28/08/2025
ELEVENTH HOUR
CHAPTER ONE
It was a weekend, she was at home with her twin younger brother Naâem, their two younger sister
Nabeela and Musharaffah had gone to Madrasah. They were another set of twin. Their mother was popularly called Mama Twin by everyone who knows her. She was the only one in her family with such Saliha. While Nabeela and Musharaffah were identical twin, she and her brother were not.
It is three weeks to her Nikkah and she cannot wait to get married. It been a long ride for them both.
She took a deep breath and smiled as she continued with her crocheting, it was something she had to learn to make ends meet years ago when they lost their mother and she and her siblings were left alone all by themselves.
Can she even ever forget all that they had been through?
It was a tough one for her.
She recalled how their mother had just slumped one evening from the chair where she sat watching her younger twin having their exchange of words, she just fell without warning.
The younger twin stopped and rushed to their mother, Naâem ran in that moment, he had gone to deliver some outfits to some of his clients, he is a tailor and he worked from home, they were at the hospital in less than an hour, and she had rushed to the hospital to go meet her siblings.
âMom is gone!â Nabeela said to her crying.
It was a sad moment for all of them,
Their mother had been the one for them since their father disappeared four days after the delivery of the younger twin, that was a story for another day, because she recalled it all, she was eight then. And she learnt to know what actually happened as they grow.
Their mother worked so hard caring for the four of them,
She wanted them educated, so she strived
She recalled how many men she turned down because they wanted to marry her without her kids.
âYou are my world.â She would tell them but they lost her.
âDo you know she has a high blood pressure?â
Naâem had asked her and she shook her head.
How could she not have known?
It was so painful, she felt bad that their mother was battling with her illness and she didnât disclose it. She lived all her life suffering for the sake of her kids.
After her death and Janaza, she need no one to tell her that she had to join her brother in feeding their young family.
The twin were at their final year in the primary school that time, while she was in her first year in the university, she had worked for a year after her secondary school education to save so that she could go to school while her brother had stopped school immediately after JSCE to go learn tailoring.
He saw their mother suffering and understand that he might have to give up some of his dreams for his sisters, and without being told, he dropped out of school and enrolled himself at the popular Uncle Ghali tailoring shop, he completed his training three years later and by then, he had enough to get a sewing machine, he started work immediately, he was quite good at what he does and things seem to be getting a bit better for them when they lost their mother.
She told him about her plan to drop out and he vehemently disagreed.
âWhat are we going to do?â
âI am here.â He said
âYou know we depend solely on what you and mama earn, now, that she is gone, how do we cope?â She asked
âWe will be fine Ina Sha Allah.â He said to her but she knew he was trying so hard already. But he would not hear of her dropping out.
âWe already have one school drop out in the family, you are not going to drop out.â He said and he added more to his hustle, he added private dry cleaning business to his hustling, it was from there he was able to pay the rent, sponsor his sisters education and barely have enough to care for himself but he never complains and then during her second year, she had gone visiting a friend in the hostel and met her packing some of her crochet finished garments.
âI am sending it to Ilorin.â
âIlorin?â
âYes.â
âHow much are these now?â
âAltogether is forty thousand.â Her friend had told her and was amazed. âI want to learn this âĻâ
âDidnât I tell you last year?â Her friend said
âOya, I am ready nowâĻâ
âYou will pay me oooâĻâ Her friend said and five months, she made her first earning from crocheting and that has been her little source of income.
It was not enough for her but she was glad she did have that source of income. She didnât really had much time to do much . She is a medical laboratory student and the course barely give her enough time to do that, but she tried her best and she didnât have to wait until her brother send her money.
And things seems to be a bit better for him, year after year.
She sighed deeply and smiled to herself, then she admired the short gown she was making for
herself.
She had planned to wear that on her first night after Nikkah.
She smiled again.
She cannot wait to get marriedâĻ
To say, that it is barley twenty two days to their Nikkah, and to say, that they havenât met physically but it has been like they had known each other all their life.
She is in love with him,
She know she is stupid but she couldnât help herself.
He had been of a great help to her right from the first time they had met and then she could not wait for him to tell her he would like to get married to her
And when he did six months ago, she could not say no, it was something that she had been expecting from him for a long time.
