GO!

 

I only practiced my imaginations with my paper, pen and mirror.  I had a lot to say, write and act to ME. That Mr. Taiwo suffered in my mind; he fainted because I flogged him. I casted out demons from our CRK teacher! I needed to. What he thought was the Spirit of God in him was a familiar spirit.

The teacher I had a soft spot for came to know Jesus. She said, “Here in the love of Christ, I stand.”  Her intonation and gesture had the stamina that my pastor taught us to have.  I cried while she projected her smile.

It stopped flowing: my imaginations. They stopped at the one I had a soft spot for.  I tried to make it flow, but they did not. The reverse was usually the case. I wondered what came up. I knew it would come back, it did.  When it did, it went round and round, fighting to purge out creativity; creativity to discuss with the teacher I had a soft spot for. I really wanted my imaginations to beat that Mr. Taiwo very well - he had been a bad instructor. Instead, it saw her gentle smile, her innocent eyeballs and the partial elbow to finger show of her melanin popping skin. It was so real. I smiled back munching my chips, while I wallowed in my imaginations. I wished it could come true but fear was a limitation.

The sound of my antique phone disrupted it - 33, 10 or Nokia Torch light as it was fondly called. It was Franka. Franka called to ask about the hairstyle for the week. It was the norm, it was meant to stop at this norm.

“All back and base”

“Again! When will your time for health prefect finish again?”

I laughed. She laughed alongside “Why didn’t you come to school again?”

“Maybe I was not feeling fine.”

I rolled my eyes to let out a proper smirk. “Really? This is the third Friday you’re missing class o and you’ve not copied all the notes”.

“Guy! No be everybody wan do organic chemistry. That thing is a lie.”

I could feel the detest in her voice. It tasted like suffer. Her dad had forced he to go to the sciences, it was tough for her.

                                             

“You know the test is the upper week”

“May Jesus come through for us. May the blood of Jesus which speaks better than the blood of Abel come through for us. May he help us shame them.”

She stirred me up to laughter. “Which 'them' please? Organic chemistry?”

“Noooo. I’m at peace with organic chemistry even if it is a lie. But not with the teacher. Abeg, when is she leaving our school?”

My mood switched. My tone too. “Why are you asking me? I’m not the school’s principal? Why will she leave sef? Did she do anything wrong?”

“You are just lying to yourself if you are angry. That woman doesn’t say simple a-men during fellowship. Or-di-na-ry A-men! Is she that angry?”

I mellowed. I knew where she was driving at.

“I’m still in ss2”

“… and you have a message, you forgot to add.”

“Maybe we should talk to her.”

“Igbawo la bere love tan kiss. If she hears it from me, she won’t believe us like she will believe you. She will believe you even if she says NO.  She will. You are her Mumu button, use it for your daddy. Jesus actually loves her.”

“I…

“Do you realise that if you do not tell her about Jesus, she will die and go to hellfire. In your very eyes! We are not lying Lydia, someone actually died for us. What excuse will you give your father?”

“My God.” She sounded like fire. Same fire she had when she spoke about Jesus during our Thursday monthly fellowships.

“Your fears are so obvious but what you are forgetting is that God is with you. Let go of the fear! His graces on your life have no limit. Someone’s life depends on you, Go!”

___

I liked to hear their voices roar to the junction. They roared in one of my best songs. You know how it is when you’re going to join about six hundred and ninety-nine voices to sing and make melodies to the Lord. I hastened my steps as I joined in the last four roars.

“I have received eternal life

God saved my soul

I have received eternal life

Jesus saved my soul.”

 

It made more sense to take off the silence.  

___

“I care where you spend eternity, Jesus loves you.”

We had gotten to the veranda that led to the senior classes. She was temporally in charge of our theoretical physics. Our principal asked that she help out pending the time the main teacher resumed from maternity.

She ignored.

“Aunty, did you hear me? I said I care where you spend eternity”

 “I’m beginning to lose my temper, stop.”

“You act like you don’t want to know this man. He is true. Your spirit, soul and body longs to receive him. You give us the notion that you don’t care but I know you do. It’s so obvious that the love of Christ longs to be expressed in you and through you. Please give expression for the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to do his biddings in you.”

She grabbed her lesson note from my hands. I didn’t let her go, I hugged my beloved. Some boldness pumped up in me, the Spirit of God inspired it.

“It is true that someone died for our sins,

It is true that if you believe in Jesus, the Spirit of God begins to live in you to do good works. We are not making this things up, Jesus is real.         

We are not trying to fight, we just want our brothers and sisters to receive the endless Christ we’ve come to receive. We don’t want them to perish.

On that day our Jesus went to the cross to die, He went for all and He wants every one of us in one family; His family. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.”

“Stop it! She pulled me out of her to look into my eyes. I buried my head to the ground. “Allah is the greatest!” She blurted out. I looked up. I saw compassion well up in her eyes, though, her voice lacked mercy. I couldn’t tell which one was true; her voice or her eyes?

___

Time told it – All SS3 students had to be in the boarding house. I liked the rule, there in my school rules did my sisters have all chores to themselves. What a relief! My school said it was a way of preparing us for our external exams. We had only camped for two months when the pandemic struck and they instructed that all schools be closed.

We gathered at our Quadra-angle uncertain of tomorrow as we arranged our luggage. For all I knew, the world was undergoing a revolution and it would take some time to birth the rejoicing that our land hungered for.

I dragged my bags outside. I had my newly shared nose mask on. The smell choked, it was familiar. I pulled it out; as though pulling out could track down its origin.

“May be yours was one of the ones I packed. I know you don’t like cologne. Take this one, it was packed before I touched it. I hope it has your baby smell”

“We laughed.”

“You surprised me after a long time. Thank you, Aunty. I don’t know how long this will take but I’ll miss you.”

“I’m getting others to believe too. I told Him to heal me from Leukemia if indeed He existed, if indeed He died for my sins. He healed me.”

“My God”

“And here in the love of Christ, I stand.”  Her voice spelt out stamina. Tears dropped while she projected her smile.