“What’s your name?” Small asked, and she placed her hand at akimbo and glared at him before she replied.

“How many times do I have to tell you my name? My name is Fatima Zarah Tambuwal,” she replied with a voice pitched with annoyance. She couldn’t understand why she had to be in this frigging police station instead of home together with her Ammi. And now, this useless person is trying to make her even more annoyed than she truly is.

“I need your father’s name. Your surname.” He inquired, and Fatima Zarah glared at the walking body of Al-mustapha before she turned and answered, this time her annoyance couldn’t be suppressed.

“That’s my name, even in my school ID card that’s what I use. Do I have to tell something that’s nonexistent? If you can’t put it as Fatima Zarah Tambuwal then let me go, I haven’t done anything wrong to start with.”

Small walked over to where Al-mustapha was making a phonecall and hung his head down until he was done and he began, “Sir, she isn’t going to tell me her surname. And while writing the report, what do I have to write? As her crime?”

Without a single glance at him, Al-mustapha walked over to where Fatima Zarah was seated and he answered the last question Small asked him. “She harassed a police officer, write that down. And also, for her surname, use my name.”

“Why the hell do I have to use your name? My name is Fatima Zarah Tambuwal, nothing sort of Al-mustapha whatsoever!” She yelled, but her voice turned to deaf ears because a female officer came and guided her to a cell. An isolated cell where Al-mustapha kept his victims. They always wondered what he felt if he locked innocent victims. But they had never knew what he was feeling or what his next move would be. He was so unpredictable.

It was not until after 9pm that Al-mustapha came inside the cell she was locked in, and looking up to meet his eyes, Fatima Zarah felt rage filling up her heart; but she knew better than to act up to her feelings. She looked away and more tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she was being held up in a police station for a reason as feasible as that. Who the hell did he think he is?

Lower chin streched downwards, tears coming out of her eyes, body trembling; She’s in so much pain. He smirked to himself and asked, “Are you crying?” He blurted even though he knew it was a dumb question.

She looked at him and rolled her eyes, and the funny thing is that he didn’t even know what that meant. “No. I’m so happy that I can even dance because I’m held in this beautiful place.” She glared at him again and Al-mustapha smiled at her.

“That’s good then, I guess you don’t need anything. Goodnight, incase you need the music, call out to Stephanie.” He left the cell even before she acesssed his words in her mind. She wished her scream could be heard in their house, but all was in vain. She was hungry beyond words could tell, and this unreasonable man didn’t even thought about what she would eat. He just came and disappeared just like that. She hadn’t done anything wrong, she wished she can sue him for this.

❀

Early in the morning, Fatima Zarah didn’t know how she had slept, she felt a soft tap on her shoulder and she jerked upright. “What’s happening here?” She asked, unaware of her surroundings. She looked around and that was when all came back to her. She slept in the cell he promised to keep her until tomorrow morning. And it was already the tomorrow morning. She didn’t know the kind of thing she would do to this man to avenge for what he did to her.

She looked at the woman that was staring down at her and mustered a polite smile, “What do you want, ma?” She asked, and the woman smiled before she placed down a plate of food in front of Fatima Zarah.

“I thought about you all night long, Fatima,” she was cut off by Fatima Zarah even before she got to the end of her sentence.

“Sorry, the name is Fatima Zarah.” She smiled again, politely and the smile was reciprocated.

“Okay, sorry for cutting off some part of your name, Fatima Zarah. I thought about you all night long and I know he haven’t asked anyone to bring something for you to eat. It’s nothing expensive, you should try and eat something, okay?” Instantly, Fatima Zarah’s eyes wandered to the name tag on her breast pocket and she smiled at the name ’Stephanie.’

“So you’re the Stephanie? Thank you so much, Steph, can I call you that? Much more like a short cut?” She chuckled and Steph smiled as Fatima Zarah dived into her food.

“You can’t let me call you Fatima but you want to call me Steph? Anyways, you’re granted the permission. You can pray after you’re done.” Surprised, Fatima Zarah looked up from her plate of food and asked.

“How do yoy know we pray in the morning? Don’t worry about me, I’m on my period, I just need to get home before I stain on myself.” She made a face, her mouth full with the contents of her food. Steph smiled, she liked Fatima Zarah at first glance.

“Don’t worry you can go home when he comes, he usually comes in around 9am, you just have to hang in a little bit more. It’s 7:34am now.” Steph said as she took a look at her phone and she stood up to go back to her post when Fatima Zarah called her.

“Steph, is this how he usually do things? Like just lock innocent citizens that haven’t make any mistake?” Steph smiled humbly before she nodded her head, and like a flash, she was out of the cell.

