21st April, 2007, the cloud seemed so dark and heavy with her tears. Could she be responding to the heartfelt prayer of Zaria's land from the terrible lashes of heat and sunburn from the scorching sun? It was the third time rain fell since August 2006. Although it wasn't so long to cause a drought, the land was so dry and all water reserves were depleting. Along Mai Danboyi street is a house belonging to Mallam Rashid who died a few years ago leaving four children and a wife. Mallam Rashid was an educated man who loved philosophy and logic. Despite his religious status, he always engaged his beautiful daughter Jemila in stories and myths. Jemila was so fund of her father and to her, he was the exact definition of perfect. She looked up to her father for everything because he would always tend to her needs. Mallam Rashid didn't give all his attention to his daughter alone, he ensured his three sons went to very good schools with high morals, instilling the philosophy of love and respect in them. Mallam as his wife would call him, loved his wife above all things. The women in Mai Danboyi street always admired her and praised her because her husband endowed her with every good thing.

One Thursday night, after Mallam had said his prayers, he sat up on his prayer mat unable to stand to his feet. He experienced an acute difficulty in breathing and after a few struggles to breathe in air, he gave up the ghost. Jemila noticed her father was taking long in his room and decided to check on him like she usually does. On opening the door, she saw her father lying helpless on the floor. A 9yr old her age wouldn't understand the difference between a dead and a sleeping person. She called out to her father but he wasn't responding. 'Could Baba be playing pranks on me?' She taught 'But Baba has never done anything like this before...maybe it's a new story'. Indeed a new story was just starting in Jemila's life and she didn't realize at the time. Jemila's mother came into the room and saw her husband lying lifeless on the floor. She screamed, hitting his chest and trying to regain his consciousness but no response at all. That was when Jemila realized that her sleeping Father was going to sleep for a very long time. Ruhama Rashid knew her husband was diagnosed to have a heart disease two weeks ago but she never expected it to be as severe.

Walls came crashing down as the head of the Rashid family fell from it's neck... 
_To be continued_