Read Online Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim - Free Book Online

things she wished she had done differently. Such as showing Yaro some affection, protecting him as every mother should do her child. And here she was, fifteen years after his death, seeking him in the eyes of the miscreant who had scaled her fence. That felon she had shielded because she saw the shadow of Yaro in his eyes. The son she had loved, but to whom she had been forbidden to show love.
    She had not meant for it to happen, the heady events of that afternoon. At least not exactly the way they had. It all seemed like a blur now. She remembered him looking at the fading scar on her neck and saying how sorry he was. The little spark of concupiscence deep within her had burst into a flame. She had seen its reflection in his eyes, the fire, blazing until he could no longer subdue it. Her heart had been racing. And when he had ventured to fondle her breasts, she had moaned and tried feebly to move away. He had put his arms around her, and she had found his lips.
    Shame had come much later, after they were done and lay side by side trying to catch their breath. She got up and pulled down her dress. When he had come to leave, he had halted before her as she stood by the door, eyes averted. Uncertainly, they had stoodlike that, until he parted the curtains and went out. And when she sensed him gone, because she did not hear his footfalls, she had exhaled. She knew then that her search for Yaro in the eyes of a stranger had unshackled her long-suppressed desires and left the objectionable stench of fornication clinging to her.
    â€˜Mother, you have not said anything.’
    Binta sighed. ‘You girls are so lucky.’
    â€˜Really?’
    â€˜In my time, such things as a woman calling her first child by its name were frowned at. Some women didn’t even acknowledge their second or third child.’
    â€˜This is not your time as such, Hajiya.’
    â€˜Well, make the best of it.’ And this Binta said with such sincerity that Hadiza turned to look at her. But Binta had her face nestled against the side of the pillar, staring at the fence where the bird had been.
    The evening breeze ferried a sweet fragrance to Hadiza. She savoured it for a while before deciding it had been applied rather too lavishly. ‘Your perfume smells nice, Hajiya.’
    Binta was silent for a while. ‘Thank you.’
    â€˜You have suddenly grown fond of perfumes and incense.’
    â€˜Hmm. I have always been fond of perfumes and incense.’
    â€˜Yes. But you have been burning incense non-stop since I returned.’ She stopped short of mentioning the three baths.
    Binta’s silence stretched almost into disregard. Finally, she drew her hijab tightly around her. ‘You should talk to your sister Hureira. I fear she might end up ruining her second marriage just as she did with the first one.’
    Their talk strayed from Binta’s sudden infatuation with sweet-smelling things to Hureira’s startling eccentricities. Until the gathering dusk ushered them in to make plans for dinner.

6
    A snake can shed its skin, but it will still remain a serpent
    When Reza slipped his hand under her wrapper, he discovered, much to his surprise, that the clump of ancient hair he had encountered the first time was gone. She was amused by his startled expression and offered only the faintest resistance when he undid the wrapper and looked at her. She allowed him to sit her on the cushioned stool before the dressing table. When he knelt before her, she turned her face away and pressed her thighs together. But once he prised them apart, gently, and took his tongue to her, she held his head of minuscule anthills and quaked. And because they were alone in the house, because she had always wanted to, because she could not stop herself, she moaned. With his tongue, he unlocked something deep within her. She soared with tears streaming down her face.
    When they were lying on the bed, still unable to look each other in the eye,