With a broken heart and deep sadness, twin tears started racing down Baba Isuhu's face. He looked at Mai Sunan Malam, who was fidgeting in Lami's arms, and said, "Mai Sunan Malam, I cannot part with you. Please, Lami, do not torture my soul with your absence." Baba Isuhu was overtaken by sobs again as he looked at Lami's bundled belongings tied in a headscarf.
After wiping his nose on his sleeve, he softened his voice and said, "Lami, do you know the kind of love and affection I have for you? Do you want to turn me into a powerless orphan? If you must go to your parents' house, you must take me with you, Lami. For I am more lost without you than a drunk without his drink." Baba Isuhu pulled Lami's hand and that of Mai Sunan Malam and hugged them to his chest, breaking into sobs again.
"Please, let go of this idea of leaving, Lami. If it's the lack of meat that will sever the bonds of love between us, I swear I will sell myself if I must, but I promise you that wherever I go, I will find meat for you, Lami."
Lami frowned and said, "Wallahi, Isuhu, nothing will stop me from leaving tonight. I already told Goggo Sala that we wouldn't stay here even for another hour. Honestly, it's like bad luck is targeting me. Not a single piece of meat for days, not even a chicken, let alone a goat or sheep. Shame on you, Isuhu. If I were married to Isa the meat seller, I would know meat until I was full." Baba Isuhu quickly interrupted her.
"What did Isa ever do for you, Lami? Have you forgotten Isuhu of Lamisuwa, the man who defies all odds?" Lami frowned again and said, "All in vain, Isuhu. Since the birth of our first child, there's not been a single piece of meat, and now you want me to continue living like this. Wallahi, it won't work; it’s like shooting into water."
Hearing this deeply troubled Baba Isuhu, and he lifted his hands to the sky, saying, "I am Isuhu of Lamisuwa, the man who braves the storm, the one who won Lamisuwa's heart." Lami smiled a bit, and he looked at her and said.
"Where is Lami?" Lami quickly replied, "Here I am."
"Not tomorrow, but tonight, I will get you a sheep." He looked around cautiously, lowered his voice, and whispered in her ear, "Do you know that tonight I will cook you a whole sheep?" Lami's face lit up with excitement as she exclaimed, "A whole sheep?"
"Lower your voice, Lami. Do you want my secret to be exposed?" Baba Isuhu quickly interrupted.
"My dear Isuhu, now I understand you. May Allah grant you success so that troublesome girl won't see you when you take her sheep." Lami spoke in a hushed tone, feeling relieved.
"When someone desires something, they are more resourceful, my Lamisuwata. I will move under the cover of night. You just wait and see." Baba Isuhu and Lami burst into laughter.
"Lami! Lami, come out so we can leave. You've kept me waiting. You know that during postpartum care, it's rare to have comfort in the husband's house, let alone with this husband of yours..." Lami quickly interrupted Goggo Sala, "Goggo, come inside. We’ve already cleaned up everything, he and I." Goggo Sala, her mouth agape, looked at her and said, "Hmm, a man indeed! Does the sweetness of a man's words really make you stay..." Lami whispered something to Goggo Sala, and her face lit up with a broad smile.
"Are you serious?" Lami nodded, smiling.
"Oh, if that’s true, it's a good thing. Even I, your sister, would have to savor such fortune. You know I am more attracted to the good things in life. Wherever there is something rich and delightful, that's where I excel." Lami walked ahead with pride, feeling accomplished, and knowing that by morning, if she got the meat and the sheep, her status and value would rise in the eyes of her peers.
