Launin Fata Book Two Complete Hausa Novel

Tahir stood up and left Rabi’a sitting there because he did not want her to continue seeing his tears. He went into Hajiya Yaya’s room and found her lying on her metal bed, suffering from a fever.

He sat on a chair, resting his chin in his hand in deep thought.

With difficulty, Hajiya Yaya managed to sit up.

She said, “So because they scolded you over what you are doing, you are now crying? Does that mean nobody is allowed to tell you the truth whenever it concerns your wife?”

Tahir’s face fell.

“Please, Hajiya, do not support this injustice,” he pleaded. “I grew up under your care in this house. There is hardly any kind of hatred these people have not shown me throughout my life. You yourself know that they do not love me.”

“They will continue doing everything they can just to destroy my peace and happiness. That is the reason I never wanted to live in this house in the first place, because I already knew something like this would happen.”

“I cannot remember you ever advising me to do something and I refused to listen. That was why I agreed to come and stay here.”

“If there is anyone in this house whose support and mercy I expect, it is you. If I cannot find relief from your side, then where am I supposed to find it?”

“If you support the humiliation Kawu and his wife subjected me to, then I know it is because you gave birth to him. But I am an orphan. I have no mother. I have no father. I have nobody to stand behind me when I am right.”

Hajiya Yaya became deeply disturbed by Tahir’s words. Tears filled her eyes.

She said, “Tahir, are these painful words really coming from your mouth today? You have never spoken to me like this before.”

Tahir replied, “Hajiya, that is how the truth is. The truth is rarely pleasant to the person hearing it. Forgive me. Even though you are not the one who gave birth to me, you gave birth to my father.”

He lowered his head against the chair and began to cry.

Hajiya Yaya said, “Please forgive me, Tahir. I also know that you have not been treated fairly in this house. The truth is that I do not know what to do about Tanimu. He has become too difficult for me to control.”

“He and his wife Dije are the ones leading most of the injustice, selfishness and unfairness taking place in this house.”

Tahir eventually stood up and left the room.

That day, sadness prevented him from eating anything. Rabi’a tried repeatedly to persuade him to eat until she eventually became exhausted and gave up.

That was how life continued in the house: every day filled with sadness, anger and emotional pain.

Tahir seemed to suffer even more than Rabi’a. As for Rabi’a, she continued suppressing her feelings because she knew there was nowhere she could truly take her complaints except to Allah.

Even Ummi, who had originally supported her marriage to Tahir, was someone Rabi’a avoided telling the full extent of what she was going through. She feared that if Ummi knew everything, she too might begin regretting the marriage.

Rabi’a did not want to lose the little support she still received from her mother.

She continued obeying the women of the household and doing whatever they asked of her, even when the work was beyond her physical strength.

Yet none of them appreciated her efforts.

Instead, they seemed united in constantly searching for ways to humiliate her simply because her husband loved her deeply and treated her with care.

No matter what she did, they always found fault with it.

Normally, two women were assigned to prepare the evening meal each day, but Rabi’a never seemed to have a day off. Every single day she was expected to come out and work.

If she refused or was unable to do so, trouble would immediately follow.

Tahir repeatedly begged her to stop coming out to perform work that was too difficult for her. He told her to ignore whatever they might say or do.

But Rabi’a would answer, “Please, just be patient and let me continue. Peace is better than living like royalty in constant conflict. One day, all of this will become nothing more than a story.”

By the time her pregnancy reached five months, the severe symptoms had begun to ease and she gradually regained some strength.

She stopped visiting her family home regularly because anyone who looked at her could immediately tell that she was not living peacefully. She had lost so much weight that her suffering was becoming visible.

Instead, her mother came to visit her from time to time.

Whenever Ummi visited, she usually left with anger and sadness in her heart after seeing what her daughter’s life had become.

However, she deliberately avoided showing Rabi’a how troubled she was.

If she had openly expressed her feelings, Rabi’a would have realised long ago that even her mother had begun to lose confidence in her marriage to Tahir.

What prevented Ummi from completely rejecting the marriage was the enormous sympathy she had developed for Tahir.

He had built his entire life around his love for Rabi’a, and separating the two of them would undoubtedly cause serious emotional devastation.

One Friday afternoon, after the men had returned from the mosque, Tahir was lying in the living room watching a Nigerian movie.

Outside, Rabi’a was struggling with the fire while preparing beans and rice that Dije sold for business.

Dije had assigned the work to the younger women in the household.

That morning, before leaving to visit someone, Dije had even stopped by Rabi’a’s room.

She said, “Rabi, I am going out. Hansai will put the beans on the fire. Please help her cook everything before I return.”

Rabi’a replied, “Alright. Have a safe trip.”

She spent a long time struggling to keep the fire burning because the firewood was wet.

The smoke became so thick that her head began to ache badly.

Eventually, she returned to her room, took one of her plastic containers, broke off a piece of it and went back outside. She used the plastic to help ignite the fire properly.

Afterwards, she returned to the room and lay down, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

Seeing her condition filled Tahir with overwhelming pity.

He stood up, walked over to her and crouched in front of her.

He said, “Wallahi, Rabi’a, I feel terrible seeing what you are going through in this house.”

“I must find a solution for us. I cannot continue living here while watching you suffer like this every single day.”