FreeFreeDescription
KWARTON MANYA BOOK COMPELET
Two friends were standing outside the gate of a newly built house that stood out in an exclusive, high-class neighborhood known only to the affluent. One leaned against a car while the other stood facing him.
Salis looked at Nasir with barely contained fury etched across his face:
"Nasir, did I not say I was going to marry Amrah? Well, I have cancelled it. I am not marrying her anymore. I don't care what people say about this; I am simply not doing it!"
Nasir stared at Salis in utter disbelief, as if looking at someone who had completely lost his mind. With only two days left until his wedding, Salis was abruptly calling it off. What did this even mean? Would they become the laughingstock of the town?
With deep distress, Nasir pleaded: "Salis, are you in your right mind? This is Amrah, the girl you were head-over-heels in love with, the one you swore you would sacrifice everything to have! Now, with just two days to go, you say you are calling it off—and by your own admission, she hasn't even done anything wrong; it's just your whim? What on earth has gotten into your head to make you commit such a reckless act? Think about this! If she hears this news, what state do you expect her to be in? She is completely relaxed, counting down the days, and suddenly she's hit with this devastating blow?"
Salis snapped back like a madman:
"Nasir, your calculations mean nothing to me! The wedding is off; I am not marrying Amrah, even if she and I are the last people left on earth. Go ahead, I leave her to you, along with everything I bought for her—my bride price, the gifts, everything is yours. Take her and go get married to you instead! As for me, I swear, rather than marry Amrah, I would rather die right now. Just go ahead if you want to marry her, but I am not doing it!"
Before Nasir could reply, Salis cut him off:
"I don't need any more words from you about this. Just go, and may God grant you peace."
With that, he turned, slipped through the small pedestrian gate of his freshly painted, gleaming house, and slammed the door shut behind him.
Nasir stared after him in shock, standing frozen for a long time, wondering if Salis had somehow been possessed by jinn. With a heavy heart, he climbed into his car and drove off, searching for a solution. While Nasir didn't harbor romantic feelings for Amrah himself, his deep empathy for the nightmare she was about to face made him realize he might have to step in and marry her. To him, the public humiliation Salis was about to inflict on Amrah was catastrophic.
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Amrah was taking a bath, daydreaming about her upcoming wedding to her beloved in two days. She smiled as she pictured their future life together filled with mutual love.
Her phone began to ring, interrupting her sweet reverie. Wrapped only in a towel with soap still on her skin, she rushed out of the bathroom because the custom ringtone she had assigned to him signaled that her sweetheart was calling.
Her friends, who filled the room, teased her with knowing smiles. Giggling and blushing, Amrah snatched the phone from a friend’s hand, too excited to wait. Eagerly beating him to the punch, she blurted out:
"My love! I was just about to call you. Send a car over, Zee and the girls are here, and they're just waiting for me so we can go get our henna done!"
On the other end, Salis twisted his face in disgust, hating the very word Habibi coming from her mouth. Coldly, he interrupted:
"Who is your 'love'? Let me tell you right now: I called to inform you that I have cancelled our wedding. The bridal gifts and bride price I brought for you—I am leaving them as a free gift to whoever comes along to marry you instead. I wish you and him peace. But let me warn you, don't ever think of calling my phone again, and if anyone has the nerve to approach me about this, I will disgrace them. So don't ever come near my house or my parents' house!"
Click. He hung up.
As the words hit her like a thunderbolt, Amrah's body began to tremble. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed straight onto the floor. A wave of profound trauma washed over her, and hot tears streamed down her face. Unable to contain the suffocating agony crushing her chest, she let out a piercing, gut-wrenching scream and hurled her phone violently against the floor, shattering it to pieces.
Her friends rushed to her side, and panicked guests who had gathered from various towns for the wedding flooded the room, frantically asking what had happened to Amrah.
