ACT THIRTY-ONE
Sekinat: (her movements quick and desperate as she blocks them, tears and sweat streaming down her face) We know you are great, powerful, and mighty in your own way. No one in this world can defeat you except your maker! Fine, we all admit it! No one dares try to escape your grasp. I accept that too. But hear what your wife has to say. She doesn't want to die for our troubles. This is entirely my fault! I am to be blamed and punished by you, but please don't punish them. Let them go, and I will serve you till I die! And if you want to take my life right now, then you are free to do so. Just let them go, please. (Tears gush out of her eyes).
Hat man: No! (he forcefully drags her away from the gunpoint) What are you doing? I told you this isn't your choice to make! Leave this to me! Don't interfere. Why are you such a pain to me? Why?
Sekinat: I am sorry! I know I have hurt you several times without number, but I have realized my mistakes. Please don't stop me from making the right decision. It's the least I could do to forgive myself for all the troubles I have caused you and your mom.
Hat man: (yelling angrily) She is not my mother! Got that? Don't ever mention such in front of me again. And as for this, you are going home tonight! Back to where you came from. This is between me and them, so stay out of this if you don't want to see my wrath too.
Empress: (crying) Please Toheeb! Please.
Hat man: Don't you dare touch me! My parents are dead, and you killed them. I can never believe the lie you formed just to save my life. But you are not my mother.
Empress: Please don't say that! I know I have hurt your feelings, but please hear me out. Please.
Empire: (throwing the gun down) Armies! Go to your various houses and leave us alone. (The armies bow and walk away as they murmur.) And as for you three, meet me in my throne room right now!
Four minutes later.
Empire: (entering his throne room and finding just the three old women) What are you old rags doing here?
Old women: (bowing) Your Highness! We are sorry for standing before you, but there is something you need to know and accept.
Empire: What is that?
Old women: It's about your son!
Empire: Get out of my palace right now before I easily grant your last wish of dying.
Old women: You know we don't fear your roaring, and we don't fear death. But we will soon join our ancestors anyway. The truth needs to be out.
Empire: And where the hell are the three of them?
Empress: Please Toheeb! Come in; let's sort this out, please!
Hat man: I hate the fact that you talk to me nicely. Empress, get out of my sight before I attack you! (His eyes have become red.)
Empress: (crying bitterly) Please help me beg him. I swear I am his real mother. There's a reason why we hid this from him all these years. But even your father isn’t aware of this.
Sekinat: Dear, please listen to your mother.
Hat man: (furiously glances at Sekinat) If not for one reason, I would have killed you a long time ago. (He turns to leave when the Empire calls out his name)
Empire: Toheeb!
Hat man: (pauses)
Empire: Come inside.
Hat man: And who the hell are you to tell me what to do, huh? Who the heck are you? You are not my father! If you want to kill me, just do it! I don't see a reason to live anymore. The woman I love rejected me, my parents left me. What's the point of living anyway? So just kill me, and I want it to be with your bare hands.
Empire: Is that how you want it? So shall it be! (He furiously walks up to him with a gun while Hat man moves closer. Their foreheads touch, filled with so much rage in Toheeb’s eyes.) You have got so much nerve, don't you?
Sekinat: (suddenly realizes the resemblance between them and gasps)
Empress: (tries to separate them) Please stop! Don’t do this, please. Toheeb, please
don’t do this. Empire! Is this how you should talk to him?
Empire: (immediately points his gun at his wife again) You are right! You started this in the first place, for hiding this from me all this while? I don't even believe how he became my son!
Hat man: I AM NOT YOUR SON!
Old women: (appear from nowhere) Yes, you are!
Hat man: (shocked to see them) Granny? What are you doing here?
Old women: To do our last mission before joining our ancestors. To tell the real truth behind all these mysteries. With lots of evidence because we knew this day would surely come. And here we are. (They move closer to Hat man) We know you are deeply hurt, but please, for our sake, come inside, and let's discuss this.
