#1

She walked out of their tattered mud bathroom, lifting the milk curtain that turned to brown and also serves as the door. She walked forward, wiping away the splatter of foam over her forehead. She smiled when her mother; whom they fondly call Ammi walked out of their room and ambled towards their mud kitchen, halting midway. 

"Fadwa, you need to act fast please. Majida had already left for school; something about having an extra early test," Ammi said and disappeared into the kitchen, not waiting for Fadwa's reply because she knew she'd hardly get anything more than a nod and a smile. 

Fadwa nodded and smile, and she heard Ammi's voice again. Whom peeked her head through the cloud of smoke forming from the piles of firewoods she stocked in between three big stones that serve as the stove. 

"You might need to wash your forehead again, your left shoulder also. For Allah's sake, Fadwa; what a 19 years old still bathe like this?" Ammi inquired and a soft hiss escaped her lips. Fadwa had never had a clean and thoroughly bath in her life. It's either she has foam in her forehead, shoulder, or back. 

"Ammi I'll get ready now." Fadwa smiled and threw the small plastic bucket into their water well that's just some feet to the bathroom. She fetched the water and washed away the splatter of foam on her forehead, left shoulder and proceeded in performing ablution. 

She silently prowled to their room; which has only an iron bed that's probably with her Ammi since when she got married. One mattress that was rested on the left wall adjacent to their pile of clothes. Some clothes were thrown higgledy-piggledy on their iron boxes, while some were stacked carefully inside. 

She sauntered to the right side of the room; which serves as their kitchen, living room, and also where they could call a mirror. Briskly, Fadwa applied vaseline on her body and dabbed its remnant on her face. She applied kohl to her eyes carefully and spritz the last air away from their perfume; throwing the can into the basket Ammi used to keep her finished cosmetics. 

She walked to the bed and found her uniform already brought out by Majida. Smiling gratuitously; Fadwa slid into her faded undergarments and wore on her uniform. She put on her white hijab and adjusted it over her head before she sat down and slid on her socks on her slender and fragile-looking feet. She pulls out she trampled sandals under the bed and fixed them perfectly on her feet before she stood up and ambled towards the door. 

She almost bumped into Ammi when she halted by the door. "I'm done, Ammi," she informed, fixing back her bag that slipped out of her shoulder. 

Ammi walked inside the room before she dropped the container having Fadwa's breakfast in it. "You should eat before leaving, Fadwa. Take this 50 naira also, give Majida thirty and urge her to buy something and eat there, please. You should use the twenty nairas and buy something also." She began unravelling the knot tied at the edge of her wrapper, pulling out stacks of old naira notes before she handed Fadwa the fifty nairas. 

"I'll eat this tuwo. Majida will use the thirty nairas and we'll bring back your change, Ammi. I have nothing to buy there." She ignored her Ammi's stare and sat down on their faded red carpet and began eating the hot sizzling dumamen tuwo. 

She ate almost half of it and stood up; putting the fifty nairas into her bag. "I'm full Ammi; Sabeehah should eat the remaining when she wakes up. And I'll see if I can take her to a chemist when I'm back." She smiled fondly at her mother before lifting their maroon curtain and walked out of the room. 

She stood midway and glanced at the other room of their small house. From where she stood; she could hear him snoring deeply, and she knew he was just back after she entered the room to get herself ready for school. Not wanting to witness one of his gross vomiting sessions, she pouted her lips and rushed out of the house.

"Fadwa! Wait for me please!" Fadwa heard someone yelled her name from behind, as she was walking fast to make it in time to their school. A government girl's secondary school that was few kilometres away from their home. 

She turned back and came face to face with her only best friend; Nadia. They live in the same area with only two houses separating them. They smiled at each other before Nadia pulled Fadwa into a slight hug. 

"I knew you would always be late," Nadia commented and they started walking forward before Fadwa replied her. 

"I had to wash the clothes Sabeehah spoilt yesterday; she was so sick and couldn't sleep." Fadwa reasoned and Nadia saw the glint of sadness in her eyes. She's a reserved lady, but with a single glimpse, Nadia could point out what is eating her up. 

"I know you're worried right? Don't get yourself stressed out, Fadwa. Insha Allah, we will find a way out of this, and she will be fine." Nadia consoled and they kept walking towards their school; hands entwined. 

Their mates were at the gate when they arrived, halting the juniors that came late. Fadwa slowly slipped out of the crowd and went directly to their class. Nadia stopped at the gate together with her classmates. 

They're in the same school, but different classes. While Fadwa is in the art class, Nadia is in science. Apart from that, almost everything of theirs is the same. The bell rang and they all dispersed into their various classrooms. 

None in Fadwa's class looked up at her or even acknowledged her presence in the class, and that was what she wanted. She always feels invisible in wherever she is, and people get to prove her thoughts right. 

