I was sitting on the sofa at one end of my
room looking worried, my phone by my side.
I picked it up, tried calling Basheer again
after so many abortive tries, it still wasn’t
connecting
“Oh Allah”, I said under my breath and
wished everything was alright with my dear
friend.
It was unlike him to swicth off his phone
and very unlike him to come into town
without informing me.
But what was wrong? I thought
An idea strucked me as I picked up my
phone again, dailled a number and put the
phone to my ear as it connected.
“Salamu alaikum”, he greeted me in the
usual islamic way, I could feel he was
smiling as he picked the call
“Walaika salam”, I answered
“Ah, the friend(trying to mimic the way
Basheer calls me), what a pleasant suprise.
To what do I have dis honour of you calling
me today”, Adam teased
I laughed then replied, ” You know I always
call you whenever I miss you, so it occured
to me that I was missing you today”
“How I wished that was true, I told Basheer
to extend my love to you this morning
before he left”, he replied
He gave me the answer to my question even
before I asked, so Basheer really left for
Kano this morning, I was lost in thoughts.
So where is he? I asked myself.
“Hello…”? Adam’s voice broke my thoughts.
“You seem to be quiet, is anything the
matter”? He asked
“Yeah, its just that I haven’t heard from
Basheer since he informed me he’s leaving
Sokoto and I am a bit worried”, I answered,
really sounding worried.
“That’s strange, but don’t worry, everything
will be fine”, he assured me.
Adam was Basheer’s close friend and
roommate, we were very familiar with each
other and I usually contacted him whenever
I couldn’t reach Basheer. He had promised
to let me know if anything arise and after
talking to him on the phone, I felt relaxed
although I still haven’t heard from Basheer.
Two hours later, I was sitting alone in my
room as I preferred being alone whenever I
am worried over something. I was going
through the pages of the latest Dijah
magazine but my mind was not with the
beautiful pictures I was staring at, I was
about dropping the magazine when my
phone rang. I said a silent prayer to Allah;
to let the caller be my dear friend.
How wrong was I!
I kept looking at the phone as if it would
answer the call itself, saw an unknown
number, hesitated a bit before picking up
the phone.
“Salamu alaikum”, I greeted as I answered
the call
“Wa alaiki salam”, a strange male voice
answered.
“Can I speak to Miss Na’imah please?” he
asked
“Yeah, it’s me on the line. What can I do for
you?” I replied, feeling nervous
“I am sure you are a close relative of
Basheer M. Bello, right?” he said more of a
statement rather than a question
“Yes”, I replied then added;
“What about him?”, I sounded worried
The strange caller was silent for a few
seconds before he added;
“He was involved in a tragic car accident”,
he said slowly…
