A Deen House Part 1 Complete Hausa Novel

A young girl was squatting by the water pump. Judging by her age, she could not have been more than seventeen. She was playing with a catfish splashing about in the water, smiling, when she suddenly felt someone cover her eyes. The scent of perfume that reached her nose and filled her head told her at once who it was. She laughed, revealing her beautiful teeth, and said:

“Brother Zain, you can’t fool me. I’m sure even Umma doesn’t know you came today.”

He uncovered her eyes and said:

“Zainab, you’re not clever at all. They’re fetching water here, and you’ve joined these lemon-selling girls to sit here playing with fish. Just look at how soaked you are.”

Umma, who was coming out, said:

“Good, thank God He brought you back. Though with you, you’re always quick to answer her cries. If it were Deen, she probably would have hidden herself by now. Welcome. So you were on your way, but you didn’t tell us?”

He smiled, took Zainab’s hand to the base of the pump, poured clean water over it, turned on the tap, and began washing her hand, saying:

“My dear old father’s little girl, wallahi, I ran back from camp because I missed you all, especially this noisy little sister of mine. Though I can see she’s not doing badly at all—her chest is already starting to show signs of prosperity…”

She pouted, pulled her hand away, and stamped her foot, saying:

“God forbid! Brother Zain, stop it or I’ll stop paying attention to you, and I’ll even stop calling you brother…”

He lunged at her and said:

“Then let me sew up that rude mouth of yours so you’ll stop calling me brother with all these excuses.”

She screamed and ran into the room, with him chasing after her, while Umma laughed at them and said:

“You, Zain, will never grow up. You’ve spoiled these children so much they no longer respect you, as if you were their playmate. Anyway, once you finish your silliness, come and eat. The food is ready.”

As soon as they entered the room, she threw herself onto Bahijjah, who was lying down, laughing, and saying:

“Please, Brother, I’m sorry. I beg you, I won’t do it again.”

Bahijjah pushed her away and said:

“You, acting as if you know how to comfort widowers.”

Then seeing Zain come in, she jumped up and hugged him too, saying:

“Oh bro, we’ve missed you so much! Umma hasn’t let us go anywhere since you left. We kept begging her to let us go choose the aso-ebi for Brother Deen’s wedding, but she refused, and now there are only three weeks left until the wedding.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and said:

“Then it’s a good thing I ran back. Now let’s pray, eat, and then we’ll go choose the most beautiful one of all.”

They started screaming with excitement, and Zainab even danced as they ran out. They went to Umma in the kitchen, greeting her warmly. She looked up and said:

“You useless girls, you refused to help me work. It’s only when you see food that you come pretending to care about me. Save that behavior of yours; it will be useful with your husbands.”

They laughed, nudging one another, and she came out of the kitchen saying:

“Well then, serve yourselves. And if you like, serve your brother Deen too, or leave him. You all know the rest better than I do.”

They began struggling over who would serve Zain his food, each claiming she would do it. Zain, who was behind them, stepped forward and said:

“Give it all to me—I’m the one who’s going to eat the food.”

Bahijjah handed him the tray, mocking Zainab. Zainab tried to hit her, but she dodged and ran off laughing. Just like that, they all went into the sitting room and spread out to eat. One picked up meat, another snatched some and gave it to Brother Zain, while Umma watched them smiling. The closeness of her children filled her with happiness. They were all delightful, each one wishing to make the others happy.

Right then, Deen came in greeting them, his bag slung over his shoulder. All of them looked up, but Zainab’s heart skipped when her eyes landed on his face, which showed none of the warmth of cheerfulness. In her heart she said:

“If it weren’t for the good looks Allah gave him, he wouldn’t even be bearable to look at, because of his constant harshness. His face is always like a storm cloud.”

While she was thinking this, she heard him say:

“Well done, Abulle.”

Her heart jumped, and she stammered:

“Welcome back, Brother.”

He did not reply, except to grunt, then said:

“And you, what brought you back?”

Zain scratched his head and said:

“We were given interval training break, so I just felt like coming home.”

Deen nodded and said:

“Good for you. Zainab, bring me juice and my food in my room.”

Without realizing it, she looked at Umma. She wanted to speak, but she was afraid of Deen’s temper. So she lowered her head and quietly stirred the spoon in the salad mixture she was about to serve herself.