FreeFreeDescription
Translation in English
In a moderately sized room surrounded by luxurious curtains, the space features a large mattress, an entertainment set on the side, and a single expensive cushion. An elderly woman, looking not older than fifty-five, sits in the room with her chin cupped in her hands, saying, "Well, we will not tire of praying. May Almighty Allah grant her good health. Next month is when everything is expected to go well, right?"
The young woman sitting beside her smiles slightly and says, "That is what the doctors said, in sha Allah. However, you know human plans are one thing, and Allah's plans are another. But this surgery is the last one to be done for her, if Allah wills. We just pray it succeeds."
Yakumbo says, "In sha Allah, it will succeed. That is what we always ask Allah for. Throughout the family, no one has this kind of ailment, let alone needing surgery. It is completely unheard of in our entire family. Does your side of the family have it?"
The woman laughs and says, "No, Yakumbo."
Yakumbo says, "Oh, may Allah separate His servant from hardship, and may Allah safely deliver you too. Are you going back to India for it?"
The woman replies, "Ameen, yes, we are going there."
Yakumbo says, "Then in sha Allah, this is the end of the hardship."
The woman says, "May Allah make it so."
Yakumbo glances at the clock and says, "Are you sure this trip of yours is still happening today, Amina? It is quiet, and Umar still hasn't come."
Amina looks at her own watch and says, "I even called him earlier and couldn't reach him. I think they entered a meeting; perhaps it will be tomorrow. Honestly, I had already written off today."
Yakumbo says, "Oh, just wait until tomorrow evening. Besides, look at this terrible road and what the town has turned into—trouble everywhere..."
Amina agrees, "That's true."
Yakumbo continues, "I heard Salihu's wife has been looking for you to pick a fight? Don't you dare mind her, those people are a gang of witches. Even that Asama'u, stop paying attention to them; they are just envious seeing how you are enjoying your marriage, not knowing it was Allah who blessed you."
Amina smiles and says nothing. Yakumbo adds, "And they say you keep hiding the girl so they won't see her, is that true?"
Amina looks at her and says, "No, that's not true. You yourself are a witness, Yakumbo, that even since she was a little child, she wasn't often brought out into public. She is always in the room with me, or her caregiver, or her teacher. To this day, the neighbors don't really know what Heedayah looks like. It is rare for you to come to the house and see her in the parlor, so often when guests come and leave, they don't even see her. That's why they think we are hiding her so she won't be seen."
Yakumbo says, "Well, it's better that way. You never know people's evil intentions, people casting bad eyes on a child. Truly, you guys planned well. Ignore them and let them say whatever they want; the girl's health comes before everything else."
Amina doesn't say anything, and Yakumbo says, "Even her Western education is done at home?"
Amina replies, "Yes, even Islamiyya."
Yakumbo says, "That's good, it's actually better. Go check on the child, I feel it's too quiet. I hope those wayward neighbor kids haven't come in and taken her outside."
Amina quickly stands up, peers into the courtyard, and calls out, "Heedayah??" Hearing silence, she steps out into the courtyard. Only her large plastic baby basin, the comb she used to comb her hair, and her cap are left on the mat, but she is nowhere to be found.
Yakumbo stands up and says, "If I had known they would come and drag her away... As for those children, their parents just gave birth to pure nuisance. Unmannerly village kids..."
Amina runs back inside, grabs her hijab, and rushes outside, with Yakumbo following right behind her saying, "Oh Allah, protect me from disgrace, I hope they didn't drag her to the stream and throw her in, so I end up ruined! The poor girl can't even see! Just when she came to visit me, Satan used this path to do as he pleased, and calamity befell me while I was just sitting..."
Heedayah’s mother frantically starts going into neighbors' huts to search for Heedayah in the village, growing deeply worried upon seeing no trace of her daughter. Yakumbo is uttering panicky exclamations, throwing her veil over her head as it refuses to stay put, crying out, "What will I tell my younger brother, Umaru, people?! Where will I say his daughter has gone?"
Another woman says, "Earlier I saw them heading towards the market—Hinde and Bibalo, along with Fatuu. There were about six of them holding the little girl's hand."
Yakumbo screams in shock and says, "By Allah, her father is in Abuja, and he will get all their parents locked up if anything happens to his daughter! She is his only child now that her mother has a new pregnancy. She is twelve years old, and she has no sight! So why would wayward children drag her away to the market? Will their parents buy things for her at the market? Since the day before yesterday when they came to this village, I have been warning those stubborn kids, seeing how they hang onto her—some even playing with her hair—telling them to leave her alone. She can't even see their faces to recognize them! What kind of wickedness is this? The road to the market is bad and kidnappings are rampant, goodness me, people?!"
Instantly, everyone disperses and takes the path to the market, leaving Yakumbo standing alone, frothing at the mouth. She quickly runs after them after seeing how far ahead they had gotten.
Under a mango tree, about five young girls are gathered, with two women up in the tree picking ripe mangoes and throwing them down while the women below scoop them up into a small sack. Another young girl, no older than the others, is squatting with a mango in one hand, while her other hand holds Fatuu's shirt because Fatuu is guiding her. She is very fair-complexioned; looking at her, you can tell she is of Fulani descent because her hair is open without even a cap, confirming it. Her eyes are pure white like milk, and she blinks them slowly as if she can see everyone clearly around her, yet she sees nothing but darkness. The place is noisy with the chatter of the kids picking mangoes to take to the market to sell.
