At the hospital
Rasheedat: doctor!!!! My baby!!
Ridwan and zainab: (panting heavily) doctor!! Nurse!
One of the doctor and two nurses come to their aid.
Doctor: (grab the baby from ridwan) what happened?
Ridwan: she isn’t responding!
Doctor: (he rush the baby to the pediatric ward and began to perform C.P.R and neonatal resuscitation) c’mon!!
Ridwan, zainab and rasheedat stand by the window watching as the doctor and nurses trying their possible best to bring her back to life. When suddenly rasheedat feel on her knees and cry uncontrollably
Ridwan: (breathing heavily) please yah Allah! please!! Don’t take her away please.
Zainab: (already soak in tears) yah Allah spear my family! Pleaseeee…. I know there is nothing you cant do pleaseee.
After several minutes of the doctors trying their possible best they finally concluded and shake their head in disappointment and walk up to them.
Doctor: I am sorry mr and mrs. Ridwan but you brought a dead child to us! I am deeply sorry to tell you tht your baby’s vital signs have ceased. I am so sorry for your loss but we tried our possible best but…(excuse himself)
Rasheedat: (scream in pain) noooo!!!!
Ridwan: (tears roll down his face as he couldn’t believe his eyes)
Zainab: (short of words as her jaw drop in disbelief) doctor please… try that CPR again.. please. Nurse please.
Rasheedat: (her cries attract the passersby and patients in the hospital as everyone sympathize with her) why?? why me? why me God? Whyyyyyyyy?
Zainab: (move closer to her and tried to console her) I am so sorry Rasheedat…
Ridwan: (move away from her and find a place to sit and sob bitterly)
Rasheedat: look at my life! I have lost two children already! At this age of mine! all I wanted was to be a mother.. why is that too much to ask from God? Whyyy?
Zainab: don’t say that please, as a muslim, we need to be grateful for every situation we find ourselves… I know you are hurt bitterly but who are we to question Allah.. he is the giver and taker… he own us all.. he can take our souls anytime he pleases.. so please don’t question him..
Rasheedat: what are you saying? (tears still gushing down her eyes) so I should be grateful for my child being killed by your husband? Or didn’t you know he killed her? I am going to make him pay for the pain he brought into my life.. I swear I will make him pay. Mark my word.. he left my child to die abi? and all I ever wanted was to bless him… but look at the pain he had brought over my life..
Zainab: please.. don’t blame him.. he is also in pain for losing his child.
Rasheedat: don’t you tell me that! Was he not with my child in the room for hours? He killed her!!!
Zainab: please don’t say that! Please. Inalilahi wahina ilayhi rajihun.
Rasheedat: ehnn my baby!! aishatu mi ooo ahhhhhhhh! (she get up and tried enter the pediatric room but she was stopped by the nurse) please let me carry my child, I’m sure she is just pretending to die.. maybe she is mad at me for not breastfeeding her on time.. please… let me breastfeed her! pleaseee! Ejorr! (weep profusely)
Zainab: (also tried to held her back as she coudltn control her emotions as well feeling sorry for her as a mother) please Rasheedat!! She is gone!
One of the nurse covers the baby’s corpse
Rasheedat: (glance sadly at zainab) shebi it easy for you to say because you don’t even know what it feels like to lose a child!
Zainab: I know you are in so much pain but please…
Rasheedat: just stay away from me! you and your husband should stay away from me! I SAID STAY AWAY FROM ME! (she roar angrily)
Zainab: (finally let her be and began to search for her husband) where is he? Is he suppose to leave her in this condition? Why does he like to make things worse uh?
After minutes of searching for Ridwan, she finally found him sobbing at the reception
Zainab: (gently sit next to him and rub his shoulder) hey dear,
Ridwan: ( suddenly raise his head as he recognize her voice) look at my life at the window! Zainab see how miserable my life looks.. just because I wanted a child! Now the child is gone! And that bitch wont stop until she ruin me completely.
Zainab: come on don’t say that.
Ridwan: she wont stop until she fight back! I should have seen this coming if things go wrong.. I have forgotten about who Rasheedat truly is, I was so blinded by the fact that she take revenge of what I didn’t do intentionally.
Zainab: listen to me! look at me! you didn’t kill that child.. besides the child is yours.. we just need to let all these calm down but first you need to be by her side.. she seriously need someone like you console her and be there for her.. please.. is the least you could do to stop the incoming chaos.