Hat man: There is nothing to discuss. I just don’t want to be here anymore! He should set me free! I don’t want to be his puppet anymore.
Old women: We understand your feelings, but all these won't be sorted out if we don’t open the secret door. So please, our son, come with us. Let's reveal the truth behind all these. Please. (They hold his hands, and instantly Hat man can't control his emotions, breaking down in tears for the first time)
Empress: Please, my son! Please give me one more chance, please.
Empire: (studies them, then puts down his gun) You are going to pay for this dearly! (He heads inside his mansion)
Sekinat: (holds Toheeb’s hand and wipes his tears with her hijab) Let's go inside.
Hat man: (can't help it but embraces her in tears, crying bitterly)
20 MINUTES LATER
Silence envelops the atmosphere. All glance at one another with so much rage and anger, but Sekinat is excluded from the discussion as she is given the opportunity to treat Sultan. The tension hangs in the air like a thick fog, waiting for the storm to unfold.
Old Woman 2: Thank you all for gathering here tonight to hear the truth and hidden secrets of thirty-eight years ago. Saratu was held captive by Empire’s father, who happens to be our brother.
Hat man: (raises his eyebrows in disbelief)
Old Woman 2: I know this will be really hard to take in, but you need to lend us your ears. Her story is somehow similar to Sekinat’s, but it diverted to another thing. In fact, she was as lucky as Sekinat as well. She did escape many death trials by Empire’s father, the one and only Gbadamosi, who happened to be the first Mafia in Nigeria.
The Empire was twenty-six when he started falling in love with Saratu, choosing not to express his feelings directly but instead bullying her. He derived joy from seeing her stressed but admired her from afar. He kept his feelings to himself for a year, scared of rejection. On the other side, Saratu had fallen in love with one of the Empire’s subordinates, a guy named Babatunde.
The more the Empire saw them together, the more he found reasons to send
Babatunde into a fight, hoping he would die without the Empire being the killer. All his efforts to eliminate him were in vain. Unable to bear seeing them together anymore, the Empire seized an opportunity to grab Saratu's attention under his mansion. He tried to bully her as usual, but Saratu wasn’t feeling the vibe and got frustrated. She yelled at him that night, expressing her true feelings and warning him never to bully her again. Little did she know, she would regret facing him that night.
The Empire forced himself on her, taking away her virginity. Saratu cried throughout the night and ran to Babatunde, sharing the traumatic experience. This enraged Babatunde, but facing the son of the Empire was no easy task. He promised to plan their escape, and a few days later, Sekinat also slept with Saratu for the first time. Babatunde planned his mission for three months until Saratu broke the news to him that she was expecting his child.
Hat man: (irritated) Really? Really, Empress?
Empress: I’m sorry! Please...
Hat man: And you have the guts to do that?
Empire: Watch your mouth and listen to the whole story. I am also waiting to hear the end.
Old Woman 3: I shall take it from here. So, Toheeb, listen very attentively. Babatunde and your mother couldn't escape after finding out they were expecting a child. The news reached the Empire, infuriating him. His mission became clear – to kill Babatunde at all costs.
The expectant parents supported each other, but the Empire was relentless. On the night you were born, an intruder attacked Gbadamosi’s territory, leading to the loss of many lives. A few weeks after your birth, a mystery unfolded – your mother killed Babatunde with her bare hands.
Toheeb: Yes! I heard that part of the story. She also killed my mother. So, why all these made-up stories?
Old Woman 1: That's not it! We later found out your mother killed Babatunde that night because she caught him in bed with another woman a few weeks after having you. She wasn’t punished for murder. Instead, the Empire used the opportunity to introduce her to his father and promised to take care of her child.
Old Woman 2: No! That’s not it! You are telling the story wrongly. Although that was your view, but...
