She didn’t let go of his hand, and Uchi also held hers tightly and said, “You will find us trustworthy, Eselu.”

Then he bowed his head low, as was customary in their Igbo tradition.

All the words they were saying didn’t register much with Leeya, because their children weren’t speaking in Hausa.

Aleena stood up from where she had been and came to sit close to Okene. She lightly tapped him and asked, “Broth O, why are you saying this to them?”

He widened his face in a smile. Her question made him laugh, the way she looked serious yet inquisitive like a grown adult.

“I’m telling them that from today, you are their children. You will help them with chores, and you will continue attending school, do you understand?”

She nodded and said, “I understand. They helped us, so who is Uchi and who is Nnene?”

They all laughed heartily at the way she pronounced the names.

“That one is Uchi,” Okene said, pointing to his brother. “And that is Nnene, my brother’s wife. Uchi means uncle to our children, and Nnene means aunt. You can call them that if you want.”

Uchi made space for Aleena to sit next to him, and she smiled at him. Then she asked, “Do you know my name, Uchi?”

“I know,” he answered in his limited Hausa.

“So, what’s my name?”

“Aleena,” he said succinctly, pronouncing it correctly, which surprised her—she thought he might mispronounce it. But he didn’t, and she smiled secretly, feeling a bit amused.

“Actually, it’s not Aleena. My name is Budurwa.”

“Budurwa?” she repeated. He said it clearly again, and she smiled to hide her laughter.

They continued chatting as if they had known each other for years, laughing and joking. Leeya, on the other hand, was reluctant to join, speaking only when necessary or when she had to respond with a smile, keeping mostly quiet.

As the day went on, Okene stood up to leave for home. Everyone accompanied him except Aleena, who stayed seated, unable to move.

“Aleena, aren’t you coming?”

“No, Broth O, you go. I’ll be fine here. The house is in the middle of the ocean; how could I walk from here with your responsibility? You go, and when you return tomorrow, I will escort you and the children.”

Aleena stretched her legs to make herself comfortable, and they smiled at her. Uchi had started noticing her personality—Aleena was playful and humorous, unlike Leeya.

---

AFTER DARK

By Rumana M Diggi

After leaving the room, she grabbed a bucket to go to the bathroom. Inside, it was dark, though moonlight shone outside.

She didn’t struggle to find the bucket but found no water in it. She went to the tap and prepared to draw water.

After making a prayer, she stepped into the bathroom and suddenly heard a sound that shook her deeply. In her life, she recognized this sound immediately:

“Innalillahi wa’inna ilaihirraji’un.”

She whispered it aloud, remembering the story Uchi had shared with them last night.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

The previous night, we were sitting in the middle of our house, as we usually do every night: me, Aleena, and Nnene. Then Uchi entered as if shot out of nowhere.

He sat straight in front of us without saying anything. None of us spoke to him.

Nnene broke the silence: “Uchi, are you okay? Why are you coming in so shaken?”

“I’m fine, not really,” Uchi said. “Nnene, have you heard the news on the radio about the bandits?”

“Yes,” Nnene replied quietly.

“Well, they went to Alaro Area last night. They caused a lot of destruction. Unfortunately, these bandits don’t kill women—they only shoot men and abduct women. No one knows where they take them.”

"Innalillahi wa’inna ilaihirraji’un," she whispered aloud, shaken and terrified, for she feared guns and the sound of gunfire more than anything else.

“Uchi, did they come to Alaro Area?” Aleena asked.

“Yes, Alaro Area, the place you know. They caused massive destruction, but some people survived,” Uchi said, eyes narrowed in thought.

“What did the security officers do?” Nnene asked.

“Nothing—they had already planned everything, and it was late at night when they struck,” Uchi replied.

We were all extremely frightened because, for Aleena, the fear was visible on her face. The danger was amplified since Alaro Area was very close to Makoko, separated only by the river.

Leeya’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunfire that echoed through Makoko. She ducked behind a barrel, pulling her scarf over her head to hide, as screams and gunshots filled the air.

The intruders searched thoroughly with flashlights but found nothing. One man remarked, “I don’t trust this water bucket. Let me check inside with the flashlight.”

Before he could, the leader barked at them: “What are you doing in the bathroom? Stop messing around and come out!”

Leeya froze inside the barrel. Fear coursed through her; she worried about Aleena, Uchi, and Nnene’s safety. Part of her wanted to run, part of her thought hiding was safer.

She stayed hidden, quietly crying, her body trembling. After a long while, she sensed the intruders leaving. Carefully, she exited her hiding place and ran toward the bathroom.

Suddenly, she collided with Uchi’s lifeless body at the door. Shocked, she fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably:

“Uchi, please don’t leave us! You said you’d never let Aleena cry… please wake up!”

She then rushed through the house searching desperately for Aleena and Nnene, checking every corner, under furniture, calling their names. She searched like someone looking for a tiny needle, moving between Uchi’s body and every hidden corner until dawn.

Finally, people from Makoko, along with security officers, arrived to remove Uchi’s body. Leeya screamed as they approached, but they were accustomed to such situations and continued their task. Two men carried Uchi out while Leeya followed at a distance, crying and trembling.

She spent days in deep sorrow, barely eating or bathing, praying only during Salah. The trauma left her so withdrawn that even when the house owner asked her to prepare for moving, she was reluctant to leave, holding onto memories of Uchi, Nnene, and her sister.

Eventually, she decided to leave Makoko. She took only essentials and some money and headed to the ferry to AJAH ROAD. Exhausted from walking, she found a quiet place to sit, hugging her knees, reflecting on everything—from her first memories to leaving Makoko. Tears rolled down her face as she wrapped herself in her scarf.

---

CONTINUATION

She stood up, placed her bag down, and went to a small food stand to buy something with the remaining money she had from Makoko.

People there were shocked at her appearance: disheveled hair, scarf covering her face, dirty clothes, and barefoot. Most fled, terrified, leaving only a few standing.

A woman at the food stand scolded her harshly, threatening her with hot water. Leeya was too scared to respond, only trembling. She ran away crying, her body shaking uncontrollably.

---

NAIRA STATE – SULEJA, NIGERIA

K. Waasib Mansion

A young girl, barely eleven, was kneeling, unable to lift her head. In front of her stood a woman of about forty.

“Please, little one, forgive me. I didn’t know you were in the parlour. I swear, I didn’t mean to break the rules. Forgive me,” the woman pleaded, bowing before her.

The girl, Khulud, didn’t look up, continuing to play with a small patch of cloth in her hands.

Her mother, Mum, scolded:

“Khulud, what are you doing? Why is Dayammah letting you kneel like that? Khulud, respect yourself. If you don’t change your behavior, I swear, it will go badly for you.”

Khulud sighed but stood up angrily, ignoring Mum’s scolding, heading toward her area like a young princess.

Dayammah, the housemaid, explained:

“She’s just a little girl. It wasn’t her fault. I broke the house rule unknowingly, following her inside the parlour. Forgive me.”

Mum smiled:

“Okay, Dayammah, just make sure Khulud isn’t humiliated. She’s too young to understand.”

Later, Khulud went to the kitchen to check what was missing for a shopping list, preparing for Justice Khattab Waasib’s upcoming trip to Mexico. She moved confidently, like a little queen.