They were driving, with Waheed behind the wheel. He appeared to be around 34 years old, while Bintu, who seemed no older than fifteen, sat beside him, visibly upset and avoiding eye contact with him. This made Waheed also turn his gaze away, and they drove in silence until they reached Birnin Kebbi, with the sun already setting. 

They headed straight to the Badariya area and stopped at a large, well-kept house. Waheed parked the car and glanced at Bintu, reaching out to hold her soft hand in a comforting gesture. She pulled her hand away and gave him a glare before stepping out of the car angrily, not bothering to close the car door behind her as she stormed into the house. Waheed got out, closed her door, and then entered the house.

Finding no one in the courtyard, Waheed went straight to the first room in a row of rooms in the house, where he knocked and was welcomed in. Inside, a beautiful fair-skinned woman with a prominent nose, looking very much like Bintu, was sitting on a sofa. She greeted Waheed warmly. 

Waheed, who had sat on the floor near the sofa in a respectful manner, asked, "Alhamdulillah, Umma. How are you all doing?"

She replied, "We are fine, but it seems Bintu is upset. She came in looking quite angry."

Waheed just smiled and then asked, "How about Alhaji? Did he go back to Jos?"

She said, "Yes, he left this morning. He didn't know you were coming; otherwise, he would have stayed to see you. He misses you and Bintu a lot."

With a smile, Waheed responded, "Oh, we miss him too. We just came straight here, you know how it is."

Umma nodded and then looked at Bintu, who was lying down sulking. She remarked, "I know Bintu can be quite a handful sometimes. Maybe you had to come straight here because she insisted, even though it’s not even the weekend."

Waheed just smiled again and then asked, "And where is Abdallah?"

Umma replied, "I sent him on an errand, but he should be back soon, Insha'Allah."

Bintu quickly interjected, "Umma, please tell him to bring me some ice cream," she said as Umma stood up, telling Waheed, "You must be tired from the journey. Let me get you some water to drink," and she walked away without waiting for his response, ignoring Bintu's request entirely.

She returned with water, juice, and some food, setting them in front of Waheed. He thanked her and then looked at Bintu, who was now off the phone. Standing up, he said to her, "Fatima, please bring the food so we can go to my room and eat."

Annoyed, Bintu pouted and said, "I'm not eating. You can take your food and go. I don't want it." 

Seeing Bintu's reaction, Umma, who had started to leave, paused to hear what Bintu would say. With tears welling up in her eyes, Bintu turned to Umma and said, "I don't want to eat, Umma. I just want ice cream, and I called Yaya. He said he would bring it for me."