She emerged from her room crying, looking at the room where her father lay. She felt a hand on her shoulder and heard her name being called.
"Ummu Salma, be patient. God will provide us with a solution." Without looking up, she knew it was Yaya Hadiza. Through her tears, she said, "Yaya Hadiza, this situation is heartbreaking. Ten thousand naira is what we need to take Baba home in this condition?"
Yaya Hadiza held her hand. "Come, let's go before Yaya comes out so we can figure out what to do."
They stood in the hospital courtyard, in a place away from the comings and goings of people, with only parked cars around. They leaned against a car without caring about the heat it was radiating.
Yaya Hadiza asked, "Salma, how much do you have on you right now?" She replied, "All the capital for my bean cake business is just seven hundred naira, and as you know, every day I make between seven and six hundred naira. That's what we use to buy food. If we take it and give it away, where will we get money for food, let alone for the hospital?"
Yaya Hadiza sighed and shook her head. "We can't touch that capital. Let's wait for Yaya Auwal to come out and see. You know he works at the bakery, and they only pay him at the end of the month, unless God sends him some odd job to do."
Salma asked, "So, Yaya Hadiza, is there nothing you can do?" She replied, "Salma, what do I have left now? Only the bed we sleep on. Even Baban Amira, you know he isn't strong. He has to go out and find something before we can manage."
Salma spotted Yaya Auwalu searching for them. She said, "There is Yaya, he must be looking for us." Yaya Hadiza called out, "Yaya Auwal!" He looked in their direction and then approached them.
They continued to discuss how they could get the money, but after almost thirty minutes, they hadn't reached a solution. The topic was still about money, and they didn't have it.
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