"bala's journey"

**"The Keke Rider of Potiskum"** Bala wiped sweat from his brow as his keke rumbled over Potiskum’s dusty roads. The afternoon sun hung heavy, and the smell of roasted maize drifted from Mami Market. A woman in a bright hijab waved him down. “Tsoho Hospital, quick!” she said, clutching a whimpering child. Bala nodded, swerving past bicycles and herds of sheep. He knew these streets like his own heartbeat—the laughter near the tea stalls, the crackle of the radio at Yusuf’s repair shop. At the hospital, the woman thrust a crumpled 500-naira note into his hand. “Allah ya ba ka lafiya,” she whispered. Bala pocketed the money, smiling. Another day, another life touched in Potiskum. Write by zainab bukar babagana