Inception: Where Two Lines Meet

Jafar's visit

Jameelah looked at herself in the mirror for the umpteenth time and each time she kept sighing in disappointment.

She has never really paid attention to her looks, she doesn't even have a mirror, not in school and not at home. She's sitting in front of her mom's dressing mirror and can't help but shake her head in shame.

"Do you think he'll like me on seeing me like this? This is going to be the first time he'll see my face?" She asked Mazeedah who only hissed at her.

"That's why I'm saying you should at least use some make over. Look at all the pimples on your face, ugh, you look horrible and according to what you told me about their family I'm sure they're all flawless. I wonder if you'll fit in. I doubt he'll even like you after seeing you" Mazeedah paced the room as she spoke feeling genuinely concerned for her sister.

"We've prepared everything for their arrival but only one thing is left" She said and Jameelah's forehead creased

"What's that?" Jameelah asked curious

"You! You of course" She looked back at her sister who sighed in disappointment.

Jameelah's gaze met hers in the mirror, she's dark skinned but not just like anyone. Her skin shone and radiated, everyone calls her ebony, black beauty, back then in secondary school but she has never seen the beauty in herself.

Each time she looks into the mirror, she turns away from it quickly as if it were forbidden for her to look in it. She fears it will break and she feels ashamed with the acne that decorated her face.

Apart from the neatly sewn wine Khimar she was wearing, there was nothing else beautiful about her. She made up her mind and stood up to leave.

"What? You'll go like that?" Her sister questioned and she nodded.

"If he doesn't see me and like me for myself at the first meeting, then it won't be nice when he later does in the future, he might not like me then and that will be bad. I don't need any make over"

That being said, Jameelah left the room and Mazeedah just stared into the air, trying to recover from the shock her sister put her in.

•

Jafar grinned from ear to ear as his family teased him all the way along their journey from Lagos to Abeokuta.

He never thought that everyone would take him serious when he mentioned it at home and to his surprise, even his brothers who were in school, all returned home.

Abu Hamza also retuned from his business trip and Juweriyyah was picked up from school.

Two jeep cars were put in motion. A lot of goods were packed in their trunk. It was as if the whole family were going with the intention to pick Jameelah from their house that day.

Soon they reached their destination and they were welcomed by the Abdur Razaq's into their house.

"Marhaban Marhaban, you're welcome into our humble abode" Mrs Abdul Razaq greeted the Lawans with a big smile on her face and they were awed by her hospitality.

Though the sitting room was a very small one, just typical of a cozy bungalow and the chairs weren't enough, Abu Hamza ordered that some mats be spread on the floor and the men sat there.

"I'm very sorry on behalf of my family, we're such a small family of four please help manage our house like that" Mrs Abdul Razaq said

Jafar and his siblings looked around the house and wondered at how much small it looked compared to their own house. It's as if they haven't seen a house as small as that before.