Aneesah rushed into the room and collapsed on her mother, who was packing clothes into a bag. Her mother, Ammi, looked up in alarm and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?" Aneesah, catching her breath and scared, couldn't respond immediately. Ammi repeated the question angrily, and Aneesah burst into laughter, saying, "Ammi, Yusuf wants to beat me because I laughed when his ball got run over by a car." Ammi scolded her, "When will you grow up, Aneesah? I told you to wash the dishes, not to follow Yusuf around. Are you running from Yusuf if not for foolishness?" Seeing her mother's anger, Aneesah stood up quickly and apologized, "I'm sorry, Ammi, but if I go out, he will beat me. He's crying." Just as Ammi was about to speak, Yusuf entered the room. Aneesah hid behind her mother, saying, "Ammi, there he is." Ammi scolded Yusuf, "How dare you try to beat your sister?" Yusuf gave Aneesah a look and said, "The man gave me twenty Naira to buy a new ball." Aneesah laughed, "Twenty Naira?" Yusuf replied, "Yes," and then pulled out two new one-thousand Naira notes. Aneesah was shocked. Ammi asked, "Who gave you that money?" Yusuf explained, "The man who ran over my ball with his car told me to buy a new one." Ammi turned to Aneesah and said, "Give it here, Yusuf. I'll go to the market myself to buy you a new ball, but did you thank him?" Yusuf admitted he forgot, handed her the money, and left the room. Ammi sighed, "May God bless that man. I was just wondering what we would eat later." Aneesah suggested, "Just buy food items, Ammi." Ammi agreed, "That's what I'll do. Let me finish packing, and then I'll go to the market." Aneesah left the room to do the dishes in the courtyard.

As Aneesah was preparing for her Islamic school at 3:45 PM, Ammi returned home. Aneesah quickly took the bags from her and brought out a chair and water for her. After drinking, Ammi told her to hurry to school as it was getting late. Aneesah asked about Yusuf, and Ammi said he went with his friend Khabir. Aneesah put on her hijab and niqab and left, saying, "I'll be back, Ammi." Ammi wished her well. At 7:45 PM, Aneesah and her brother returned home. Ammi was sweeping the courtyard. They greeted her and went inside. After changing out of her uniform, Aneesah helped Ammi with the sweeping. Ammi told them to pray and that their food was in the kitchen. Yusuf was excited to see rice and stew and started jumping with joy. Aneesah scolded him, "Do you eat rice every day? Fool." Yusuf raised his hand to hit her, but she dodged and called for Ammi. Ammi quickly entered the room, separated them, scolded them, and then sat down, watching her children.

Aneesah, a 17-year-old girl, and her family have faced hardship and poverty since the death of their father, Alhaji Mukhtar, a wealthy man in Abuja. He died in a car accident eight years ago while returning to Abuja from Kano after visiting relatives for Eid. Despite leaving behind considerable wealth, including six houses, cars, and land, his brother Alhaji Shehu took everything, claiming he would hold it until Mukhtar's children were of age. Mukhtar was the youngest of three brothers, with Shehu and Ibrahim being the others. Their parents died when Mukhtar was young, and his brothers treated him poorly. Despite the hardships, Mukhtar completed his education with the help of his car washing job and eventually got a job at the House of Assembly in Abuja.

Seeing his success, his brothers pretended to care for him, and Mukhtar, being a forgiving person, helped them and other relatives. He met Aneesah's mother, Maryam, at a friend's wedding, and they fell in love and married despite her family's disapproval. They had Aneesah a year later, and after eight years, they had Yusuf. Mukhtar's death deeply affected Maryam, but she chose to stay and raise her children in their father's house despite the disdain from his family. Her own family was poor, and her stepmother mistreated her after her mother's death, so her maternal grandmother raised her until she married Mukhtar. She knew returning to her father's house was not an option as his wife controlled him and disliked wealthy suitors.