Baccin So Part 1 Complete Hausa Novel

At seven different places, people came saying, “Take the bride there, take the bride to Ammi so that her son can receive her blessings.” But Maman Baby refused and said they should move on without her. Ammi herself wanted to step out, but fear of being embarrassed in public made her remain where she was. Besides, Amira could not move without following her, and Miemie, who had finally managed to crawl her way there and settle down, preferred to remain seated among her children, since they were the joy of her life.

They quickly arranged the sitting room where people had gathered and mopped everywhere. Miemie burned incense, and after they prayed Isha, Ammi turned on cartoons on the TV in the parlor for her, because she agreed to stay there while Ammi went to bathe.

She said,

“Stay here with Miemie while I go and bathe. Sit and watch your cartoon, blessed child. Let me go and freshen up.”

Ammi did not wait for her reply before leaving. As she went, she signaled Maryam with her eyes to keep an eye on her. Amirah followed Ammi with her eyes until she entered her bedroom, then slowly turned her head back to the TV. Quietly, Miemie said,

“You really love Ammi. You cannot live without Ammi, Amirah.”

Then she heard her phone ringing from their room, which was close to Ammi’s room. She quickly stood up and said,

“Ya Amirah, I’ll be back. Ya Umar is calling me.”

She left for their room, and the room was left with only Amirah inside. For about ten minutes, she sat there alone watching TV when the sitting-room door was opened and someone greeted from inside:

“Assalamu Alaikum.”

Amirah gave a sudden jump and came down from the chair she was sitting on, quickly lowering her head. An elderly man had entered, dressed in a suit. His face was hard and devoid of mercy. He gave Amirah an unpleasant look, then said resentfully,

“You, where is your mother?”

Amirah kept her head down, playing with her fingers and rubbing her hands on her thighs, as though the question was not directed at her at all. The old man hissed in irritation.

“Tch! Useless girl!”

He walked past her, the sound of his covered shoes clicking sharply against the tiles of the parlor. He opened Ammi’s bedroom door, entered, and then shut it hard behind him, making Amirah start again in fear. She raised her head and stared at the door, then touched the side of her face with her hand, unable to return to her seat. Her hands trembled as she kept rubbing them over her body again and again.

The loud bang of the door made Ammi rush out of the bathroom in confusion, trying to tie her bath wrapper properly, because she had thought Amirah had fallen. When she saw the man, she stopped, then let out a small sigh and said,

“Welcome, Daddy. Honestly, I thought Amirah had fallen. You should have seen how frightened I was.”

He shot her a dark look, raised his hand toward her, and said,

“That’s not why I’m here, Madam. What exactly did you say to Asiya today?”

Ammi said quietly,

“How do you mean?”

Very angrily, Daddy advanced toward her as if about to strike her and said,

“You have no respect. How dare you disrespect my wife? Weren’t you the one who said you would cook and then failed to do so, and instead started insulting her in public on her daughter’s wedding day? Why are you so mannerless? You are a very, very useless woman. No wonder you gave birth to that useless, foolish, dumb-headed girl over there!”

The insults he directed at her did not hurt her much, but the ones he aimed at Amirah pierced her deeply.

Ammi’s heart dropped. She glanced at the door because she knew the way shouting and quarrels triggered Amirah’s condition, especially since Amirah was never at ease around her father, who could hardly tolerate her. Full of worry and trying to lower the tension, Ammi said softly,

“Daddy, please be patient and don’t raise your voice. Amirah is in the parlor, and you know she is not fully well—”

Slap!

He hit Ammi with a painful slap before she could even recover herself. Then with both hands, he shoved her hard. Because the bath water was still around her feet, she slipped and fell heavily to the ground.

Daddy, breathing hard with rage, said,

“So now you are lecturing me? Because of that mad girl you gave birth to, I should not speak to you? Who do you think you are? Are you telling me how I should behave because of that dumb mental girl?”