msafiri fiction 138 though she seemed completely unfazed by the blow, as she continued to chase him around the small circle created by the spectators. With all the might he could muster Samadu threw another fist, but Abeeba had already anticipated it. She dodged, then deftly grabbed Samadu's wrist and twisted his arm with such force that he didn't even know when he let out a high- pitched cry, " Wayyo Allah." The crowd gasped and watched nervously as the tough guy attempted to extricate himself from Abeeba's tight grip. He tightened all the muscles in his body and moved his head side to side - all in an attempt to foil Abeeba's move. But her strength was just too much for Samadu. The crowd booed, " Wooh, ugly rhinoceros." Then in a sudden, swift movement that many swore later to be as fast as an airplane's lift- off, Abeeba hurled the tough guy off the ground, then lifted him further up above her head ( the crowd booed louder), before dumping him on the ground, like a sack of rice. She jumped quickly on top of him and began to whack him violently. The women jumped about frantically, like scared antelopes. They shouted, " Where are the men in this house? Men, come out O! There is a fight!" A few men came running to the scene, followed by many others a minute or so later. Meanwhile Abeeba continued her offensive. With each punch that landed on Samadu she asked, " Where is our money?" " I don't have it, and wouldn't pay even if I had it!" Samadu responded in an attempt to regain his shattered pride and dignity. The men drew nearer and attempted to pull Abeeba away from her victim, but that turned out to be a difficult task; her grip on Samadu's waistband was too firm. The men pleaded on Samadu's behalf and begged Abeeba to let go of her captive. " I would not release him until he pays us back our money," she shouted. " And if he doesn't I'll drag his ass all the way to the Zongo police station," she added. On hearing this, an elderly man who lived in Samadu's compound ran inside the house; he returned a few minutes later with eighty cedis, which he placed in the outstretched palm of Abeeba's free hand. She checked to make sure the amount was up to eighty dollars before she finally released Samadu. She gave him a mean, hard look as she walked away. The awestruck crowd watched silently as Abeeba began to walk back to her shack, their mouth agape as if what they had just witnessed was from a cinema reel. Mallam Sile was still engaged in his morning zikhr, or meditation, when Abeeba returned to the shack, and of course had no inkling of what had taken place. An hour later, when they were preparing to open the teashop for their customers, Abeeba announced to Sile that Samadu had paid the money he owed them. The tea- seller, though surprised at what he had heard, still didn't see the need to ask how that happened. In his naiveté, he concluded that perhaps Samadu had paid the debt because he had either found himself a vocation or had finally been " entered by the love and fear of God." Abeeba's announcement confirmed Mallam Sile's long- standing belief that " every man is capable of goodness just as he is capable of