Ridwan: (tears roll down from his eyes) like look at me! look at my life! This isn’t the life I wanted.
Zainab: well that one is my business.. just do what I told you, if things get worse I wont interfere oh, I just feel so bad for the poor baby.. she had been through hell for the past 4 months she came to this world.. please go and meet her.
Ridwan: (he obeyed and stoop up) I guess you are right.
Zainab: (help him wipe his tears) you got this! Ok? I will stay behind.
Ridwan: (force a smile and move forward then pause and head back to her) please come with me.
Zainab: no!! please.. I don’t want to get involve.. this is not my business to deal with.
Ridwan: please I am pleading! You are all I have and the only witness to all the shit going on between me and her.. incase things get out of hand.
Zainab: (glance at him for seconds then follow him) mind you, if anything go wrong, I’m out!
Ridwan: fine! Ok.. (as they got to the pediatric ward, Rasheedat was no where to be found) nurse!! Please where is that woman in a black dress crying over here not quite long?
Nurse: I saw her leaving the hospital like two minutes ago.
Ridwan: oh my God! Whats going to happen now? Where did she go?
Zainab: let me go find her! you stay here! Ok?
Ridwan: I’m coming with you… what if she tries to attack you.
Zainab: don’t worry, I’m a police… I will know how to handle her.. just stay here (she pick a race out of the hospital)
30 minutes later
Zainab return back to the hospital looking so tired and exhausted from searching for Rasheedat, upon enter the reception, she found the security and three police officers handcuffing her husband while zainab was held by the security men as they tried to take the knife she was trying to attack Ridwan.
Zainab: what is going on here? Just less than an hour of leaving?
Ridwan: zainab!! She came with the police to arrest me for the murder of our child..
Zainab: (she face the police officers and show them her I.D Card) please kindly let go of him, he is innocent, she is just trying to attack him..
Police officer: I’m sorry we cant set him free.. this is a murder case and you know how it goes.. we are arresting him and her for trying to attack him right in front of us.. so this case might be settled in the court..
Zainab: (rubbed her forehead as she exhale heavily) oh my God.
Ridwan: baby!!!! you know I’m innocent right? you know!
Zainab: I know! And this is exactly what I’m avoiding.
Police officer: move it! (they dragged Ridwan and Rasheedat out of the hospital and push them into the police car and drove away while zainab couldn’t do anything but watch them disappear in her sight)
Zainab: omoh! I cant come and die oh.. you brought this upon yourself and I cant come and kill myself.. this is exactly what they call, you reap what you sow and the consequences of lack of patience (she stop a taxi)
*************************************************
An hour after
Zinat: who is at the door? I’m coming please (she open the door and gasp) sister mi!! (embrace her) what a pleasant surprise.. please come in
Zainab: thank you my dear, how have you been? What of your husband?
Zinat: hmmm he is fine oh? he went on a business trip to kano.
Zainab: thank God! Please can I spend a night here?
Zinat: ofcourse! The house is yours.. by the way you look so stress, whats wrong?
Zainab: that’s why I needed a place to rest.. I have had enough drama already and I think I might go insane.. (she enters the sitting room and fell on the couch) ahhh! Wetin my eyes done see for this life..
Zinat: (sit next to her) I hope all is well? How is work?
Zainab: alhamdulilah but I’m not ok mentally.
Zinat: what of your husband?
Zainab: I’m sure he must have been locked up..
Zinat: what do you mean?
Zainab: he was arrested an hour ago with his mistress.
Zinat: (gasp in surprise) are you being serious right now?
Zainab: do I look like am joking?
Zinat: then what are you waiting for? Go and bail him out? But why with his mistress.
Zainab: it a long story my dear.. are you sure your husband isn’t coming home tonight? I don’t want drama in your house.
Zinat: he left for his trip this morning.. so it will take a week before he come back.
Zainab: good! Find me something chill to drink.. im starving and thirsty.
Zinat: you are getting me worried oh! please tell me everything.
Zainab: (began to narrate everything)
30 minutes later
Zinat: (jaw drop without noticing) he did all that to you and you just watch?
Zainab: what else can I do? divorce him because you did what other men does with confidence? Divorce is not an option.. so I just sit back and watch..
Zinat: you are amazing sis.. awwnn I wish I could have the patience you had.