72

                                    

                                          

"Hello, officer? Any news yet?" Sa'eed inquired immediately he picked up the phone. 
"Yes." He replied from the other side of the phone. 
Sa'eed heaved a sigh of relief. "What is it?"
"Nafisa's accomplice, Muktar has been caught." He announced. 
"That's nice to hear. How- where was he caught?" 
"In a crime scene in Kubwa. He was among the robbers who invaded someone's house earlier today. Apparently, he hasn't learnt his lesson yet. As we speak, he is already in our custody." 
"Thank you very much, officer. How about Nafisa; any news about her yet?" Sa'eed questioned. "it's been four months."
"We tortured the criminal into telling us where she is hiding, but he insisted he knows nothing about her whereabout because they haven't been in touch since the day they escaped. But don't you worry, just like we caught him, we will surely catch her as well."
"I hope so." He muttered. "Thanks a lot, officer." 
"You're welcome." He said and ended the call. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maryam was seated in their room staring into space when Sa'eed walked in. 
"Good news, habibty." He grinned. 
"Has Nafisa been caught?" She asked, hopefully. She couldn't wait for her to be caught and Manal to be finally home with them again. 
"No." He replied. 
Maryam's face fell. 
"But her accomplice, Muktar has been caught." He continued. 
"Really?" Maryam's demeanor brightened. 
"Yes. The officer just called to tell me." 
"Alhamdulillah." Maryam muttered. "He can lead us to where Nafisa is hiding." 
"The police officers have already asked him and it seems he doesn't know where she is." 
"That can't be true. He's definitely lying. They escaped together, remember?" 
"I know, habibty, but that's what I was told." 
"We shouldn't rely on them entirely." She voiced. "We need to go to the station and speak to him ourselves." 
"Habibty, just relax, okay? Nafisa will be found soon and the moment she is found, we will file a case against her and have her imprisoned for live." He assured. 
Maryam was about to reply when she felt a contraction in her womb. At first, she ignored it, thinking it was just the baby kicking as usual, but when it happened again for the second time, she felt very uncomfortable. Was she in labour? Her instinct was confirmed when she felt liquid running down her legs. "Habibi." She boomed. "My water just broke!" 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting all alone in the balcony, Manal couldn't help, but cry as she suddenly reminiscing how her mother left her all alone in the house. She recall how hard to cried and pleaded with her to take her with her, but her efforts were futile. She even went to the extent of promising to be more behaved, but she was ignored and thrown away like a piece of trash. 
She didn't even realize Hussaina was calling her, until she tapped her softly on the shoulder. "Hey, Manal, I have been talking to you. What's wrong? Why are you crying? Do you miss your ummi and abi already?" She bombarded her with questions. 
"I want to go home." She cried. 
"But why?" Hussaina questioned, hurt. "Don't you like it here?" 
"I do, but I miss abii very much. He rarely visits me here." She voiced.