Maybe

Maybe he doesn’t know, but you never asked.

Maybe she doesn’t have, but you never asked.

You assumed you know her, but her appearance is far from her struggles.

You assumed he is happy, but his smile is plastic. 


I couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t properly dressed for salaat. I tried to focus on the lecture, but I kept thinking about her. When I finally had the opportunity to speak with her, she said: “I don’t like going to the mosque because people stir at me like I have done something wrong”. I asked her why she was dressed the way she was, but her answer shocked me. “This is the only scarf I have,” she said. A year or a two before that, I had 50 scarfs, it had never crossed my mind that there are people who do not have scarfs for salat.


“Asake, she’s fasting but never joins us in congregational prayers. Today, I challenged her, but her response surprised me”, Musa said.

“I don’t have a Khimar and our uniform is a short sleeve with jeans, so I pray when I get home” She replied. The lady works in Musa’s office as an office assistant.


Asake, I greeted the ladies before proceeding to the pharmacy section of the supermarket. I asked the pharmacist for pregnancy strips then the ladies switched to their local dialect. “Imagine this small girl already sleeping around, how old is she that she allowed a man to knock her up,” one of the Ladies said. “Poor girl, I pray the test is negative, so she can plan better in the future,” the second lady said.

On my way out, I greeted them again and they smiled. I turned to them and spoke in their local language “I finished University more than 7 years ago and I have been working since then, I have been married for a while and we have been trying to conceive so I pray the test is positive.” Jade narrated.  Known for making excuses on behalf of people, Jade concluded with “I guess it is because I don’t wear a wedding band”.

Till next time, before you jump to conclusions, give the benefit of MAYBE

 This post was edited by Dolapo Ajayi

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