âI will back to the country permanently by DecemberâĻ is it okay we had our Nikkah then?â
He asked her.
âSure.â
Few weeks later, he told her his parents would like to meet her family and for the first time, she was confused.
She told her brother about it.
âIt is only us.â She said to him.
âNo, we had to let Dad know about it.â
âWhat Dad?â She asked in shock
âOur father âĻâ
âThe one who abandon us?â
âYes.. but he is still our father.â
I told him , I donât want him here anymoreâĻâ She said, for two months, their father had been trying to reach out to them but she was not ready to see him, her brother talked to him during his second visit to the house but she was not ready, her sisters couldnât remember him anyways, and they seem indifferent about him.
âSo, how do you intend to get married without him?â Her brother asked him.
âYou are here âĻâ
âI am your brother not your father.â
âBut you have taken his place for several years.â I know but what can we do? He is here and we need him as your Wali.â
âNo.â
âHow do you want your would be in law to see you?â
âI hate him.â
âNiâmah, I have told you to forget this and move on...you donât have to forgive him but just let us move onâĻsee now, you would be getting married soon, in less than a year, you will be done with school, which of Allahâs favor can we deny?â He asked.
âHmmâĻâ
Did you tell Bilal about him?â He asked
âNo.â
âWhat did you tell him?â
âI told him, he is dead!â
âWhy?â
âThis man had been a deadbeat for how many years?â She asked
âBut he is not dead!â
âHe is not dead âĻ,
âHe is to me.â
âNiâmah, he is not dead, we have a father, whether we like it or not, he is our father, the
earlier we accept this, the better for us all.â He said to her.
And that night, she had come out clean for Bilal over the phone.
âAre you there?â She heard him when she realized that he had been talking but she didnât even heard what he was saying because she was carried away.
âYesâĻ what were you saying?â She asked him.
âObviously, you arenât with me at all.â
âI am sorry.â
âDid you hear anything you donât like about me?â He suddenly asked her.
âNoâĻwhy?â
âI just thought, perhaps that was why you arenât talking to me.â
âIt is not that âĻâ
âSo, what is it?â
âThere is somethingâĻâ She said not knowing
what to start.
âAbout me?â He asked again.
âNo, Bilal, this is not about you but me.â She said not knowing how to bring the case up for him.
âAlihamdulilahâĻâ He said
âWhy did you say Alihamdulilah?â
âBecause if it is about me, only you can decided but if it is about you, no matter what, I will understand.â He said.
âNo matter what?â
âYes.â
âWait did my brother talked to you?â She asked him
âHmmm..â He sighed.
âYou mean he had told you already?â
âIf it is about your Dad, yes.â âSubuanallah!â.
âHe explained everything to me âĻâ
âAnd?â
âI understand.â
âYou do?â
âYes Niâmah...â
âI am so sorry for not telling you.â She said
âI perfectly understand, he told me everythingâĻâ
âI feel like crying right now.â She said
âCome onâĻâ
âI am sorry.â
âYou know you can do no wrong to me âĻâ He
said
âHmmâĻ.â She sighed and then smiled. âWhatever he might have done, he is your father âĻ I will talk to my parents and they will come see him ins Sha Allah.â He said to her.
âThank you.â
âAlihamdulilah...â He said and they went to discuss about other things, two weeks later, his parents showed up in her fatherâs house and after several discussions the Nikkah date was fixed.
She smiled at the memories and know she cannot wait to have him .
Is this a prank?
What is this?
Am I dreaming ?
Who is this?
Are they alike?
Subuanallah!
These and many more questions were running through her mind as she stood dead looking at him as he sat there staring at him.
They were the only two in the room and she didnât even recall how he came in.
He was not smiling too and she was not âĻ There was nothing to smile about!
How can she even smile ?
What is there to smile about?
I have been deceived!
Oh Bilal!
âArenât you going to talk to me? At least sit, I should not be asking you to sit in your own home!â He said to her.
âBilalâĻ is this âĻâ She wanted to ask but stop because she did not even know how to continue.
How can she asked him if that is how he is ! âYou want to ask if this is how I am? Or had always been?â He asked her and she swallowed hard.
âDid you have an accident I donât know about?â She asked, at least finally, she was able to ask questions, perhaps it was an accident that he didnât tell her about.
