CHAPTER 16 –
© OPEYEMI OJERINDE AKINTUNDE
“Devil, I have no blood to give unless you want the
blood of Jesus” I heard Bishop saying before I entered
his office. Pastor Ben had told me to go in, but I stayed a few
minutes at the door trying to get my acts together, but
in that few seconds, I heard a few things.
“Devil, I have no blood to give, unless you want the
blood of Jesus, my soul is not yours,” He said
I went back to Pastor Ben. “Pastor, I think Bishop is praying?”
“No, he is expecting you… Come…”
Pastor Ben went ahead of me and knocked at Bishop’s
office door.
“Yes come in” Pastor Ben opened the door and asked me to go in. He
shut the door behind me. The last time I was in Bishop’s office was when I
gained admission into the University and Mum had
brought me for prayers…
“Nwala, you are such a big girl, the last time I saw you, was about three years ago”
“Yes sir”
“Have a seat”
“Thank you, sir”
“Ok, let’s get straight to it, last week, that young man
was about to make a ridicule of you, I had to pretend
not to understand the real meaning of boyfriend and
girlfriend” “Yes sir… I am sorry sir, I didn’t know he was going to
come to church”
“He came to prove a point?” He asked
“Yes sir”
“Tell me the situation between you both?” He asked
“He is a good person, we have known each other for
years, since I was a child, and we started dating three
years ago, but recently my mother has been against us”
“Is he genuinely born again?”
“No. Last Sunday was a show, he only pretended to get
my mum’s consent”
“Nwala, life will throw onions at you as you grow, especially in marriage, and what will determine if you
will cry from the onions or you will make a great soup
out of the onions is dependent on the partner you are
with… A good man is not enough, A Godly man is …
Nwala, as your spiritual Father, I will advise you to stop
dining with the devil, because the devil has nothing good to offer in the long run. Right now this boy may
be giving you butterflies in your belly but in the long
run, he will give you belly pain if he doesn’t have
Christ”
I sat quietly…
“That’s all I wanted to say to you” Bishop concluded
“Thank you, sir”
“Any question? He asked
“No sir”
“Alright, let us pray… Dear Father, I thank you for your
daughter Nwala, help her to make the right choice for
her destiny. Do not let her dine with the devil… Go
and prosper in Jesus’ name”
I was checking my room for anything I might have
forgotten, when my mother walked in. We had not
spoken in the past five days…
“You are set!” She said
“Yes ma”
“The driver said you told him someone was coming to
pick you up?”
“Reuben offered to drop me off… I believe you are
happy mummy?”
“Not yet! I will be happy when you let go of Daniel and
focus on Reuben for real, Nwala I know you, all you
have been doing in the past five days can be a
charade”
My mother knew me too well, a part of me was
enjoying the friendship and all, but another part of me
couldn’t wait to get back to school and settle with
Daniel…
“Mum, I am trying to fake it till hopefully I make it…
Right now, Reuben and I are friends, so let me
observe him and decide if I want to choose him over
Daniel”
“Thank you for your honesty, at least I know where to
direct my prayers” Queen Mother said…
“Mum, thank you,” I said to her and I meant it. I knew she wanted the best for me…
On our way to my school, I told Reuben I wanted to
see Timo again before leaving. We had been seeing
him every day since Sunday, which was an opportunity
for Reuben and I to hang out…
“You no be husband and wife?” (You are not a husband
and wife?) Timo asked when I told him I was going
back to school, but my friend would always check up on him
“Your friend… me I think you are husband and wife, but uncle you like her very much, I see the way you
look her… Timo said
“Oh, you see it?” Reuben asked smiling
“Very well,” Timo said laughing
“Don’t mind him Timo, he is my friend, I have
someone I want to marry”
“But hope he loves you like uncle?”
“Yes… very well, me and this other uncle have been in
love since we were young”
“It doesn’t mean, my moda and fada, know each other
from primary school, still, they fight themselves till my
fada die. Before my moda die, she tell me, before I put
woman for house, make I ask God.” The room was silent…
“And both of you fit yourself,” Timo said
“Ok… thank you Timo… I need to be on my way” I said
quickly…
“Ok … think about it”
“Sure, I will think about marrying Uncle Reuben” I
said hugging him and waving him goodbye…
To be continued…