*She* kept greeting from the gate of the house, but there was no response, and the sun was beating down on her head.

She had no other option but to stand there, shielding herself from the sun with her small mat, because no one answered her. She greeted again, but still, there was no reply.

This made her sit down, take off her slippers, and sit on them as if she were taking a lesson.

The old man approaching from afar had been watching her. He quickened his pace to confirm his suspicion.

When he got close to her, he said, *"NANA KHADIJATU, my dear, what are you doing under this scorching sun that everyone is avoiding?"*

She quickly looked up, happy to see her father standing there. She said, "Abba, I returned and have been greeting, but no one answered, so I sat here. I didn't know if anyone was home."

"How could you come here in this sun and sit as if you were forced to do so? Get up, let's go inside. And don't ever sit out here again. You could get sick," said Khadijatul Khubra's father.

He took her hand, and they headed towards the house.

At the gate, he greeted, but there was no response, so he continued to walk inside while greeting again.

What surprised him most was seeing someone in the courtyard.

He approached, taking a good look at her before he could utter, "Ladiyo, you were sitting here while we were greeting, and you didn't answer?"

She frowned (like a pot of soup about to spoil) before she responded, "Yes, I heard. So what? Or did anyone say I was kept here to answer your greetings?"

Not wanting to be humiliated in front of his daughter, he decided to let it go, saying, "May God guide us."

Ladiyo responded, "May He guide us beyond this."

He didn't reply further, shaking his head, and went into his room.

Throughout this encounter, Kubra kept her head down, tears streaming from her eyes.

Seeing her father leave, she also turned to leave the spot, but Ladiyo's voice stopped her with a barrage of insults.

She quickly went inside, her heart pounding.

She found a corner in the dimly lit room to sit, waiting for what might come next.

As she sat quietly in the barely lit room, she looked around as if she were a stranger or someone new to the place. Sleep eventually overtook her.

In her dream, she saw a beautiful place.

She tried to reach the place but got tired along the way and decided to sit down and look around, hoping to find water.

Not seeing any sign of water, she turned to look back at the path she came from, which stretched endlessly, making her bow her head and cry in despair.

From a distance, she began to hear the noise of people and a pleasant fragrance that made her lift her head and follow her nose.

A procession of people was about to pass by her.

Quickly, she stood up and followed them, even though they were on a vehicle, she managed to get in front of them, saying, "Please help me."

No one listened to her; they just went around her and continued their journey.

She ran to get in front of them again, pleading with them.

This time, her persistence angered some of them, and they yelled at her.

Scared, her body trembling, she watched them as a man with a whip came towards her, making her cry and beg for mercy.

He raised the whip to strike her.

Before he could, a gentle voice from behind him said, "Don't you dare do what you're about to do."

The man turned to see who spoke, and upon seeing the person, he quickly stepped away from her, shaking like a leaf.

A handsome young man appeared, dressed in white clothes, walking with a majestic gait until he reached them.

He looked at the man before speaking, but the man quickly bowed respectfully and said, "I apologize, your highness."

The young man raised his hand to dismiss him, not saying anything further, and turned to leave.