Summayah’s P.O.V
Abdulhakeem rushed back into the ward, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling as if he had run all the way without stopping. Sweat clung lightly to his face, but he didn’t seem to care.
He stretched out the food.
Adewunmi: (taking it from him) ahh… thank you so much. Why did you have to stress yourself like this for us?
Abdulhakeem: it’s nothing ma… where is Summayah?
Adewunmi: she went to the restroom.
Abdulhakeem: okay ma.
(He moved closer to Suliyah, who was slowly scanning the room with weak, curious eyes.)
Abdulhakeem: hello Hajia… welcome back to the world. How are you feeling now?
Suliyah: (she nodded faintly)
Abdulhakeem: Alhamdulillah… uhmm, ma, I’ll be going now.
Adewunmi: honestly, you have tried for us. May Almighty Allah continue to bless you and reward you.
Abdulhakeem: Amin. Hajia, please take care of yourself.
(He turned and left quietly.)
He made his way upstairs, asking a doctor to direct him.
Abdulhakeem: thank you, doctor.
(He stopped at the door, peeped through the glass, then gently pushed it open.)
Abdulhakeem: good morning ma.
Jamiu’s mum: good morning, my dear… how are you? How did you know I was here?
Abdulhakeem: you… know me?
(She smiled warmly, her eyes soft.)
Jamiu’s mum: of course I know you. You are my son, aren’t you? Abdulhakeem… right?
(He paused, surprised.)
Abdulhakeem: yes ma… how are you feeling now?
Jamiu’s mum: much better, thank you my son. But you look confused… maybe you’re wondering how I know you.
Abdulhakeem: well… your face looks familiar, but I don’t think we have met.
Jamiu’s mum: oh, we have. You just didn’t know it was me. I used to visit your father’s office often. We crossed paths a few times.
Abdulhakeem: ohhh… I remember now. So you are Jamiu’s mother?
Jamiu’s mum: (smiling) yes… and your mother too. Come, sit down.
(He sat slowly, still trying to take it all in.)
Jamiu’s mum: how are you? How is work? And Folashade?
Abdulhakeem: she’s fine.
Jamiu’s mum: thank you for coming to see me. It means a lot.
(She paused, her expression softening.)
Jamiu’s mum: I know… everything about me and your brother… it’s not easy to accept. But I want you to know something.
(She looked at him deeply.)
Jamiu’s mum: I truly wish you both well… in this life and in the hereafter. Please… don’t mind his behavior. Take him as your own. Love him as you love yourself.
(Her voice grew emotional.)
Jamiu’s mum: you are the eldest among them… and I want the best for all of you. It was not easy for me to face you and your sister with the truth… but seeing you here today… I am grateful.
(Abdulhakeem nodded slowly.)
Abdulhakeem: you are welcome, mum. It’s good to have you as family. I promise I will try to love Jamiu as my brother… and please, put him in your prayers. He has some habits that need to change.
Jamiu’s mum: I know…
(Suddenly—)
(The door burst open.)
Jamiu: so you have the guts to come here and report me to my mother?
Jamiu’s mum: Ayo!
(Her voice rose sharply, followed by a cough.)
Jamiu: (rushing to her) sorry mum… sorry.
Jamiu’s mum: do you want to kill me? Just kill me and finish it!
Jamiu: no mum, it’s just—
Jamiu’s mum: if you complete that sentence, you won’t like what I will do next. Whether you like it or not, he is your blood. Accept it!
(Silence fell for a moment.)
Abdulhakeem: uhmm… mum, I have to go now. I have work to attend to. Please take care of yourself… and eat well.
(He stepped forward and hugged her gently.)
(She smiled.)
Jamiu’s mum: thank you, my son. Take care of yourself.
(Abdulhakeem turned to Jamiu, tapped his shoulder lightly.)
Abdulhakeem: little bro… see you.
(He walked out, leaving Jamiu standing there, speechless.)
Jamiu’s mum: sit down. I need to speak sense into your empty head.
(Curtain)
Later That Night
The ward felt different.
Lighter.
Alive.
Summayah, her mum, and even Suliyah were talking, laughing softly. It felt unreal… like a dream they were afraid to wake from.
A nurse adjusted Suliyah’s drip, replacing it with a bigger one.
Summayah: thank you nurse.