Empress: Don’t worry, I will take it from here! (She turns to Toheeb) I will tell you everything. The day I found out I was pregnant with you, Babatunde and I tried to escape from Gbadamosi’s territory to start a new life. We were almost caught that night as the Empire found out that I tried to run away with him. He sent his subordinate to find us, but we ran for our dear lives and found ourselves in a small village. We were saved by a young woman of my age, so we hid there until we had you. However, I didn’t know that Babatunde had been having an affair with the lady behind my back while I was ill after having you. I found them in bed together having intercourse. Broken, I ran away from the house that night, leaving my child with them, to clear my head. I bumped into the Empire’s subordinate, who brought me back to the Empire. He promised not to kill me if I became his bride and ordered me to show him our hideout. Due to the anger of betrayal, I did. Babatunde and his mistress were brought back with you, but I couldn’t speak up that you were my child because I was scared he might kill me for having you. So, I lied, saying that you were the lady’s child. Empire: (gasps in disbelief)
Empress: I’m sorry! (Already in tears) Empire: Go on!
Empress: So, to prove my sincerity to you and to prove that I didn’t love Babatunde anymore, I volunteered to kill him and his mistress. But believe me, that was the first time I killed people. I used the gun the Empire gave me. What I never expected was him telling me to kill you too. I begged him not to make me kill you, but he declined, saying that was his final decision. So, I had to bring up the idea of raising you and making you his puppet by training you to be the head of armies that fight future wars. Without hesitation, he agreed, but he said I shouldn’t raise you, and I should give you to some women to do that. I begged Empire’s aunts to help me raise you.
Toheeb: (already soaked in tears)
Empire: So, how is he my son, huh?
Old women: (cut in) He is your son because you were the first to sleep with her. Empress: Based on the calculation, your sperm wins. I conducted several DNA tests when he was a teenager for my doubts, and here they are.
Old women: (hand over a large file to the Empire while he goes through them)
Toheeb: (couldn’t control his tears as Empress goes on her knees, begging for forgiveness)
Empress: I know I have hurt you so badly. I was mean and made life unbearable for you. I forced you to be who you didn’t want to be. Please forgive me, Toheeb, please.
Sekinat: (feeling sorry for him as she stands by the door after treating Sultan)
Empire: So, you are saying he is my biological son.
Hat man: (interrupts him) No! I am not your son still! My father was killed by her, and that's it! I'm done here. (He gets up and tries to leave when Sekinat blocks his way) What are you doing? (Realizes she is crying) And why are you crying too?
This has nothing to do with you.
Sekinat: I know, and I am sorry too...
Hat man: For what?
Sekinat: For hurting your feelings too. For judging you!
Hat man: There is nothing to be sorry about, okay? (He tries to leave the throne room when Sekinat drags him back and embraces him) Please don’t go! Because I know you are going to hurt yourself, and I can't bear to see you hurt again. I can't.
So please, we are all sorry.
Hat man: (holds her tight)
Empress: (moves to them) Please help me beg him! Please… (She goes on her knees in front of Toheeb) Please help me beg him. In fact, just tell me what you want! I promise to grant your wish.
Hat man: Really? Then I want you all dead!
Sekinat: Don’t say that, please. Remember you wanted to start over?
Hat man: (Instantly focuses his attention on her) Yes?
Sekinat: I was hoping we could start all over! I was wrong about you, and I want you to give me one more chance to make things right.
Hat man: Are you serious? Are you being serious right now? (Suddenly forgets his sorrows)
Sekinat: (nods happily) Yes! And that can only happen if they grant us our freedom.
All eyes are on the Empire immediately.
Empire: You already know too much about us here!
Sekinat: I promise I won't tell anyone! I promise.
Empire: Even if you did, no one can defeat me! And I will tell you why you can't defeat me. If no one can defeat the Nigerian Government, then no one can defeat me.
Sekinat: So, is that a yes for us? To leave?
