Chapter 05

It had been a week, and throughout the week Hassan and Hussain had lived in the house; Hassan had been a good guy and Hussain had been on her neck. Had it been he showed some mercy on his face or even smiled a little, Nadia wouldn't have minded about him. But whenever he made an appearance in their living room or in Hajia's chamber, he made her uncomfortable and made sure she felt like a third wheel. He didn't smile, not to talk of him laughing.

She only heard those when he was together with Hassan, in the confines of his room. Because she made it clear to Hassan that their room is highly confidential and whenever they wanted a late night convo, they did it in his room. She hated how he took Hassan away from her, but then she thought, she had no choice because he knew her husband even before they were born.

Today being a Friday and they were all leaving on Sunday, Nadia felt the urge to visit a recreational place together with her Twin, because he told her he wouldn't be back early this time around. The almost two weeks he spent at home had made lots of work jammed up for him. She felt bad, but that's the nature of their work, especially the year end when everyone wanted to go abroad for a vacation and the ones there wanted to be back home.

Hussain being a pilot was no different from Hassan. Hassan organised and Hussain flew.

She had just finished speaking to her brother on phone, her mother wasn't at home, she had left for Dubai for her business. They were the only ones at home and she had to make sure if everything was moving perfectly.

It was after noon, and she had nothing to do, all the movies felt boring to her, even their names. The ice creams are no longer appealing her eyes, she just wanted to go out. On her rescue, Hassan walked inside the room and she saw the sweat formed on his chest and neck line. They played football, it was obvious from the way he was panting and looked tired. She wondered how they enjoyed the ball with only two of them on the field. What she noticed was that, they wanted no one around them whenever they're together, and that was fine with her.

"Singleton, I'm tired. So tired." He slumped on the bed beside her and placed his head on her thigh, looking directly into her eyes. She smiled and stroked his hair.

"You must have enjoyed yourself today, you look thrilled. I'm glad you're happy." She didn't mind about his sweaty body, she planted a small peck on his lips and fixed her eyes on his.

"I'm always happy whenever Second H is around me, then you, then Hajia. You are all that I've got in life, and that useless girl; Sohila." Their baby sis, they had always argued with Hussain about who loved her the most, and whenever it got too intense, Hassan had to take the lose and Hussain won. She was given birth to when they were ten years old, they practically raised her. Their father died five years after she was born, and everyone of them wanted to be a father figure in her life. Now that she was 18 and they were 28, she had both father and brothers in them.

"The way you loved Sohila so much and always talk about her, I'll spill your secret whenever she comes back home. I can't wait for visiting day to come, actually." She grinned, because even though Hassan was soft in the outer world, he was a bit tough with Sohila to give her a father touch, and Hussain's mumu button was just a single touch on that girl.

"I dare you to do it, and I'll tell Second H what you said about him last night." He grinned and tickled her waist.

"Oh no please, he hates me already, and now he can get you the second wife he always brags about if he hears that." He laughed so hard while she remembered how she described Hussain as that evil step mother she read in books and watched in movies during her childhood. She said he would've been the worst kind of step mother if he were a woman.

"Now that we both have secrets to keep or spill at the same time, let's have our shower."

Hassan sat upright and pinched her nose as he began undressing himself. A single touch from Hassan affected her, and whenever he undressed, she found her nuts going wayward.

"I've already had my bath, you should go and do yours. I want to go to that park I heard about today, before you guys leave. Yalla, you don't want to miss your Friday prayer, would you?" She smiled at him and tried dipping her legs into her blanket when he took her into his arms.

"Someone's wife is shy because she has seen a well physique body for days, and now she doesn't want to bath together with him, doesn't she missed him?" She was in his arms, the bridal style. While he looked at her with eyes that had the combination of lust and love. She ducked her face away, afraid to look at him lest he saw her plea of being intimate with him.

"Twin, drop me down. You're going to miss your Friday prayer fah, and Second H won't be happy with that." She tried to get herself out of his hold but couldn't, he was way more stronger than she could ever thought of being.

"It's been long I bathe you myself, and we have like two hours to the prayer time. Masjid banu commasie prays by 2pm, even if I don't get that one, I'll stop by at Goruba road, I'm sure I'll catch up with them." And he swept her off by feet with his eccentric type of love. The kind of love that was so unique even to the word love itself. The stars had witness millions over millions kinds of love, but she was sure they were mind blown whenever Hassan and her were together, wrapped delicately into the webs of their love. Love was beautiful, and she was glad she took her own journey together with Hassan Abdulhameed Alkali.

