Gabatarwa
Broken Not a halal love story Complete · about 4 min read
FATIMA BALA
Broken
Copyright © 2023 by Fatima Bala
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission
from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or
distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents
portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Fatima Bala has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs
for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often
claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this
book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and
registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the
book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
First edition
ISBN: ASIN: B0C9T6TZ69
This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy
Find out more at reedsy.com
To the girls who read Gibran, Rumi, and Darwish.
“If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs
three ingredients to grow exponentially:
secrecy, silence, and judgment.”
Dr. Brené Brown
Acknowledgement
To my husband Kabir, when I started writing this story, it was supposed to
stay on an online platform, and I was going to be an anonymous writer
because I did not want anyone to know that I wrote a story about Muslim
characters who were not perfect. What would people say? I asked him, and
he wondered why I was bothered about what people think. He shows up for
me always and always encourages me to write; He takes time out of his
busy schedule to read my drafts, correct my mistakes and give his opinion.
For the bike rides and my helmet, all of which made it into this story. I love
you.
I am a better writer today than when I started this story three years ago,
and that is because of my editor now turned friend, Khadija Yusra Sanusi.
Her unwavering commitment to ensuring that Arewa stories remain
authentic in a literary world that loves to brush us in a single color has
helped my stories come to life. For the many emails, multiple edits,
countless voice notes, and constant encouragement even when I fell out of
love with the story, I am incredibly grateful.
To Fatima Mana Babangida, for her subtle threats carefully embedded
in loving messages reminding me to fix what I broke in separating the main
characters and why redemption is the only way the story could end. I love
you.
To Grace Eke, Judith Kallaghe, Angelina Acheampong, Sa’ada
Abdulmalik, and Mofe Popo, ours is a friendship that has made me better,
and your belief in my capabilities has strengthened me, and I hope I do the
same for you all. My support system.
To my brother, Ya Adamu Kabir, for always being the best brother, the
most dependable, and the most caring, I am extremely blessed to have you.
To Ummita - my mother (Hajiya Hauwa Mohammed), every time I send
you my stories to make sure the context is right, to ensure that I have
captured the nuances of our complex culture, and every time you call back
with a page full of notes to address, it only makes me want to be the writer
you think that I am. Thank you for instilling the love of stories in me.
To my children, yes, mummy writes books that don’t have pictures, and
I know you think that makes them less interesting, but I think you
understand how much mummy loves doing what she does, and
Alhamdulillah for you always.
To the family of readers online who have told me how much they love
Ahmad and Fa’iza’s rollercoaster journey. I cannot name you all, but I
appreciate you always.
I
Broken
Copyright © 2023 by Fatima Bala
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission
from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or
distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents
portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Fatima Bala has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs
for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often
claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this
book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and
registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the
book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.
First edition
ISBN: ASIN: B0C9T6TZ69
This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy
Find out more at reedsy.com
To the girls who read Gibran, Rumi, and Darwish.
“If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs
three ingredients to grow exponentially:
secrecy, silence, and judgment.”
Dr. Brené Brown
Acknowledgement
To my husband Kabir, when I started writing this story, it was supposed to
stay on an online platform, and I was going to be an anonymous writer
because I did not want anyone to know that I wrote a story about Muslim
characters who were not perfect. What would people say? I asked him, and
he wondered why I was bothered about what people think. He shows up for
me always and always encourages me to write; He takes time out of his
busy schedule to read my drafts, correct my mistakes and give his opinion.
For the bike rides and my helmet, all of which made it into this story. I love
you.
I am a better writer today than when I started this story three years ago,
and that is because of my editor now turned friend, Khadija Yusra Sanusi.
Her unwavering commitment to ensuring that Arewa stories remain
authentic in a literary world that loves to brush us in a single color has
helped my stories come to life. For the many emails, multiple edits,
countless voice notes, and constant encouragement even when I fell out of
love with the story, I am incredibly grateful.
To Fatima Mana Babangida, for her subtle threats carefully embedded
in loving messages reminding me to fix what I broke in separating the main
characters and why redemption is the only way the story could end. I love
you.
To Grace Eke, Judith Kallaghe, Angelina Acheampong, Sa’ada
Abdulmalik, and Mofe Popo, ours is a friendship that has made me better,
and your belief in my capabilities has strengthened me, and I hope I do the
same for you all. My support system.
To my brother, Ya Adamu Kabir, for always being the best brother, the
most dependable, and the most caring, I am extremely blessed to have you.
To Ummita - my mother (Hajiya Hauwa Mohammed), every time I send
you my stories to make sure the context is right, to ensure that I have
captured the nuances of our complex culture, and every time you call back
with a page full of notes to address, it only makes me want to be the writer
you think that I am. Thank you for instilling the love of stories in me.
To my children, yes, mummy writes books that don’t have pictures, and
I know you think that makes them less interesting, but I think you
understand how much mummy loves doing what she does, and
Alhamdulillah for you always.
To the family of readers online who have told me how much they love
Ahmad and Fa’iza’s rollercoaster journey. I cannot name you all, but I
appreciate you always.
I