Chapter Two: The Delicate Dance

After the great harvest was safely secured within the thick clay walls of the silos a task that required Balarabe’s full focus for weeks, a new, lighter kind of work began for him. This was the work of the heart, which required more patience and finesse than turning the dry earth.

The affection between Balarabe and Rukayya was a delicate, highly regulated thing. In Danja, a young man did not speak directly to the woman he hoped to marry, especially not of matters of the heart. To do so would be a breach of. . .