Today in the staff room, he sat quietly, lost in thought about what to do. He had been thinking for so long that he didn’t even notice when a staff member came close and said, “Sagir, we’re leaving. See you tomorrow, Insha’Allah.”
He looked at him in surprise, then glanced at the wall clock. Truly, closing time had passed — nearly ten minutes ago.
He replied, “Alright, see you tomorrow.”
He started packing his things. As he stood up, he saw her standing in her usual spot. He stared at her for a long moment, then walked up to her and said, “Teacher, wait.”
She looked at him, then lowered her head with a shy smile — she had been wondering why she didn’t notice him leave earlier.
She heard him say, “Come here,” and he began walking away. She followed him in confusion until they entered a classroom.
He sat on a desk and signaled for her to sit on the chair beside him. She obeyed and sat down. He kept quiet for several seconds, then she heard him say:
“Jalila!”
The way he called her name sent a strange feeling through her, stopping her from replying. She only stared at him. He said:
“I want to tell you a story.”
She didn’t say anything, only watched him.
He smiled and began:
“There’s a message my friend wants me to give you. Last year, he saw a certain girl for the first time. He was traveling with his younger sister to visit their mother’s elder sister. On the way, his sister said, ‘Yaya, please let’s stop and get something for my headache. My head has been hurting since morning.’
He quickly parked when he saw a chemist across the road and went inside.
He had just been handed the headache medicine when a girl rushed in. One look at her, and you could see she was distressed. She said, ‘Please, I need medicine for leg pain.’
The nurse asked, ‘What kind of leg pain?’
She replied in tears, ‘I don’t know. My grandmother’s leg is swollen.’
The man who came to buy the headache medicine suddenly felt deep pity for this girl. His heart tightened with worry seeing her tears.
He said, ‘Why not take her to the hospital?’
She didn’t even look at him. ‘Please, just give me something that will help her. I only have 200 naira right now. If it costs more, I’ll bring the rest tomorrow.’
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