During school vacations, Bella didn’t go home to see her family. It was quite a long distance to their family home from where the university hostels were located. The university was located on a distant region of the country quite far from their home. So, she did not bother going home. And her roommates as well, were no different in this regard. They also did not bother going to their families.
One day, Bella got a call.
“Hello mom”
“Hello, it’s not mom. It’s Joe.”
“Joe, what’s up?”
“Are you alone or you are with some people?”
“I’m alone. Hope no problem, bro?”
“I fear that you may not be able to take this or control yourself. I…”
(Cuts in) “Hey Joe! Please, tell me whatever it is.”
“Dad is dead”
“What?”
“Are you coming home? Hello! Hello, are you there? Bella, are you okay? Hello”
And it happened that Bella’s Dad died. After battling with a previous illness for some time, he eventually gave up the ghost. Bella, however, still chose not to go home to her family after the incident, but she was later reached to ensure that she was fine and she was being updated about the burial processes and some other family situations.
The death of Bella’s dad was a phenomenon that the other three members of the family reacted to in some ways that were distinguishably unique to them.
When Bella’s dad died, it served as a wake-up call for her Mom, and she was able to reflect on the reality of life. The family generally was immensely slack in their religious commitment. She contemplated on her purpose of life, and the deplorable extent to which she has not been paying attention and exerting efforts in fulfilling the purpose. She reflected on atrocious activities she had engaged in, reprehensible gatherings she had attended and some other things she did. Her heart became softened by the will of Allaah, and she felt the urge to repent.
Bella’s mother repented and started offering her obligatory prayers and involving in other acts of worship.
Joe was the “cool” guy who didn’t really care. It did not take much before the grief of his father’s death disappeared from his heart, and he was not even really affected by it anyway. After Bella’s mother repented and started practicing Islam, she wanted to influence the family, so she would tell Joe to go offer prayers. However, the feeling of regret for the past which the mother experienced was not so for Joe. Joe loved the party lifestyle, with the music, drinks and the ladies. He was concerned about music, entertainment and having fun, going for shows, visiting the cinema, going clubbing. These were part of his lifestyle, and things he was concerned with, so his heart was so hardened that the fear of Allaah had virtually no place in it. And then, his mum wanted him to offer prayers and he was like “what is this, man?” But anyways, his mother would not leave him alone on the matter, so he decided to pretend like he was praying just because of his mom. So the guy would go out in the day, engaging in things playing, having fun, cycling, visiting the girls, soccer, and some other things, and he would come in the night and pray all of the five prayers in quite a short time, hardly would it exceed ten minutes. No ablution, no actual recitation. The guy would just be moving his lips and body, going down and rising up in pretense, trying to deceive his mum into believing he was actually praying. His mom did not know that it was wrong to combine prayers in such manner due to ignorance, so she would not object to it.
As the phenomenon of her dad’s death occurred when she was being influenced by the social theory and movement of feminism and some other ideas, the type of contemplation Bella had differed from that of her mom greatly.
“Hi girl! Sorry about your dad’s death. I offer my sincere condolences to you. I wonder how you will be feeling about it.”
“Thanks Ellen. Thanks for your concern”
“How are you feeling now?” asked Ellen
“I feel relieved, but I’ve been having some thoughts in my mind that stemmed from the memory or experience of what happened and I’ve made a decision for my life which I wish to achieve with resolution.” Bella said.
“What decision? Do you mind telling me about it?” Ellen asked.
“One of the decisions or issues which some people consider important to be implemented in their lives is marriage. At some stage in some people’s life, they feel this desire to opt for the marriage life. Some feel they need a partner in their life in that regard. In some cases, their bodies experiences sexual arousal or feelings and nature calls for their bodies to long for sexual pleasure, which prompts them to search for partners. But as for me, I now feel it is not worth it. Marriage is not just worth the stress and efforts exerted into maintaining it. I mean, what is the point when your partner which you’ve shared love or feelings with may just die and leave u one day, which may cause you heartbreak and depression. It may also happen that, you and your partner would have jointly planned and effected some decisions in your lives which affects both of you, and then your partner may just die and leave you to deal with it. Look at my dad, he just died like that, and his death had an impact on my emotions, me being his daughter. I wonder how my mom who was his wife would feel with the nature of the bond and connection they used to share when he was alive.
So I don’t feel marriage is worth going into for me, since I cannot have the guarantee that my husband would not just leave me one day, which may consequentially make me go through some psychological or emotional attack, or make me go through a hard time.” Bella stated.
“So what do you plan to do, or what decision has these ideas motivated you to make?” asked Ellen.
“I don’t want to get married. I just want to be a single woman all my life, a single woman with great accomplishments. And I wouldn’t have to share such feelings or love with any man, to avoid suffering such heartbreak as a result. And I don’t want to plan my life or share the managements of my plans or accomplishments with any man, to avoid dealing with it if he dies or leaves me. I just want to be on my own.” Bella stated.
That was the situation with Bella. She didn’t want to get married.
As time went one, Bella and her cohorts in feminism continued to promote their theory and movement. Bella’s mom continued to practice her religion, while Joe continued with his craziness.
Eventually, Bella and her roommates, along with some other students graduated from the university. Bella and her roommates, being striving feminists, they had this tendency to study and do research in the aspiration of gaining different ideas and knowledge, and building on their potentials. So, they were quite studious students, and they did well in their academic activities and got good grades. They all obtained degrees in their respective fields.
“Now, the time has come. Our academic endeavors have ceased, and we have acquired our degrees and have built a platform on which we can start chasing our dreams and possibly accomplishing our ambitions.
The plan that I wish to implement now is to go join one of the best political parties that we have in this country. And as for me, I plan to start involving in politics at the federal level. As in, those state and local levels, are not for me. They are just below my standard.” said Ellen.
“And how do you plan to do that? That seems like a herculean plan to accomplish.” said Bella.
“You don’t worry, girl. I have my way of doing things now. Trust me, I’ll get there. Anyway, what are your plans, girls?” said Ellen.
“As for me, as a lady born with a silver spoon in my mouth, as a lady exposed to various opportunities from various angles, I plan to use some of the money I have accumulated over the years to set myself up in one big business. I think, I will start from there, and as the money grows and the opportunities get wider, I will invest in some other things. But whichever way I go, I must be the boss and must be the one to give orders. That’s for me.” said Genevieve.
“As for me, the ravishing and alluring Adele, possessing the potentials of being a celebrated face of the entertainment and modeling industries, I plan to exert the phenomenal and glamorous qualities that I’ve got to attract suitable personalities and opportunities to myself. It is not for my type to go and start queuing for auditions which you may not eventually succeed in getting your desired opportunities. And even, if they consider you, they may start giving you some low level deals that will bring you poor and cheap pays. And as for me, I’m always on a high level, so I don’t deserve all that. As in, I’m a superstar.” said Adele.
“Well, I haven’t really resolved for any particular plan yet. Although, I know there are various chances out there, but I’ve not just settled for a particular plan. I think, if I can widen my research and reach, it is possible that I would come across something big. That is for me”, said Bella.
“I hope that we all accomplish our dreams and plans.” said Ellen.
After a while, they all parted and went different destinations.