•

She slowly pushed their ironed door forward and it creaked before she took in the sight before her. She felt a lump in her throat, at the sight of Baffah lashing out her Ammi in their small courtyard that has nothing but the well, bathroom, and their dustbin at the back of the door. With the rope line pinned from the left wall to the right. 

She ran over her Ammi and shielded her, making Baffah's belt to land on her back. Ammi tried pushing her but she hugged her so tight that the woman had no choice but to hug her back and continued crying. 

Sabeehah who was laying by their room's door; crying and gasping for breath-laboriously ran to them and hugged Baffah's leg in protest. "Baffah please stop beating them, as you can see-I'm fine now, you don't have to give out your money for my medication. Please stop beating Ammi and Addah Fadwa." The six years old little girl cried. She wailed when Baffah pushed her and her head hit the iron bucket Fadwa left beside the water well since morning. 

"Baffah!!!" None but Majida could yell out his name this loud in the house. She looked dangerously infuriated, taking each step towards them like a hungry lion. 

He looked at her and stopped, something about this girl he gave birth to is unnerving. "The girl you're beating my mother and sister about said she's fine and doesn't need your money anymore. Use your money and buy what will surely kill you someday. Till date, I'll forever be sad about having you as a father!" She yelled through tears and walked towards Fadwa that has her whole body shielding her Ammi. 

Lifting Fadwa, she held her left arm and they together helped Ammi stood up. Fadwa ran towards Sabeehah and took her in her arms before they entered their room, having Baffah's last words echoing in their eardrums. 

"You good for nothing! I regret living every one of you alive!" He barked before he entered his room, and they knew what would follow afterwards after some hours to come. 

"Everything will be fine, you need not worry." She always said that, and her mother seemed to see her words as a mantra, not something that would happen in this life anymore. Ammi rested her back on the wall and extended her hand towards a sobbing Sabeehah. 

"Let me inspect your wounds. Does it pain much?" Ammi asked, carefully placing her shaking hand on Sabeehah's forehead that has a dent of blood on it. 

"I'm fine, Ammi. Please stop asking him for anything, I don't want him to be beating you always, please." Sabeehah slurred in between tears and placed her head on Ammi's laps. 

Majida hissed for the umpteenth time while removing her uniform. She wore a faded A-shaped Ankara gown and wrapped her veil tightly around her neck. 

She came back and sat down beside a ruminative Fadwa that hadn't still uttered a single word. "Ammi I don't understand why you would let this man beat you as if you've got no one to stand for you in this world! If you can't fight him back, then run for your life, Ammi. For Allah's sake, your whole body has marks of his beatings, what kind of life are we living in this house?" She was at the verge of breaking into tears but was fuming as well. She couldn't understand the reason why Ammi would still live with this monster of a man, that has no good in their lives but bad. 

"You'll never understand, Majida. We don't have anything to eat, you all must be hungry right?" Ammi asked rather, looking at them with her misty eyes that emote her undying love towards them. 

"Ammi for once, you should worry about yourself, please!" Majida uttered and finally broke into tears. It hurts seeing her family like this, without being able to the anything about it rather than yell at their father whenever he's physically abusing them. 

Fadwa looked at her family and wrapped her arms around Majida's shoulder. "It's okay, Majida. Ammi I bought us something from a nearby stalk. And I'm taking Sabeehah to a chemist after she eats something." She extended the black nylon leather towards her mother. 

"Where did you get the money to buy all this? And now you're taking Sabeehah to the chemist? Umm Fadwa?"

"I sold out my English and Mathematics textbooks in a pawns shop on my way back. I know we need these more than I need them, they might be of no use to me anymore." She didn't want to tell them now, not so soon. She knew they would be worried, knowing there's no way they could help her out. But she needs to see them excel more she wants to see herself making it in life. 

"What do you mean by of no use to you?" It was Majida that asked the question now. Knowing the look on Majida's face, Fadwa had no choice but to answer the question. 

"You know it's time for WAEC and NECO registration, and the cost is highly much. We don't have that money, Majida. I should sell off my textbooks and fend for our needs than seeing them always to even remind me I was once in school." She spoke as if talking about her dropping out of school wouldn't take a toll on her family. Casually, she walked towards their boxes and stripped out of her clothes and wore on a skirt and blouse. 

She fixed her hijab carefully and looked at their speechless faces, smiling widely at them. She stretched her hand towards Sabeehah and lifted her. "Ammi I'll go to Nadia's' and she'll escort me to the chemist, we will be back soon. You should eat please, Majida boil water for her so she could take a warm bath."

They all wanted to stop her and ask her to eat, to tell her that she too needs to take a hot bath; but before they could open their lips, she had already closed the house's iron door.