Zakia - Episode 14

 

The Amir was buried at the earliest hours of the following day, next to his younger brother, and his most Loyal follower, Kabir,- A brief burial arrangement that I'd chosen to exclude myself completely from. 

The death of the Amir had obviously come to me as a relief, and I just couldn't pretend like I was even the least bit sad concerning it. 

Nonetheless, Iman had been strong all through, doing everything possible to speed up the whole process..and by the time the clock hit ten a.m on the dot, we were all set in the beat-up vans, ready for a journey back to the real world.. 

Yet, as much as I felt excited to have my freedom back, it was still tainted by the mere fact that I was literally alone. All through that very journey, the Baytu-Naheem girls did nothing but gush about their relatives whom they were all going back to meet, and as much as I tried to hide my feelings, the truth remained that I was extremely jealous . My closest family had all been killed by the ruthless Kabir, while my extended ones,- Khalid, and Sis Ruqayah,- had suffered death in my very own hands. 

What exactly was I going to do in the real world? How was I going to move on? How was I supposed to figure it out all by myself? These were the questions that wouldn't stop popping up in my head.. 

Notwithstanding, our journey back to the central town lasted for almost two days, and it was only when we pulled abruptly in front of the nearest police station we could find, that the reality of the situation truly hit me: Iman was really doing this. He was handing us over, and turning himself in together with the rest of the men. 

It didn't take long for the familiar sound of sirens to start blaring, as a small crowd of burly policemen had barged out from nowhere in particular, pointing their dangerous pistols at Iman, and the rest of the army

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/zakia

. But none of them tried to escape, they merely raised their hands up in surrender.

Read " After Grad " by the same author ( Ishola Ubaydah )

. They were all cuffed with the usual shiny metals, and as I watched them get dragged away from sight, my eyes refused to shift from Iman who also stared back at me. There'd been no exchange of words between the both of us, nothing at all, but then it all got too much for me to handle, and at that moment, I burst into an uncontrollable tears. 

That was the last time I ever saw Iman physically, because the next time I saw him, it was on an old TV screen, as he was being dragged out of a courtroom, after being sentenced to death by hanging. 

"You'll be fine without me Zakia," Those were Iman's assuring words to me the night before our departure from the forest. In that particular moment, it'd seemed like the best thing for him to say, and the most perfect thing for me to hear. However, Iman couldn't have been more wrong, because my nightmare only became worse few days after the death of Iman had been announced publicly through the media. 

The Baytu-Naheem girls had long been handed over to their various families, however, the same didn't apply to me. No one came to the police station to take responsibility for me, there was no family anywhere for me to run back to. Hence, there'd been no other alternative left for the security officials either, but to take me over to the Relief Camp, somewhere in the suburb. 

"Zakia, you don't have to worry. The Relief Camp is just like a Rehabilitation Centre. There are stable social amenities there, free food and accommodation, and even a therapist in case you need someone to talk to privately.." One of the policemen had explained to me, and at the time, it'd sounded like a peaceful place for me to be in, considering the chaos my life had already been through. 

I arrived at this Relief Camp sometime in the evening of that very day, and at first, it seemed exactly like what the policeman had told me earlier. I was immediately offered a room, I was offered clothes, I was offered food.. I was comfortable. I felt like I'd found a place worthy to be called a second home.

The Relief Camp is nothing like it seemed, I know that now, but at that particular moment, I'd been so ignorant..