Amrah thrashed around, weeping hysterically, crying out that he had cancelled the wedding. In her sheer terror, she began tearing at the towel wrapped around her body, completely out of her mind with shock. Her mother, rushing forward in a panic, grabbed her and slapped her across the face sharply, shouting:
"Amrah, snap out of it and tell us what's going on! What has caused you to lose your mind like this? Who cancelled your wedding?!"
Stung by the slap, Amrah snapped back to reality. Tears pouring down her face and lips quivering, she sobbed:
"Salis... Salis called me to say he cancelled our wedding. He said the gifts and bride price belong to whoever wants to marry me now, and warned that anyone who confronts him will face his wrath..."
A collective gasp of shock filled the room. Amrah’s mother sank heavily to the floor, her body going cold, and asked through her tears:
"What terrible thing did you do to him to make him choose to humiliate us like this?"
Weeping bitterly, Amrah replied:
"Wallahi, Mama, I didn't do anything to him! I was just waiting for him to send a car so we could go for our henna, because yesterday he said he couldn't take us himself since some special friends of his were arriving from the US and he had to pick them up at the airport."
Murmurs of utter astonishment and condemnation filled the room. Everyone knew how deeply Salis loved Amrah—he was the very person who had gifted them the house they were currently living in, showering them with wealth.
Soon, a knock at the door announced Nasir’s arrival. He wanted to see Amrah. Trembling, Amrah threw on a giant hijab. As she rushed toward the door, her aunt stopped her, reminding her she was still only wearing a towel underneath. Hurriedly grabbing a long gown, she slipped it on and bolted outside as if she could fly.
Nasir stood leaning against his car, looking deeply troubled. The sight of Amrah’s frantic, tear-streaked face confirmed to him that she already knew. He felt a deep wave of shame and profound pity for her. Softly, Amrah greeted him, fresh tears spilling over. Nasir felt tears prick his own eyes out of sympathy for the unexpected tragedy that had befallen her.
In a quiet, gentle voice, Nasir said:
"Stop crying. I am ready to marry you if you agree. The original wedding date and time can remain exactly as planned. Take your time to think about it, and when you are ready, call my number and let me know."
Amrah stared at him in disbelief, feeling as though she were trapped in a dream, a movie script, or a novel.
Nasir nodded to reassure her, adding:
"Go back inside, think it over, and let me know your decision."
With tears still streaming, Amrah turned back toward the house, her mind reeling. Nasir remained standing right where she left him, head bowed in solitary distress. He looked up at her one last time, and seeing that she still hadn't fully processed his words, he forced a brave smile and said:
"I, Nasir, agree to marry Amrah, my friend Salis's runaway bride."
Amrah bolted back inside, weeping uncontrollably. She sank to the floor of the courtyard, wailing like a little child. The household gathered around her anxiously, listening to her grief.
Once she had cried enough to ease the sharpest edge of her pain, she explained:
"Nasir, Salis's friend, came. He said if I agree, he will marry me on the exact date and time originally set for my wedding to Salis."
A loud cheer of relief and joy erupted through the house. Everyone was grateful for this miraculous salvation that would spare Amrah public disgrace. Her mother, wiping away tears, declared:
"As your mother, I agree and give my 100% backing to this marriage with Nasir. Calm your heart, my daughter—what God withholds is a blessing in disguise. May God bless this young boy for saving our dignity the way he has saved us."
A chorus of "Ameen" echoed through the room.
Her aunt, Aunty Asabe, pulled her up and led her to her room, comforting her:
"Be patient, Amrah. In life, what you want isn't always what's best for you; sometimes what you initially reject turns out to be your greatest blessing. Embrace this marriage wholeheartedly, and learn to love this young man. As for Salis, try to wipe him from your heart and leave him to God to judge. Now, go wash up and join your friends for your henna as planned."
Though reluctant, Amrah followed her aunt's wise advice. She borrowed an old spare phone, inserted her SIM card (since her primary phone was smashed), and sent Nasir a text message confirming her agreement.