Full of thoughts, Fatima Zarah ate the food and she sat there waiting for 9am to click. She had never felt this humiliated all her life, and she was full of questions why Ammi hadn’t come to take her back. Ammi had connections all over the state of Sokoto. And Fatima Zarah wondered why Ammi didn’t even visited, that’s so much not like her.

At exactly 9:12am, Steph came into the cell and she smiled brightly at Fatima Zarah before she asked her to come along with her. They walked out silently until they were in his office, and Fatima Zarah looked directly into his face before she spoke. “I hope I can go home now?”

With his hands massaging his temple, Al-mustapha smirked and answered her, “Do you want to spend one more night?”

Fatima Zarah was about to reply him back when Steph nudged her shoulder and she was shut. She looked at him and ducked her head down. “Stephanie, she should give you her family’s contact and you’ll tell them to come and take her, I wonder why she wasn’t being followed and it is already past 9. Are you not loved at home, Young lady?” He asked Fatima Zarah, and before she replied him he looked at Steph and asked again, “Isn’t that what people do? Come over for their loved ones even if they’re criminals?”

Fatima Zarah wished she can give him a taste of his own medicine, but she tried so hard. She was truly tired of this place and she wanted to see Ammi and ask her why she hadn’t come for her. “Can I go? I don’t need any guardian to come for me.” She couldn’t help but glare at him and he smirked once again.

“You need a guardian, Young lady, so we can warn him or her for you not to repeat the same thing again. Okay?”

Annoyed, Fatima Zarah looked at Steph with her hands at akimbo and spoke, “Steph, will you please tell this person sitting there that what I did wasn’t a crime that calls for me to be locked up in this place for a day and when I’m being released I have to call a guardian. There, Acp. Al-mustapha Muhammad Maccido, incase you don’t know law, I tell you.”

Al-mustapha laughed, a humorless and dangerous laughter that sent a chill down Fatma Zarah’s spine, but she held a stoic expression. He was about to reply her when Steph nudged Fatima Zarah’s shoulder and she whispered into her ear, “You need to save yourself away from this man unless you want to stain on yourself. He can have you locked up here for a week for this. Quickly apologize, Fatima Zarah.”

“Oh my god, that’s true.” Al-mustapha began talking when she cut him off. “Look, I’m so sorry for doing what I did in court, I didn’t know you were a police officer. Also, I’m sorry for talking back to you now. And I can even thank you for letting me use your name. Please let me go home, I really need to be there.”

She took him of guard when she moved to where his desk was and took the pen in his hand. She took a sticky notepad and wrote her name as he asked Small to write it yesterday. ‘Fatima Zarah Al-mustapha Tambuwal.’ She signed before and looked at him with a smile. “I’ve signed, I’m out safely. Thank you!” She spoke in a high pitched tone and practically ran out of the office.

Before she closed the door, she turned with a very hard expression and glared at him. “I won’t forgive you for this, all that thank you and apology was fake. You’ll have to pay back for this, Acp. Al-mustapha Muhammad Maccido.” And she was out of the office even before they accessed what she said.

She met Small and he showed her where her things were kept and she was out of the police station in such a speed she had never used in her life. She had never been this angry and had never felt this hurting hatred for someone like she did for Acp. Al-mustapha Muhammad Maccido.

She took a taxi to Mabera, the area they lived and on her way home, she cried. She had never apologized to anyone when she wasn’t at fault all her life until today. And to top that, she apologized to the man that humiliated her more than anyone in the world. She did nothing that called for her to be locked up in a cell, but he did, just because he felt he was some sort of a high personelle. She had to to think of a way to make him pay for what he did, she was surely not going to let him go scotfree.

She arrived home and Ammi left the key with the guard, and that’s what baffled her even more. What had gotten into Ammi’s head? Was she mad at her because of what she did? For doing something not worth of her being locked up. She collected the key and entered the house, it was eerily silent like it had always been unless they were home.

She went directly into her room and took her bathe before she entered the kitchen and met the breakfast Ammi left for her. What’s wrong with Ammi? She acted as if nothing had happened that’s unusual. Nonetheless, Fatima Zarah ate the breakfast and she dialled Ammi’s number but she didn’t pick. She kept dialling her number but she hadn’t responded. Fatima Zarah had nearly gave up when a message popped on her phone and she was so fast at viewing the message because it came from Ammi.

Dr. Sumayyah Tambuwal- Hi Fatima Zarah, I know you’re fine. I know you’ll be back home safe, okay? Don’t worry about Ammi much, I’m fine too. I’ll be back home before 4pm, we’re going out, okay? Rest before then and get ready, Ammi loves you.