(She turned to Suliyah, smiling.)
Summayah: egbon mi… how are you feeling now?
Suliyah: hmm… Alhamdulillah… but I want to pray.
Summayah: you don’t have strength yet. You can barely stand. Just rest first.
Adewunmi: exactly. Since when did you become this religious? The same person I used to drag to pray is now rushing for it?
(Suliyah slowly turned her head, her eyes suddenly deeper… different.)
Suliyah: mum… you don’t understand.
(Her voice trembled, but carried weight.)
Suliyah: I saw things… I saw hell.
(The room grew quiet.)
Suliyah: I saw things beyond this world… things I can’t even explain. I was not supposed to come back… but it was said that my family needs me.
(Summayah’s grip on her hand tightened.)
Suliyah: Allah gave me a second chance… to live the life I was supposed to live.
(Her breathing grew heavier.)
Suliyah: the angel of death will come again… but I don’t know when. This is my chance… to return to Allah.
(Her eyes filled with tears.)
Suliyah: mum… Summayah… this life is a beautiful lie. What is beyond it… is beyond imagination.
(Silence spread across the ward.)
Suliyah: let us change… let us become better. Death can come at any time. Let us leave sins… leave shirk… seek Allah’s forgiveness… and move closer to Him.
(Her voice softened.)
Suliyah: when I get better… I want to go back to madrasah.
(Summayah and Adewunmi stared at her, stunned.)
Not just them.
Even the people around them had gone still… listening.
Then suddenly—
A voice rose.
“Allahu Akbar!”
Another joined.
“Allahu Akbar!”
And then more… louder… stronger.
“Allahu Akbar!”
The sound filled the ward, echoing with emotion, with faith, with something powerful and undeniable.
Summayah felt tears roll down her face… but this time, they were different.
Not pain.
Not confusion.
But something close to hope.
-----------------
A Few Weeks Later
Ever since Suliyah was discharged from the hospital, everything about her changed.
Completely.
It wasn’t just small adjustments… it was her entire way of life. The way she spoke, the way she dressed, the way she carried herself. Even the way she looked at people… it was different.
She talked about death constantly.
Not casually… not lightly… but with urgency, like someone who had seen something no one else had. Her voice would tremble sometimes, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke about the hereafter, about accountability, about what awaits beyond this life.
At first, they listened.
Then it became overwhelming.
Day and night, her words echoed in the house.
“Be prepared… death can come at any time… this life is temporary…”
Sometimes, she would break down crying mid-sentence, clutching her chest as if the memory of what she saw refused to leave her.
She told her mum she no longer wanted marriage.
She wanted to dedicate her life to worship… to Allah alone.
She said she was infertile anyway… so there was no point.
Adewunmi held her that day, her voice soft but firm.
“Don’t lose hope, my daughter. The man who will love you for who you are… he will find you.”
During mid-semester break, Abdullah came home.
They told him everything.
Every single thing that had happened.
He sat there, speechless… trying to understand how everything had changed so quickly.
Suliyah crying…
Talking about death…
Refusing marriage…
It didn’t feel real.
Abdulhakeem, on the other hand, never stopped coming around.
Almost every day, he found his way to Summayah’s house.
Sometimes with food.
Sometimes with nothing but his presence.
He tried… in every little way… to win her heart.
And though Summayah had already started developing feelings for him, she refused to make it easy.
She kept her distance.
Played hard to get.
But deep down… she was already falling.
Abdulhakeem knew.
And he didn’t give up.
Alia and Summayah grew even closer.
Their bond became stronger… deeper… especially after Alia got a job at their workplace. They were almost inseparable now.
Two Weeks Later
Abdulhakeem called for a family meeting.
Everyone showed up.
Except Jamiu.
Abdulhakeem: (clears throat) thank you all for coming. This means a lot to me. I know everyone is busy, so I’ll go straight to the point.
Jamiu’s mum: but Jamiu is not here yet.
Shade’s mum: that’s true. This family is not complete without him.
(Abdulhakeem and Shade exchanged surprised looks.)
Chief: (smiling calmly) very correct, my two lovely wives. This meeting is incomplete without him. Let me call him—
(Just then, the door opened.)
Jamiu: sorry I’m late… what did I miss?
(He looked around… saw everyone… and immediately turned.)
