Halysaah Part 1 Complete Hausa Novel

“Talk to Abdul about it. I know he will never agree to something like this, and he will definitely find a way out for you immediately…”

Khaleesat widened her eyes as she looked at her friend Safiyyah, as if she wasn’t going to say anything. Then she slowly lowered her gaze and said,

“That would be another huge burden, Safiyyah. You know how expensive apartments can be in this state—housing here is very costly. And I already told you, I won’t ask him for anything again, or ask him to do something for me…”

Safiyyah said, “Cabdi, if you don’t ask him, who else will you ask? Besides, you know his character—at any moment he could turn this whole situation against you. I think it’s better you just inform him; it will give you peace of mind.”

Khaleesat fell silent, reflecting on what Safiyyah said. Then she sighed and shook her head.

“It’s fine, Safiyyah. There’s no need to tell him. I will cope, in sha Allah. After all, we only have a year and a half left.”

Safiyyah looked at her, held her hand, and said,

“Or you can come back with me and I’ll tell them my friend is coming to stay with us for a while.”

Khaleesat shook her head.

“Let’s not inconvenience them, Safiyyah. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll sort myself out.”

Safiyyah said,

“No, I will talk to Ya Musty about your current situation, Khaly. I know he won’t say no. It’s just his wife—she’s a real troublemaker, and do I even care? You don’t even know what she’s doing to me in the house now. Every night she refuses to cook with me, so I have to look for something to eat myself. You know Ya Musty works night shifts, and you also know I prefer junk food anyway. I just mix cornflakes and drink something.”

Khaleesat smiled and said,

“So you want me to come and live in that situation? You are very funny.”

Safiyyah rolled her eyes.

“So what? I mean, you won’t be living alone if you come back home. Ya Musty is my cousin, have you forgotten? Whether she likes it or not, I must stay in that house until I finish my studies. She’s very wicked and self-centered. Honestly, don’t worry at all—once I talk to Ya Musty, just pack your things and come home, even if it’s tomorrow.”

Khaleesat said,

“No, please don’t even start that, Safiyyah. I’ll cope with my present situation with time. I know I’ll gradually get used to it. Besides, it’s something normal—I’m just stressing myself because of my religion, my culture, and some other unavoidable things. Anyway… it’s fine, Safiyyah.”

As she said that, she looked at her phone when a notification came in.

“I think my Lyft is here, Sophie. See you tomorrow, in sha Allah.”

Safiyyah sighed.

“Okay then. Take care of yourself. I’ll stroll home too.”

That was how they parted ways. Khaleesat headed to the Lyft she had ordered to take her home.

Around 10 p.m., Khaleesat was in the kitchen. She had finished cooking noodles for dinner when she heard the parlor door open. Calmly, she poured the Indomie into a plate, picked up a fork, washed the pot, put it away, opened the fridge, took a bottle of water, and left the kitchen, heading straight to her room.

Right in the corridor, a door to a room just a few steps from hers opened. She didn’t even look in that direction. As she tried to open her door, she heard:

“Hi, good evening. We didn’t get to meet when I was here in the morning—I guess you had already left for school. You can call me Jay. I’m your new housemate. I moved in this morning.”

It was only then Khaleesat turned and looked at him, but she said nothing. He nodded at her and said,

“Jay.”

Without any expression, she replied,

“I see.”

When he noticed she was about to enter her room, he said,

“One minute, please.”

She turned and looked at him again with a certain expression. Briefly, he asked,

“Are you Hausa?”

She frowned slightly and said,

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He said,

“Oh, okay. I’m actually asking for permission.”

She just stared at him. He adjusted his posture and said,

“As you can see, it’s already late. Can I use some of your drinking water and beverages before I get mine tomorrow, if you don’t mind?”

Khaleesat looked away briefly and said,

“Okay.”

“Alright,” he replied.

She went into her room, locked the door, and inserted the key. Even after finishing her noodles, she didn’t feel comfortable opening the door to take the plate back to the kitchen. Eventually, she left it there, went to the bathroom, rinsed her mouth, performed ablution, and came out. She sat on the edge of her bed and picked up her phone.

She saw two missed calls from Abdul, both made around 6 p.m. She sighed and checked the time—about 10:30 p.m. Meanwhile, it was almost 5 a.m. in Nigeria. She opened WhatsApp and saw that he was online, so she called him.

When he picked up, she greeted him softly. He didn’t respond but said,

“So now you’re seeing my calls?”

She let out a restrained sigh and said,

“I’m sorry, I just saw them now, honestly.”

He said,

“You mean your phone wasn’t with you all this while?”

She replied,

“Not really. Since I came back from school, I’ve been studying. In a few months, we’ll start exams.”

He said,

“I see. So that means I don’t deserve your time because you’re starting exams? How can your phone ring and you claim you didn’t know, unless you’re being careless?”

She didn’t know what to say. The phone had been on silent, and he had warned her several times not to put it on silent. To avoid more issues, she didn’t mention it. Softly, she said,

“I’m sorry. Honestly, that’s not the case. I’m sorry…”

He replied,

“Sorry for yourself. Madam, I want you to tell me where you were that your phone rang twice and you didn’t hear it. Your lectures ended by 4 p.m. Baltimore time, so where did you go after that?”

She closed her eyes and opened them again, already tired of the accusations. After a few seconds, she spoke gently:

“I was in the parlor studying. My phone was in the room.”

He said,

“So you’ve started staying in the parlor? When did that begin? Has your housemate stopped bringing her boyfriend into the house?”

Khaleesat’s heart skipped. Slowly, she said,

“She’s not around. She traveled to LA yesterday.”

He said,

“This is the third time this week I’ve called you and you didn’t pick up until you felt like responding. That nonsense must not repeat itself again. Are you the only one studying, or do you want to teach me how exams work?”

Khaleesat stayed silent, tears filling her eyes. Slightly angrily, he said,

“Didn’t you hear me?”

In a soft voice, she replied,

“I heard you. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, in sha Allah.”

He said,

“Good. You can go to bed.”

While wiping the tears that wouldn’t stop falling, she said,

“Thank you. Good night.”

He ended the call. She placed the phone beside the bed, laid her head on the pillow, and cried. After a while, she got up, went to the bathroom, washed her face, returned, turned off the light, said her bedtime prayers, and lay down.

The next day, Friday, Khaleesat and her classmates finished their lectures early. She and Safiyyah were sitting in the same spot as the previous day, Safiyyah on a call. Khaleesat was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize when Safiyyah ended the call. Safiyyah tapping her shoulder brought her back.

Safiyyah said,

“What’s wrong, Khaleesat? I’ve been talking and you didn’t even notice. What are you thinking about?”

Khaleesat forced a smile and said,

“I’m just missing our mother and my siblings.”

Safiyyah shook her head.

“I don’t believe that. There’s definitely something bothering you.”

Khaleesat changed the topic and said,

“You were talking to George, right?”

Safiyyah lowered her voice.

“Please, it’s the weekend tomorrow. Get ready—we’re going to Virginia, Leesat. George is throwing a birthday party tomorrow, and we’re going to the beach. Please don’t say no. We need to take a break and rest our brains. It can’t always be studying, as if we’re the ones who brought Western education into the world…”