A black car screeches to a halt, parking right there. All the kids turn around, and instantly, two strong men jump out of the car quickly. The children run, including Fatuu, who yanks her shirt out of Heedayah's grip. The girls up the tree also jump down and scatter in different directions. Heedayah drops the mango in her hand and looks around in terror. The men chase after the kids and manage to grab three of them. They pick Heedayah up as well, toss her into the car, and before you know it, the driver speeds away from the spot.
All the children inside the car are crying, including Heedayah, who screams, calling out to her mother: "Ammina...."
The man sitting in the back pulls out a gun, pointing it at them with his bloodshot eyes and a fierce expression, placing a finger on his lips to signal them to be quiet. Instantly, Ladi and the others fall silent, their bodies trembling. Zulai even wets herself. Heedayah is the only one who doesn't stop screaming. The man chokes her neck, pointing the gun at her and saying, "Oh, will you not shut your mouth?"
Ladi, trembling, says, "She can't see."
The man inspects her closely, nods, and says, "Well, none of you are going to see soon." Saying this, he covers the others' eyes with a piece of cloth. Heedayah refuses to shut up, so he repeatedly slaps her face, but that doesn't stop her from crying and fumbling around for a way out. Finally, seeing she won't stay quiet, the man in the front passes him a small sachet, saying, "Put that on her face."
That is done immediately, and total silence falls over the car. Slowly, Heedayah slumps against Ladi's body.
On the road, the villagers encounter Hinde and the other women who managed to escape. Hinde and the others, crying and weeping, recount what happened. Hurriedly, two women catch Heedayah's mother as she begins to slip to the ground, falling unconscious into their arms.
Yakumbo lets out a loud exclamation, her whole body shaking, and panicky, she begins to cry, "My life is over! I am ruined! What if they say these are kidnappers or head-hunters who took Heedayah? What will I tell my brother, people???" She bursts into intense tears, about to fall to the ground, and someone catches her. Amidst the wailing, the parents of the other kidnapped children cry and follow the path the men took.
The people drive with Heedayah and the others for about an hour before emerging from the bad village roads, parking by the bushland since they only have twenty more minutes of travel to reach a checkpoint ahead. Some fierce-looking men emerge from the bush; looking at them, you can see pure cruelty. The man in the back of the car steps down quickly, pulls Ladi and the others out, and marches them into the bush after removing their blindfolds.
One of the rugged men emerging from the bush looks at Heedayah and asks, "And this one?"
The man trying to push her out says, "You have to take her; she will give us trouble, we already dusted her face."
The rugged man says, "That's impossible! With this long trek, you expect us to take her? Just kill her and throw her here, let's be on our way."
Furiously, the man replies, "Kill her when we promised ten children today? With all the bad luck, we only got four children, and you want me to kill one... Besides, you have to take her because she's blind!"
Saying this, he drops her on the ground, gets back into the car, and the driver speeds away.
The man hisses, picks Heedayah up as if she were an animal, and carries her into the bush filled with large thorns and creeping darkness as Magrib approaches.
(...Story continues with captivity, hunger, and eventual escape/rescue...)
Summary
This excerpt narrates the harrowing abduction of Heedayah, a blind twelve-year-old girl, from a rural village. While her family and elderly relative, Yakumbo, are preoccupied with discussions about her upcoming medical treatment in India and local gossip, Heedayah wanders away or is led to the village market area by neighborhood children. Armed men arrive in a car and kidnap several children, including Heedayah.
Despite her blindness, Heedayah's cries draw the kidnappers' annoyance. They take the children to a hideout in the bush run by brutal criminals who deal in human parts. Amidst the terror of captivity—where other children face grim fates—one of the captors (sympathetic or acting out of self-preservation) eventually decides to spare Heedayah. He sneaks her out, drives her into the city as night falls, and leaves her by the roadside where she is eventually found and taken to a hospital by a rescuer and a doctor.
Description
- Setting: Begins in a modest, well-decorated room in a village, transitions to the dusty village paths and a bustling market area, and then shifts into a dark, terrifying insurgent/criminal camp deep inside the bush.
- Characters:
- Heedayah: A vulnerable, 12-year-old blind girl of Fulani descent who is targeted and kidnapped.
- Amina: Heedayah's deeply worried mother who is pregnant and focused on getting her daughter's sight restored through surgery.
- Yakumbo: An anxious, dramatic elderly relative prone to panicking and gossiping.
- The Kidnappers/Criminals: Ruthless, armed men operating an abduction ring, trading victims for ransom and body parts.
- Ladi and Zulai: Neighboring village children kidnapped alongside Heedayah.
Comments
- Pacing and Suspense: The narrative builds tension masterfully. It starts with mundane family conversations and petty neighborhood gossip, creating a false sense of security before plunging the characters into a sudden, high-stakes crisis.
- Theme of Vulnerability: The story highlights the immense vulnerability of children, especially those with disabilities, in insecure environments. Heedayah’s blindness makes her plight even more gut-wrenching as she cannot perceive the dangers surrounding her.
- Cultural Realism: The interactions reflect typical communal living in rural/semi-urban settings—neighbors gossiping, extended family involvement in major life decisions, and the stark terror of rural banditry and kidnapping that plagues certain regions.
Conclusions
The excerpt showcases a terrifying ordeal of survival against the backdrop of modern insecurity and human wickedness. While Heedayah's abduction brings agonizing grief to her family—compounding her mother’s existing health struggles—it ultimately highlights moments of unexpected mercy, as seen when one of the captors breaks ranks to save the blind girl from being slaughtered with the others. The chapter closes on a note of cautious relief as Heedayah regains consciousness in a safe hospital environment, setting the stage for her eventual reunification with her distraught family.
What aspect of Heedayah's recovery or the aftermath of her kidnapping would you like to explore next?
