All through her wedding ceremony, thirteen year-old Hadiza did nothing but cry. She cried for her lost youth and the unfairness of life. She didn’t say goodbye to her parents as she left for her husband’s house. She hated them for selling her.
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Alhaji Abdul was a young man of thirty-eight years, but he was still too old for her. He smiled at her as the car raced towards his home, showing his dimples which made Aisha think she was lucky to be married off to a handsome man.
Aisha was married to a fifty-two year-old man, and was almost a year in her marriage.
Hadiza didn’t return Abdul's smile, she hated him too.
Her eyes lit up when she saw her new home. It was beautiful.
“Do you like it?” Abdul asked, watching her expression.
Replying with a shrug, she made sure he didn’t see her face to read her emotions.
She was led to her room, which she loved instantly. The room was every girl’s dream. It was painted pink, and the bed was covered in curtains like that of a princess. For the first time in months, Hadiza felt like a girl again.
As she admired her new clothes and makeup, she forgot about her wedding night, until the knock on her door sounded and Abdul came into the room, wearing just shorts. Hadiza looked away as she greeted. Her mother had taught her how to greet her husband to show to total submission.
“You are yet to have your bath,” Abdul observed walking towards her.
Hadiza moved back and quickly ran into the bathroom, taking as much time as she could in there, hoping Abdul would be gone by the time she came out.
She was disappointed.
He was calmly seated, reading a book at her reading table.
“How do you like your room?” he asked, as if she didn’t just spend forty minutes having her bath and keeping him waiting. “I asked your parents of your preferences and tried as much as possible to decorate your room as you would like it.”
Hadiza could not hide her surprise. He asked her parents what she liked?
“Hadiza,” Abdul continued, “I am not unaware of your age, and I know you shouldn’t be married, so I will send you to school, and we will consummate our marriage when you turn eighteen.”
She stared at him. She didn’t believe him
“Just don’t tell anyone, it’s between us. Also, you must remain faithful to me, as I won’t tolerate that kind of disrespect… ”
Hadiza watched her husband’s mouth moving, but heard nothing else as her mind could not contain what her ears were hearing. It was when he left her room after only kissing her forehead, that Hadiza realized that her marriage was proving to be a blessing in disguise, as she seemed to be getting all she hoped for that her parents could not afford.
She was beginning to agree with Aisha that she was lucky.