RUFAFFEN SIRRI Complete Hausa Novel Document by RUFAFFEN SIRRI

She could see something in the darkness, but it was as if her mind was playing tricks on her, thinking perhaps a thief had entered the house. That’s why she hurriedly left the window and headed for the door of the room. Quietly, she opened it with a stick, intending to go to her mother’s room to inform them. As she stepped out, Kabiru entered, also cautiously. Seeing Yesmeen made his heart sink because he was wearing only shorts. Her body trembled, and with a shaky voice, she said, “Abba, I heard a noise behind my room. I thought a thief had come in, so I came out to tell you.”
At that moment, Kabiru let out a sigh of relief because he thought she had seen him.
“Go back inside. I also heard a noise, which is why I came out. There’s no one; it’s probably just rats.”
She quickly turned, went back inside, closed the door, locked it securely, and adjusted the window curtains. Even after lying down, she couldn’t fall back asleep because her heart was filled with fear. Ever since Nusrah got married, she had been afraid of sleeping alone.
Kabiru, on the other hand, entered his room and hurriedly lay down beside Sajeeda. He fidgeted, staring at the ceiling with a slight smile, alone with his thoughts. Today, for the first time, he had shared money with his children, fulfilling a responsibility he felt should have been his, not Sajeeda’s. He felt a joy he hadn’t experienced in a long time. It pained him that his children would bypass him to go to Sajeeda when they needed money, even though they were grown and often looked at him as if he had nothing to offer. He overheard them saying, “We know Abba doesn’t have money.” This deeply hurt him. He could say that since his children grew up, none of them had ever approached him to ask for anything; they always went to Sajeeda. He knew it was because he didn’t have money, which is why they didn’t come to him. The only time he had some wealth was during Nusrah’s wedding, but even then, Sajeeda handled everything. She never showed exhaustion or complained, as she was a woman who worked hard to provide. Today, seeing his children happy because of the money he gave them made him feel even more motivated to earn.
One thing troubled him: among the rules imposed on him was not praying for a whole week. He wanted to object, but Rabiu insisted.
He kept tossing and turning until the call for the dawn prayer. Sajeeda sat up, yawning and reciting the prayer for waking up. Kabiru quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
When she got off the bed, she started looking for her pants, wanting to cover herself with a wrapper. Not finding them where she had lain, she thought perhaps Kabiru was lying on them. That’s why she urged him to get up and bathe so he wouldn’t miss the dawn prayer.
Kabiru, acting as if he were sleepy, got up, rubbing his eyes. He stood, and she pulled the blanket to check where he had been lying, but found nothing. She even removed the bedsheet. Kabiru, knowing what she was looking for, quickly distracted her and went to the bathroom to bathe. He came out without performing ablution and headed to his clothes.
Sajeeda, puzzled by not finding her pants, said, “Abban Nusrah, I can’t find my pants, and I’ve been looking everywhere.”
“Well, are you going to keep searching for pants or go bathe so you don’t miss the dawn prayer? You’re spending so much time looking as if you don’t have others.”
“It’s not like that, Abban Nusrah. You know Yesmeen comes into the room and tidies up. I don’t want her to see pants on the bed or somewhere else; it’s embarrassing.”
“Well, I’m off to the mosque. Keep looking.”
He left.
Sajeeda went to the bathroom to bathe, deciding she would tidy the room after praying to see if she could find them.
As Kabiru left, he lingered outside, watching as Saifullahi and the others left the house for the mosque.
Then he felt a heavy weight in his chest. Prayer is what distinguishes a Muslim from a non-Muslim, and now he was to go a week without placing his forehead on the ground? The thought of the money he would make pushed the concern aside. In his current situation, money was his only goal. Rabiu had told him that half the wealthy people in town made their money this way.
When he saw the boys return and enter the house, he emerged from his hiding spot and went inside.
When he entered the room, he found Sajeeda still searching for her pants and the hijab she had prayed in, even changing the bedsheet in her search. He was annoyed because, even jokingly, he didn’t want to ruin the mood that would satisfy him by talking about her pants.
“Abban Nusrah, I’ve searched everywhere, even under the mattress, and there’s no sign of the pants.”
“Tch, you’re a problem, honestly. Why are you so obsessed with searching for just one pair?”
“It’s not just one pair. I’m shocked that I slept with something beside me, and now I’ve looked everywhere—up and down—and it’s gone.”
“You have nothing better to do, Sajeeda. Keep searching, and maybe a thief came in, found nothing valuable, and took your pants.”
Kabiru said this with a slight sneer, then lay down to go back to sleep. At 10 a.m., she woke him up to go see his friend who had given him the money, saying he should go thank him.
She followed him out of the room, still wondering if the pants were somewhere else, frustrated by the ordeal.
They ate breakfast together with Yesmeen, who was telling them she heard a noise behind her window the previous night and couldn’t sleep well due to fear of wealth.
Sajeeda laughed and teased her, saying she was now scared of rats.
Sajeeda:
We ate breakfast together with Abban Nusrah. When he came back, he gave me five thousand naira, saying I should cook something special. By God, from yesterday to today, I don’t know the kind of joy and prayers I’ve offered for Abban Nusrah. He has truly been kind to me and my children. Even when their father went out, the kids came in talking only about the gifts they received. Annur even said, “I dreamt Abba became very rich and built a multi-story house. We were all celebrating, but I didn’t see Umma in the house.”
I smiled and said, “If you didn’t see her in the house, it means your father remarried. The gift you got must have made you so happy to have such a dream.”