Zainab's excerpt:

Rain was falling. The icy water dripped hard into wipes and splashes all around Zainab, catching on her eyelashes while she stared up at the tall man before her. Mr. Abdullahi was in a sleek, black suit, he was as stark against the rain as a selient devil in the dark that wanted to hunt her. He considered her with murky, bloodshot eyes and she shuddered, glad for my mother’s firm grip on my hand.

“Zainab, don’t let go,” she said, and pulled me closer to her side.

“Why,” I asked, only to realize that no sound emerged when I spoke. Were I to let go, there would be nowhere to run anyway. Nothing but deep covered drain of water covered terrain surrounded me for miles. A sudden touch, something colder than water, made me jump. I whipped around to find him reaching for me with hands wrapped in a swirling stain of fresh blood shed. He was coming towards me with a knife, but it seems my mother, Binta was invisible to him.

As her walked closer, my mother yanked me away and said, angrily, “We had a deal.”

***

The man angled his bald head and smiled, displaying perfect, porcelain teeth. His reply whispered from his lips like moths rustling dry leaves. “A deal requires the participation of all parties involved. You,” he emphasized the word, “have not upheld your end of the bargain.”

He looked at Zainab again. Those putrid orbs bore into her and the scraping, fluttering sound returned. It intensified to a roar, drowning out whatever he’d been about to say.

Zainab awoke suddenly, the familiar noise still echoing in my ears. Cold, hard rain pelted me from above and she squinted as it struck her face. Grass encompassed her, looming so high that it obscured the sky and her view of the immediate area. A tangy scent of blood drifted in the air and she sat up cautiously, worried it might be her own.

Or her sister’s.

“Humaira!” She called softly.

Her body was unharmed, other than a few cuts and scrapes. The silky pink nightgown, however, were torn in several places and soaked in frigid, muddy water. They clung to her as she stood, weighing heavily on her arms and legs. Height was not a gift Zainab parents’ gene pool had bestowed upon her, so she could barely see over the colossal plants around. Peering through the wispy ends of the blades, she could make out the edge of a forest less than a quarter mile away on her right.

Hugging herself for warmth, Zainab turned full circle in my little patch of flattened grass, looking for the highway they had left earlier. But there was no road in sight, only the long line of the forest extending into the horizon. Any other landmarks that may have been present weren’t visible through the deluge of water and towering foliage. There wasn’t even a trail of broken stalks around to denote where Zainab had come from. As though the sky had dropped there there with the rain.

"What an excellent deduction Zainab. The sky is raining people! And there's no escape for you, little witch!! It's all your fault! Now, it's all your fault you'll never find your sister!!"

“Humaira!” Zainab said a little louder. There was still no response. Shivering, she continued to glance around, alarmed that there was no sign of him.

The plains were as isolated as the rainy night of her dream.

"Get up!" A splash of water wrenched her from the confusing dream. As she trembled from dreaming into reality.

"I said get up, you little witch!" Amina sprinkled another waster to her from a tiny kettle.

"It's 8:00 am and you're still sleeping?! Who would do your house hi for you?! Your servant?!"

"No ma." Zainab woke up confusedly shaken into consciousness. "I'm sorry... I had a dream."

"Get out of bed immediately and start the cleaning. We might be having visitors later in the afternoon so, I don't want to hear any complain! Prepare Jollof spaghetti for breakfast and you would was all the blankets and curtains after that!"

"But... I'll be late for school." Zainab complained. Almost in tears.

Amina wrenched water on her again another and rolled her eyes at poor Zainab like a piece of garbage.

"It's Saturday, Zainab! Get up immediately before I find a suiting cane to beat you up this morning! You won't be able to sleep well let alone dream!"

Zainab stood up immediately.

"I'm so sorry ma. I'll go now." She muttered sorrowfully and left in tears.

"Sorry for yourself! Mteeeew!!"
Amina hissed and left the room.

***

It seems things were getting worse every single day. Despite the fact that she was just discharged from hospital. Amina decided to treat her like this. She wept quietly as she badly wished she had even stayed in the hospital for one more day.

'Everything wont last long. That, I know.' Zainab muttered to herself as she finally find a courage to wipe away her tears. She really missed Humaira so much... 'And uptil now, my big sister didn't even care to come and check on me. On how I'm doing. How I'm eating and how I'm living. How unfortunate is life, itself?'

***
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