aiy

laiman had learned how to ca

a tech infrastructure strategies without flinching. There was the dutiful daughter who still lowered her eyes and softened her tone the moment her father's voice filled

were off, the deals signed, the heels off, and the silence too loud to ignore. A woman st

elf was raw. And hon

g wash over her. The breeze carried the faint scent of suya from a nearby street vendor. A chorus of birds argued in the neem tree across th

he had been too busy to notice how time moved. She had juggled meetings, Zoom calls, deadlines, and breaking fast alone at

g to soften. To exhale. The holy mon

Eid drawing ne

du

ly be home. She missed the rhythm of it. The slow mornings with her mother humming as she stirred tuwo. The laughter of her sisters arguing over outfit

she tapped her phone and dialed th

cked up on th

ed us today o!" her mother said in Haus

h a soft laugh. "I call all the time.

eard they mentioned your name on AIT the other day. One uncle said, 'Is that Alhaji S

much," Suraiyah teased.

hat deep belly-laugh that always managed to lift Suraiyah's spirits. "It's good. You were sharp from t

er mother's praise always came lace

d, tone shifting, "you are

edule already. I'll drive in

o, your aunties will all be there. And your sisters-Zainab and Maryam-they've already sent th

l? N

r mother's friends, extended cousins from Zaria, aunties from Kano, and the neighborhood well-wishers who app

the unmarried first daughter,"

start. Is it not you who keeps rejecti

e w

uraiyah said gently.

thing. We looked at character, family, tradition. You respect those things. Two of your s

had heard this many times before, but today it stung diff

ruly. But you raised me to think for

s quiet for a

just want you to have someone

. That... was no

"That's all

"I hope you're not fasting alone again in that cold city.

.. different now.

that used to dance like a

erent season," S

ked. I'll even let you serve meat so you can intimid

en they hung up, the silence that

mory. Full

d across the skyline like scattered dreams. A few children's voic

t warning-her t

h

F

here when her car broke down, like something written long ago. Who looked at her not like s

expectations? The mother who praised with fire and judged with love? T

want her if h

id-would she be brave enoug