Empress: Pleaseeee... (She crawls to her husband) Please.
Empire: He is my heir! So just know you can't run away from me no matter what! Because the mafia blood is still in you! I will grant your wish, but this will always be your home. (He gets up and leaves)
Empress: Thank you!!
Hat man: (doesn’t hesitate when he begins to kiss Sekinat in front of everyone) Old women: (smile and hold each other) What a happy ending.
Few days later
Summayah: Ayomide! Go get the door! Someone is knocking.
Shuaib: Ok, Mum. (He runs to open the door, and the ball he was playing with falls from his hand) Big aunty!!! Mummy!!! Big aunty is back!!
Summayah: (shocked and runs to the door, almost losing balance as she sees Sekinat standing with a tall man in a suit) Se... Sekin... Sekinat! (Tears gush down from her eyes as she runs to embrace her)
Alhaja Selimat: (running down the stairs as she heard Sekinat’s voice, she almost fell down, but the excitement to see her precious daughter didn’t stop her from
getting to the door. She embraces Sekinat in tears) Okomi!! Ahhhhhhh!
Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alamin... I thought I lost you!!! (Breaks down in tears as
Summayah joins to embrace her)
Sekinat: (coughing) I … can’t… I can’t breathe.
Summayah: (quickly lets go of her) Sorry. Please come in... Good morning, sir! Toheeb: Good morning, ma. Good morning, Alhaja. (Tries to prostrate, but they quickly stop him)
Alhaja Selimat: Baba mi! Welcome... Please come in.
Sekinat: Before we come in! I would like to introduce my husband to you... His name is Toheeb! Toheeb... This is my mom and my elder sister... And this is our little baby of the house...
Alhaja Selimat: (glances at Summayah) Husband? Since when did you get married?
Sekinat: It’s… uhmmm, a long story! Can we come in now?
Alhaja Selimat and Summayah: Yes, please come in.
Sekinat: (smiles at Toheeb as he holds her hand)
________________________________________________________________
Weeks passed like heavy storm clouds hanging over Sekinat's life after her family broke the tragic news about the demise of her father and her father-in-law. The weight of sorrow pressed down on her, leaving her broken and weeping in solitude. Facing her family again was a journey through a desert of grief, each step heavier than the last.
When the time came, Sekinat mustered the strength to narrate the harrowing tale of her abduction, her forced marriage, and the relentless death sentences she faced. Toheeb, her unwavering support, stood by her side as she poured out the pain that had been etched into her soul.
Despite the tears that flowed freely, Sekinat chose to shield her family from the darkest secrets of her captivity. Toheeb, understanding the depth of her sacrifice, appreciated her silence, a silent pact between them that spoke volumes.
In the midst of her recounting, Sekinat unraveled the complex emotions she had harbored toward Toheeb. From the forced union that bound them to the gradual realization of the love that had silently blossomed, her narrative wove a tapestry of emotions that revealed the resilience of the human spirit.
As Sekinat disclosed the layers of her experiences, she inadvertently peeled away the protective layers around her heart. It was in the vulnerability of those moments that the truth of her feelings emerged. She confessed how the coercion into marriage had paved the way for genuine affection, and eventually, love.
Toheeb faced the formidable challenge of winning over Sekinat's family, who were initially resistant to the idea of their daughter marrying a former mafia. Determined to prove he had shed his past life, Toheeb embarked on a months-long journey of redemption, tirelessly striving to convince them that he had undergone a profound transformation.
With unwavering persistence and sincerity, Toheeb laid bare his commitment to a new path, pledging never to return to the shadows of his past. His genuine efforts to showcase the depth of his change and the sincerity of his intentions gradually began to chip away at the walls of skepticism erected by Sekinat's family. Four months later, the culmination of this transformative journey arrived as the nikkah day for Sekinat was fixed, marked by a joyous celebration, a walimatul nikkah, to commemorate the union. It became a testament not only to the love between Toheeb and Sekinat but also to the power of redemption and the
possibility of a brighter, shared future.