âI have always been like this.â He finally said in his deep voice. It was one of those things that attracted him to her in the first place.
âI had been on wheel chair since I was fourteen.â
He said to her and her heart missed a beat,
She was speechless
She felt weak from within,
This was not what she planned for!
How can he do this to her?
A physically challenged man?
He didnât tell her ! Why?
Why hide this?
âI am sorry.â He said as if reading her mind and she took a deep breathe, still on her feet.
âCan you please take your leave right now?â She asked in a very nice way, she didnât want to show how mad she was that moment !!!
âNiâmah, we can have a mature conversation.â Bilal said.
âNot now âĻâ She said to him and he sighed.
âI will call you later then.â He said and find his way out of the room.
She broke into tears as soon as he left.
It was too much for her to bear.
It was the least she expected,
She never saw any of it coming?
How could she even catch a glimpse of anything?
They do make video call it was not like she had not seen him before !
But being physically challenged!
How can he not tell me?
Why does he have to lie !
It is barely twenty days to the Nikkah!
He trapped me!
Did he ?
She swallowed hard and recall how they met!
She was in her third year and school had just resume, her proceeds from her Knitting business seem so little!
She barely have people who patronize her, the few students would do pay her so little!
She saw her twin brother struggle and school work seem to hectic.
It was that bad!
She barely have enough to eatâĻ and the last thing she wanted was to let her twin know that what he was doing was not enough!
One evening she say down in the lecture theater after the lecture deep in thought, wondering what she could do to get more money , there were textbooks to buy and a whole lot of things to photocopy, she needed money , that aside the fact that her food was exhausted already.
She fiddled with her phone, it was an android phone her twin gave her barely six months
earlier.
âYou need this more than I do.â He said to her.
âBut you said you got it for your business? You said you want to be uploading your pictures on social media.â She said to him.
âDonât worry, that can wait.â He said with smiles and she understand not to push him further.
And then she sighed What if !!!
What if I uploaded my work on Facebook!
I have seen people said they do buy things online!
Should I try it?
Perhaps it can work!
She sighed and that moment, she took her phone, open the phone gallery and uploaded her snapped work on Facebook.
And then she waited âĻ
She waited, she didnât get any reaction on her pictures âĻ
She was depressed but then she keep going online during her free period, she was glad she had the liberty to use the school free wifi.
Then one day, she saw a post on Facebook, a distress post
The poster wrote how tired of life she is : life was not so easy for her, she lost her Dad who was the back bone of the family and she felt like ending her life.
She (Niâmah) was shocked! She didnât know when she wrote her story, how she lost her mother and how they struggle keeping it together.
âNow, I am in my third year, and I am into crocheting.â She wrote .
In less than an hour, her comments attracted a lot of reactions.
And a week later, she got a message in her inbox on Facebook Messenger.
âHello, my name is Bilal, I am currently an associate professor at a university in Finland, I read your comment on a post on Speak and I must say, you are a go getter. I understand that you are into crocheting, I went on to your wall and I must say, I am impressed with your work. Let me know when you see this message.â His message said.
She read it a day after it was sent. There was a test in School and she barely had the time for phone. âHello, my name is Niâmah, sorry, I just your message.â She replied and three hours later, she got a message from him.
âAlihmadulilah, I was so worried about you .â
*I am good.â
*Let me go straight to the point, I saw your works and I love them , will I get exactly that if I order!â
âYou want to order?â
âYes.â
âTo Finland?â
âYesâĻ but then let us start with you making some cardigans and playsuits for my niece, she is six weeks old.â He said
âOh ..â
âYes, when you deliver and they love it, I will order for more INS Sha Allah.,â He said
âIns sha Allah, you will love them.â
âHow much will a dozen baby cardigans be?
With pant and cap. And six playsuits.â
And that was the beginning , she told him her price and he sent her the money with an extra fifteen thousand.
âIt is a gift.â He said to her and she got to work immediately, she did her best and got them delivered in two weeks.
She was scared if the baby girl mother would love them, she went to her place of work to deliver them.
He reach out to her a week later.
Well done, they love it . His message wrote
She was glad. His pay mean a lot to her âĻshe was able to get food stuff for herself and even the house.
Her twin was surprised.
ŠUmm Rumaysah