Jamiu: I’m out of here.
Jamiu’s mum: Ayo! Come back here and sit down!
Shade’s mum: yes! You are the one we’ve been waiting for!
Shade: someone that is not even worth waiting for.
Abdulhakeem: Folashade!
Shade: don’t call my name like that. Only mum has the right to call me that. Right mum?
Shade’s mum: yes, my dear.
Abdulhakeem: (sighs) whatever… Ayo, please sit down.
Chief: your brother is talking to you. Sit.
Shade: stubborn ass—
(All eyes turned to her.)
Everyone: Shade!
Shade: what?
(Jamiu chuckled softly and sat down.)
Shade: isn’t he stubborn?
Shade’s mum: not as stubborn as you.
Shade: mum!
Abdulhakeem: can we start now?
Everyone: yes.
Abdulhakeem: thank you.
(He paused, taking a breath.)
Abdulhakeem: I called this meeting to reunite our family… and to make an announcement.
(The room fell quiet.)
Abdulhakeem: first of all, I want to appreciate our dad and our two amazing mums… for raising us.
(They smiled softly.)
Abdulhakeem: secondly… to my stubborn, annoying brother—
(Jamiu raised a brow slightly.)
Abdulhakeem: when I was younger, I used to fight my mum for not giving me a brother. I wanted someone to grow up with… someone to share memories with.
(He smiled faintly.)
Abdulhakeem: I didn’t know Allah had already answered that prayer… just in a different way.
(Jamiu looked away.)
Abdulhakeem: so… whatever I have done to hurt you… please forgive me.
(A pause.)
Abdulhakeem: and to my twin… my troublemaker… my joy—
Shade: oh my God, I’m blushing already!
Abdulhakeem: (smiling) you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Life without you is like a forest without trees.
Shade: liar! That line is for your girlfriend, not me. Just say your life without me is like a forest without grass.
(Laughter filled the room.)
Abdulhakeem: however you want it.
(He turned back to Jamiu.)
Abdulhakeem: Jamiu… I don’t know why your heart is this strong. But we are your family. Whatever we did… please forgive us.
(He hesitated, then added—)
Abdulhakeem: remember, Shade once liked you.
(The room went silent.)
Shade: Akeem!!!
(Jamiu burst into laughter.)
Abdulhakeem: sorry, sorry!
(He grew serious again.)
Abdulhakeem: all I’m trying to say is… I love you. As my brother. Because someone special taught me that family should be loved… even more than ourselves.
(Soft silence.)
Abdulhakeem: I’m sorry.
(Jamiu’s mum nudged him slightly.)
Jamiu: (sighs) okay… I’m sorry too. For everything. For being harsh… to you… and to my lovely sister.
(He stood up and hugged Abdulhakeem.)
(The family clapped softly.)
Shade: (rolling her eyes) drama.
Abdulhakeem: I got you, bro.
Jamiu: yeah… bro.
(They separated and sat down.)
Chief: I’m proud of all of you.
Abdulhakeem: (smiling) lastly… I have an announcement.
(The room grew excited.)
Abdulhakeem: I have found the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with… and I want all of you to come with me to ask for her hand in marriage.
(The room exploded with joy.)
They hugged him, congratulated him, laughed.
Abdulhakeem: thank you… thank you.
Jamiu’s mum: who is this lucky girl?
(Abdulhakeem glanced at Shade.)
(She nodded.)
(He took a deep breath.)
Abdulhakeem: her name… is Summayah.
(Silence.)
(Jamiu froze.)
The two mums: congratulations!
Chief: (confused) which Summayah? The name sounds familiar…
Abdulhakeem: the one you know, Dad.
Chief: the ugly girl?
Abdulhakeem: come on, Dad… she is not “the ugly girl.” She is the lucky one. The one my heart chose.
Chief: (amazed) unbelievable… how did this happen? I thought you didn’t like her.
Shade: well, Dad… he does now.
Chief: who is talking to you? Go and find a man and settle down. I want grandchildren.
The two mums: we too oh!
(Jamiu’s mum turned to him.)
Jamiu’s mum: what about you, Jamiu?
(Jamiu said nothing.)
He just sat there… still… lost.
Jamiu’s mum: Ayo!
(Still no response.)
(Abdulhakeem watched him quietly.)
He understood.
Completely.