The rain made tap tap noises on the corrugated iron roofs as I.B made his way through the muddy pathway to his home. His red arsenal jersey,which was now fading to orange, was drenched with sweat and rain. He was out playing football with Amadu and the boys when the rain started.

He carelessly shut the heavy wooden door of the ' Zaure' as he entered the house and made his way to his room. He took off his soaked shirt and replaced it with a  white vest which had yellow patches in the armpit area. He was careful with the rain when he walked out to his mother's room.

She was sitting on the verandah on a raffia mat,a tray of beans balanced on her thighs as she hand picked the bad ones from the good. Her old 80's radio which badly needed a new antenna and some Duracell batteries was playing an old Shata* song.

"Good afternoon Umma" he greeted as he sat near her on the mat.

She nodded at him with a smile and continued her task. He pulled the yellow container that was placed near him knowing definitely it was his lunch. He was already hungry due to soccer and he was looking forward to eating lunch. His facial expression dropped when his eyes met with the food. It was a plain white jollof rice with tomato deficiency and was lacking more essential ingredients. There was no meat,chicken or fish. It was just plain. He heaved a frustrated sigh as he took a spoonful.

Life has never been better. Things are getting worse day by day.  He was struggling so hard to make ends meet. His sisters had to be transferred to a public school because there wasn't enough money to pay their fees. They don't have sufficient foodstuff at home and even his small wage as a part time mechanic was not helping matters. Ummah started selling Daddawa(Locust bean) and some local spices. The trading was not flourishing but enough for them to have water everyday in the house as one jerry can of water is worth 25 naira.

His thoughts were interrupted by running and screams. His three sisters ran into the house drenched from the rain and found cover under the verandah.

Fatima was the first one to greet him.

"Good afternoon Ya Ibrahim"

"Afternoon" he nodded " where are you coming from?"

"Islamiyyah" Amina chirped in.

"I thought classes end by late evening?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"We were sent home. Because...."

"I know!" Ibrahim interrupted Fatima who was about to explain the reason why they were sent home as if no one already knows why .

"You girls should go inside and remove your uniform else you'll catch cold" Ummah stated. They all scurried into the one bedroom they shared with their mother. Her eyes followed the three girls as they got inside and she felt her chest tighten. Sorrow and grief filled every inch of her heart. Life has never been so hard for her. She knew she was trying her best but she was at the brink of giving up. She doesn't know what to do anymore. All her relatives have abandoned her ever since she got married to the love of her life. She was against her father's wishes when he arranged her wedding with the district head's son and instead married  Yusuf with whom she found happiness and eternal love. There were happy and contented though his income was small,but they has enough to feed themselves and send the children to good schools. She had faith in him. She knew life will get much more better. She remembered how every night she will say soothing words to Yusuf when he complained. She told him to be strong and never loose hope in Allah.

But looking at how things have changed now,she doubted if she was still the strong Ralia some few months back.

"Ummah ni Zan fita (I'm going out" Ibrahim interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to see him standing with his hands in his pockets, his eyes looking up at the now clear and turquoise sky which was free of rainfall.

"But you haven't touched your food" she says as her eyes caught the sight of his untouched jollof rice.

"I'm not hungry. I'll be back later" he says and walks out. She watched his retreating figure as he disappeared inside the dark Zaure. He looked exactly like his father. His footsteps, the way he speaks and most especially, his voice.

Her eyes welled up at the thought of her dear husband. The tears were about to pour down but then she heard her girls quarreling in the bedroom. She dropped the tray to the side and made her way to the room to see what was wrong.

Cool fresh air fanned his face as he walked on the muddy streets of the suburbs of 'Yan lemu*. His arsenal jersey,which was now slightly dry hugged every inch of his body indicating how small the fabric was for him. A lot of things were running through his mind. His head was already throbbing hard due to excessive stress.

He turned the corner and there he saw Amadu and
Movich playing Cards by Halliru's shop.  He walked over to them and immediately Amadu saw him he jumped up and shook his hand. Ibrahim nodded at Movich who nodded back. This has been their usual greeting ever since the Sameerah issue.

"Mutumina(my man) how far?*" he asked as they both sat down on the wooden bench.

"Nothing much fa. What are you guys up to?"

"We are going to watch that match between Madrid and atheltico later in the night. You wanna tag along?"

"No. I don't have enough money on me"

"Its okay. I'll pay for you"

"No it's fine really."

"You can take my place, I'm not going tonight" Movich chirped in.

"What? Why? It's the biggest game of the year" Amadu stated wide eyed.

"I'm going to Sameerah's" Movich said with a wide grin "Screw Madrid. Sameerah is all that matters today"

"Wtf? How did that happen? Are you guys already dating?" Amadu asked with a shocked expression. Ibrahim just sat there,dumbfounded.

Movich stroked his bushy sideburn and smirked " I tried those pick up lines Bashir told me yesterday. It worked" he said with a sheepish grin.

"She was impressed when introduced myself as Movich. She said she heard a lot about me from her brothers. How I was the best football player"

Ibrahim's heart was beating erratically. No this cannot be happening.

"We talked for a while and  So I asked if I could go see her today and she agreed."

"Shegen!!!" Amadu clapped his hand with Movich's shoulder. " you are the boss. You are...."

Ibrahim zoned out.

He finally realized the fact that he was nothing but a piece of shit in this cruel world. He remembered how he tried taking to Sameerah three days ago and how she had turned him down disgracefully. She frankly said he was a disgrace to his family and she couldn't date him because he couldn't provide for his mother and sisters,he can't provide for her likewise. It had pained him so much he smoked weed to sleep.  He had tried his best to overcome the heartbreak but hearing this news was the biggest mistake he made this evening.

That night,he decided to try the worst of all to clear his mind. He carefully pulled out the folded paper Amadu had handed him after they came out of the cinema. He unfolded it and stared at the white powder. He took a deep breaths and picked some on his index finger. He brought it close to his nose and sniffed it.

It went straight into his head. He felt a sharp pain on the left side of his head. He shut his eyes  and he shook his head rigorously. Before he could regain back into his senses, he heard clatter of plates on front of his room and as he opened his eyes, he was met with sad ones. Sad eyes belonging to Ummah.

"Ibrahim?" She gasped. "Innalilahi wa Inna ilaihi raaaji'un"