya will keep chasing me away.”
Until midnight, Ishaq stayed glued to his wife, until Hajiya said they would close their sitting room early that night since Ladidi was no longer around, because that was where they usually spent long hours talking.
In the middle of the night, Ishaq could not sleep. All that troubled him was his longing for Aneesa. Especially after finding her praying, his heart had softened. He was satisfied, yet still starving. She had become plump and fuller, and there was her natural scent which, whenever he inhaled it, always left him restless. He himself did not know why that affected him so much, almost like magic. He turned over and clicked his tongue in frustration. He was a man with very strong desire, which was why he often observed voluntary fasts whenever longing overwhelmed him in Abuja where he lived alone. And now that he had come, she was in postpartum seclusion. But today, Allah had shown him that the bleeding was over, yet there was still a great distance between him and the child’s mother.
Finally he raised his head and looked around. As for him, he could not endure merely looking like this. Why not test his luck and see? He picked up his phone and called Aneesa. By Allah’s will, after the phone rang twice, she answered. He said, “Are you still awake? Or has longing kept you up too?”
She said, “I just woke up. Hussain wanted water. I was just about to sleep when you called.”
He softened his voice and pleaded, “Aneesa, wallahi, I can’t sleep. Should I come over so you can at least help me a little? Earlier I saw you praying.”
She too softened her voice…
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