•

They were all decked up, and Nadia had never been eager to go somewhere like she was eager to go to Al Dusar parks and zoo. Not that she hadn't visited thousands of zoos in her life, both national and international, but she wanted to visit this together with her twin and her Husband's Twin.

Hassan and Hussain were decked up in their kaftan with their matching Zanna bukars, and she had never been in love like she had been today. He looked awesome. They bid Hajia goodbye and hit the road, while Hassan and Hussain sat in the drivers seat and passenger's seat respectively, she sat silently at the back, hearing how their conversation was moving.

"Don't you think we should bring Sohila together with us? We're very close to the school, First H," Hussain said and swerved the steering wheel towards the u-turn that led them to Ulul Albab science secondary school, Katsina. It was their alma mater as well.

"You know so well they won't release her for us, just for two hours or three to be precise. Unless we're lucky Mallam Mu'azu is around." Hassan said as Hussain parked the car in front of the huge monumental gate of the school. They all hopped out.

They were lucky, he was around, and they told him she was to be checked up in the hospital and the appointment was tomorrow by 7am, she would be in school at 10am. He asked them which kind of a hospital appointment was in weekends but being one of his best students, he released her for them. Sohila couldn't be more thrilled. She hugged them all at the same time and hugged Nadia afterwards.

"It's as if you know how this school keeps suffocating me wallahi, thank you for stopping by." They hopped into the car and endlessly teased her about going to a park with a pair of blue toyobo trouser and a navy blue hijab, she pouted.

They entered the park with Sohila's voice ringing into their ears, blocking out any voice from finding a spot in them. She kept talking about her friends, how they kept gushing and awwwing because of her two brothers. They sometimes refer to them as her two fathers or the handsome Hs.

They bought some snacks and ice cream there, even though not as sweet as Nadia wanted, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She wanted to get on the plane, Sohila as well. Hassan had never thought a 21 year old lady would be as childish as Nadia seemed right now.

They bought the ticket for the planes and waited until some kids were down before they hopped on. Nadia made sure Hassan was around the boundaries and she asked him to take her some pictures, so she could watch later and reminisce the best Friday she ever had in Katsina. Hussain did the same for Sohila. They had fun, the greatest kind of fun.

They laughed until their lungs couldn't be more filled. And it was finally time for them to walk around the zoo. Nadia had her hand entwined with Hassan's while Sohila held unto Hussain's arm. If not for the facial resemblance they had with Sohila, she would've been mistaken for Hussain's wife.

In the midst of their walking, Hassan signalled for Hussain and walked away to answer an important call. Hussain stood in between the two ladies as they gushed, awed, shrieked, laughed, ran, scuttled, and freaked around the zoo. They came to the cage where snakes were kept, and upon taking a glimpse, Nadia shrieked and moved back, hugging him completely, he stood there motionless.

She wrapped her hands around his waist and began sobbing, she didn't know it was a snake in the cage and hadn't read the banner before she peaked through. A bad memory surged through heart, and she remembered the day her Papi died. He got biten by a snake, he was a forestry and wildlife professor.

That day he wanted to take her with him to the forest they wanted to analyze whatever it is she didn't care to ask and still didn't mind to check. As the other team members informed his family, he was taking a breath beside a boabab tree when it happened, a huge snake snuck into his shirt and as he shook himself to be freed, it bite him.

Snake was the sole end of her happy life, her innocent and free life. And she lived her life with the trauma. Whenever she saw a snake, it felt as though it smiled at her and said "I killed your Papi you idiot, and you have nothing to do about it."

She clutched Hussain's shirt more and hugged him even tighter. She could hear the sound of Papi's laughter as he called her 'Nadiyatuh' the name she so much despised back then, but now, she could trade the world for someone to call her that. How he smiled at her that day and hugged her tight before he left, as if he knew he would be back no more.

"Take me out of here, Twin." She cried, her whole body was shaking, she wanted nothing more than the comforting warmth of her bed and blanket. And so he did, even though though not her husband, but her Husband's Twin.

He slowly guided her out of the park and into their car, after he motioned for Sohila to call Hassan using a certain language they shared with pantomime. She understood and ran around the park looking for her First Baba, as she sometimes lovingly called them; First and Second Baba.