The promise made during this period of redemption carried weight—Sekinat's family had agreed not to reveal Toheeb's true identity to the world. As the couple stood on the threshold of their new life, surrounded by the warmth of family and the echoes of promises made, they faced the future hand in hand, ready to embrace the challenges and joys that lay ahead.
Toheeb's journey toward redemption took a profound turn as he embraced a newfound faith and sought to build a life that reflected his commitment to change. As he stepped into the role of a practicing Muslim, he laid the foundation for a fresh beginning, guided by the principles of Islam. The echoes of the call to prayer resonated within the walls of their new home, signifying a transformation that extended beyond the surface.
In his pursuit of a new life, Toheeb established a business, creating a venture that symbolized his dedication to carving out an identity distinct from the shadows of his past. Concurrently, he enrolled in an Islamic school, immersing himself in the teachings of the Quran and the Prophet's teachings. This dual commitment to entrepreneurship and religious education became the pillars upon which Toheeb constructed his path to redemption.
In the calm before the wedding storm, Toheeb found himself ensnared by the echoes of his past. His phone buzzed incessantly with calls from a father who refused to let go of the shadows that clung to Toheeb's history. Threats veiled in ominous warnings about the inevitability of his return to the world he had tried to escape were delivered by undercover armies, like specters from a bygone era. Toheeb, resolute in distancing himself from the life he once led, chose to ignore his father's relentless calls. However, the haunting messages found their way through the whispers of spies and emissaries, serving as a constant reminder that the past was a ghost that refused to be laid to rest.
Even calls from his mother, laden with the weight of unspoken truths and untold stories, went unanswered. Toheeb shielded Sekinat from the encroaching darkness, sparing her the burden of his familial ties to the underworld. Yet, in the quiet moments of solitude, he couldn't escape the gnawing worry that the tendrils of his past might cast a shadow over the new life he was building with Sekinat.
As they stepped into their shared future, Toheeb purchased a new mansion, a symbolic gesture of leaving the old behind and embracing a fresh start. The walls of their new home echoed with the laughter of impending joy, but they also carried the unspoken weight of secrets and the ever-looming specter of Toheeb's lineage.
Meanwhile, Sekinat wrestled with her own inner turmoil. The truth about the past, the act of taking a life to protect herself, haunted her conscience. As the wedding day approached, she found herself caught between the desire to shield Toheeb from her own dark history and the weight of the unspoken truth that hung in the air like a heavy fog. The prospect of beginning a new life with a secret so profound gnawed at her, threatening to cast its shadow over the vows they were about to exchange.
However, his past, embodied by the looming figure of his father, persisted as a haunting presence. Threats and disturbances continued to infiltrate Toheeb's peaceful existence, a reminder that the ties to his former life were not easily severed.
Yet, Toheeb chose to shield Sekinat's family from the harsh truth of his lineage. Instead, he crafted a narrative that portrayed himself as a victim of circumstance, an individual whose family had been abducted and killed by the mafia, forcing him into a life of crime against his will. The web of deception was woven not out of malice but as a protective shield, shielding his newfound family from the darkness that lurked in his past.
As Toheeb navigated the delicate balance between his secrets and the desire for a righteous life, he continued to strive for redemption, unwavering in his commitment to building a future free from the shackles of his past.
As the curtains fall on this chapter of Toheeb and Sekinat's lives, the future remains shrouded in uncertainty. Time, the silent narrator of destinies, holds the pen to the unwritten pages that may or may not unfold in a potential Part Two. The story's continuation, like the ebb and flow of life, is a tale yet to be revealed.
Will their newfound love weather the storms of secrets and shadows? Can Toheeb truly escape the clutches of his mafia past, or will it resurface to challenge the tranquility he seeks? Only time shall tell, as the characters navigate the uncharted territories of their shared destiny.