Despite her broken heart, the wedding preparations pressed on. The ceremony went ahead as planned, and Amrah was eventually brought into Nasir’s home as his bride.
After the guests departed, Nasir and his closest friend entered. His friend offered words of wisdom, advising them to be patient with each other and ignore the gossips and critics—many of Nasir and Salis's peers disapproved of the union, whispering that Nasir had betrayed his friend or that a secret romance had been the real reason Salis called off the wedding in the first place.
Left alone in her room, Amrah waited anxiously for Nasir to visit her. Hours ticked by in silence, broken only by the hum of the air conditioner. She eventually performed ablution, prayed her missed prayers, and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep filled with a terrifying nightmare:
She dreamed of a mysterious figure warning her over and over: "Amrah, your marriage will fail! Your marriage will fail! It will fail in two weeks!"
She bolted awake in a cold sweat, looking around the empty room, realizing it was just a nightmare. Driven by sudden hunger, she opened the food packages Nasir had left behind, devoured the roasted chicken, drank down a bottle of fresh milk, and fell right back into a deep sleep until late the next morning.
When she woke up, she showered, dressed lightly, and stepped into the living room, where she found Nasir sitting and reviewing some paperwork. Quietly, she took a seat and offered a polite, "Good morning."
Without even looking up or acknowledging her, Nasir gathered his documents and walked straight into his bedroom.
Amrah stared after him in utter bewilderment. "Oh my God, what is happening to my life?" she whispered, fresh tears filling her eyes. She felt trapped between the ghost of her past love with Salis and the cold, distant reality of her new husband, Nasir.
Soon, her friends Zee and Salma arrived, bursting into the room with lively energy to cheer her up and escort her out for post-wedding festivities, completely unaware of the cold war brewing behind closed doors.
Summary
The story shifts focus to a new set of characters: Salis, a wealthy young man who abruptly and callously calls off his wedding to his beloved fiancée, Amrah, just two days before the ceremony, leaving her humiliated and devastated. While Salis heartlessly abandons her and leaves behind all wedding provisions, his loyal friend Nasir steps in out of profound pity and a sense of honor, offering to marry Amrah on the original wedding date to save her from public disgrace.
Amrah, grieving the sudden loss of Salis, reluctantly agrees to Nasir's proposal with the backing of her family. They marry, but the union begins under a cold, tense cloud. Nasir acts entirely distant and aloof toward Amrah in their new home, leaving her isolated and filled with regret. To compound her anxiety, she experiences a chilling nightmare warning her that her new marriage will collapse within two weeks.
Description
- Setting: An affluent, newly built neighborhood and a domestic household in Northern Nigeria, moving from the tense street outside Salis's newly painted villa to Amrah's chaotic bridal room and eventually into Nasir's cold, modern marital home.
- Themes: Betrayal, sudden heartbreak, societal humiliation, honor versus selfishness, and the complexities of arranged/substitute marriages.
Tone: Emotional, dramatic, and suspenseful, contrasting the cruel capriciousness of a fickle lover with the quiet, self-sacrificing nobility of a loyal friend, underpinned by looming psychological dread.
Analytics
- Character Dynamics:
- Salis: Capricious, cruel, and selfish. His sudden, unprovoked betrayal highlights how quickly superficial affection can turn into malicious abandonment.
- Nasir: Honorable, empathetic, and stoic. He steps into the marriage not out of initial romantic desire, but out of a strong moral compass to protect a woman from public ridicule.
- Amrah: Vulnerable, resilient yet deeply emotional. She goes through extreme psychological whiplash—moving from the highest pinnacle of bridal joy to total devastation, and then into a cold, emotionally sterile marriage.
- Plot Progression: The narrative establishes high emotional stakes early through a shocking betrayal, transitions through a communal rescue mission (the substitute wedding), and sets up a new psychological conflict centered on emotional neglect and ominous premonitions in the marital home.
