She remained silent, listening to her uncle's voice rising as he spoke in anger and frustration. His face showed clear signs of anger and weariness, with no trace of kindness or mercy. Despite his anger and raised voice directed at her mother, who sat listening, neither her mother nor she, who was old enough to feel the pain deeply, looked up or responded to his outburst. Uncle Bello was always angry and frustrated whenever he came to vent his frustrations in front of them, but no one ever responded until he finished, and her mother would just ask him to be patient. Jannat, on the other hand, wouldn't even lift her head, let alone speak.
This time, his words were harsher, causing both her and her mother's eyes to fill with tears, though neither wanted to show their tears to the other. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his robe and repeated his final words to her mother: "If Abdulhameed goes to that school again and I receive another complaint, I swear by Allah, I will send him to almajiranci. I can't handle this misery. My brother died and left me with nothing but your burdens. If you can't stay where Allah has placed you, you and your children should leave; we can't handle it." He then left, still muttering angrily as he exited their small section of the house where they had been living alone since their father's death.
Her mother sighed without looking at AmatulMaleek, who was still trying to mend Abdulhameed's torn trousers with a needle, despite her young age and lack of skill. Neither of them said anything because AmatulMaleek, despite her youth, was very good at hiding her feelings. Knowing that AmatulMaleek wouldn't speak, her mother swallowed her tears to avoid being seen by her daughter and got up to start washing the large pile of laundry.
AmatulMaleek watched her mother silently, putting down the needle and thread, her eyes filled with unspoken questions. One constant thought in her mind was why, if Mommy was her mother's sister, she only sent them food and clothes but never took them away from this life of humiliation and suffering at the hands of their father's relatives. Whenever their food ran out, her very young brother would go begging for something to eat, while they would go without food or her mother would cook for the household in exchange for some food for her children.
It always puzzled her that on the days they received food from Mommy, the household would gather to divide everything, leaving them with just enough for two days before they were back in hardship. They grew up in a house filled with their father's brothers and their families, each with multiple wives and children, making it a crowded place. Everyone was focused on their own family, with no one able to help another because they were all struggling.
There were five main men in the house, each with his family, and none had left despite the difficult living conditions. Her father was the youngest and the only one with formal education, working as a government employee at the local primary school. Despite efforts to get him to leave the village for a better job, he remained as the vice principal until his death, leaving behind his wife, daughter AmatulMaleek, and infant son Abdulhameed, named after his father.
Before her father's death, their life in the Sanda Fulde family home was different due to the care and attention he provided. He never considered taking another wife due to the crowded living conditions and the difficulty in maintaining proper upbringing among his siblings' many children. Despite his efforts to instill good values, the other parents often undermined his work, so he focused on ensuring his own daughter's well-being and education. He enrolled her in school, making her the only girl in the family to receive a formal education.
