HIM HER & I (Part 17&18) – OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE

PART 17
“HIM, HER& I”
( A Love Triangle)
©️Opeyemi Ojerinde Akintunde

Bro Tunde was the one taking the closing prayer. I was so happy, Papa did not make the public confession, but after the closing prayer, I heard what sounded like trouble…

“ All executives are expected to stay behind for a brief meeting with the President “. Bro Tunde had said before sharing the Grace.

Everything in my body spoke to me that, it had something to do with Papa and I. Unfortunately for me, Bro Kennedy, Papa and I were part of the executives.

I instantly started having migraine and stomach upset, I needed to get Bro Kennedy and I out of the fellowship center…

“ Bro Kennedy, I don’t think I can wait for this meeting, I am having a splitting headache…” I said as our initial plan was to leave campus together.

“ Aww… Sorry… It’s ok, let me inform Bro Tunde to update me on whatever will be discussed..”

“ You can always call him to get information later.” I said trying everything possible to get him out of the fellowship center.

“ That’s true… but I need to get my room key from Bro Tunde” Bro Kennedy said and I knew there was no stopping him, Bro Tunde was his roommate. He needed to get the room key from him.

Bro Kennedy went into the president’s office and if there was anytime I had prayed fervently before that day, it won’t have equaled the level of fervency I used to pray for those few minutes. I think that day would have been the day I prayed the most fervent prayer ever…

“ God Please, don’t let my secret be leaked to Bro Kennedy.. God please cover my shame…” I groaned silently in prayer

Bro Kennedy took forever to come out, but when he finally did, I knew something had gone wrong…. He was walking out of the office in a very slow way, he had his eyes very red… He was trying to reason out something… He looked me in the eye with tears pouring out of his eyes and said…

“ Have you been lying to me? “ he said sobbing with heartbreak in his eyes and voice, not minding the other students in the fellowship center

“ I can explain!” I said

“ Are you the sister who slept with a brother in this fellowship, who got pregnant and aborted?” He said raising his voice, by this time the attention was on us as people were beginning to ask each other questions… All the fellowship executives had also stepped out…

“ You are shouting and making a scene.. Bro Kennedy, can we go and discuss this privately?” I said touching his arm in an emotional way

“ Don’t touch me…” He screamed at me…

“ I totally get this, I have been the biggest fool to think you were interested in me or loved me as much I loved you… I think I know who the brother is, so you got pregnant for Papa, aborted it since it didn’t go down well with him and you decided to come back to this fool named Kennedy lying to me you were raped!” Bro Kennedy said in tears and Papa didn’t help matters. He didn’t argue the statement, he only bowed his head in shame…

“ Oh my God, to think I left Mmesoma for you this pretender, I am the biggest loser ever… I hate you Timi, I hate you, you are the devil’s mistress” Bro Kennedy left the center, weeping ….

The fellowship center was as quiet as a graveyard, though we had over 50 students present. I wanted to run far away from there, but my legs didn’t move one bit, instead my body was doing a 360 degrees turn on it own as I looked around for who could console me. My tears flowed with no restrictions, as I looked into the eyes of all the sisters I had deceived about Papa having a Fiance.

They also understood they had been fooled. Each of them eyed me maliciously, no one came close to pet me… and one after the other they left me in the circle. I was able to move my legs, and I found my way to the altar, I fell down on my knees weeping profusely .

I couldn’t raise my head because of the shame, so I stayed in that position till I was sure everyone had left, but as I stood up to leave I saw Papa sitting at the last seat in the center waiting for me…

“ The fellowship president did not mention our names, he just said that two executive members unfortunately found themselves in the act of fornication which resulted in pregnancy and afterwards abortion. He said this in the meeting as a way of discouraging too much closeness between brothers and sisters in the fellowship. I guess Bro Kennedy immediately connected your been raped to the story… I am sorry… I felt a heavy guilt on me all this while, and I needed to let it out”

I walked close to him and said…

“ Thanks for making me naked in front of the whole school.”

I left school and went back home shattered , broken and wounded only for my mother to come up with a story that a man was interested in me…

Who?, Her Evangelism Partner!!!

“What kind of thing is this?” I was mad in my Spirit. At that point, I felt betrayed by two Christians I had invested my love in , though I knew I was not innocent, but at that point in my life, I was done with religious brothers…

I was going to find love outside the Christian folk, probably a widower or a divorcee who also had children, so that my having a daughter, Jadesola won’t be an issue…

I just had one more semester in the university. My plan would be to stay low, avoid the Christian fellowship and move on with my life…

PART 18
“HIM, HER& I”
( A Love Triangle)
©️Opeyemi Ojerinde Akintunde

His name was Bro Stephen, and truthfully speaking I had serious issues with the name. The fact that the Biblical Stephen was stoned to death just made me dislike this brother from the get-go.

After I returned from school, my mother had teased me severally that, a certain brother she had met during her early Morning evangelism would make a fine husband. She said the first day he came to our house and saw my lifesize picture frame in the living room, he had jokingly told her…

“ Mummy, is this your daughter… I like her, I hope you can give her to me?”

I didn’t give Mum any reply as I was still trying to lick my emotional wounds. I called Bro Kennedy several times in the first three days but I got no response. Likewise Papa called me several times but I refused picking up.

I called Mmesoma to know if she heard what happened and Yes she did. I knew the gist must have gone round the school already…

“ Hello Timi, Good Afternoon…”

“ Mmesoma how are you? “

“Fine and beautiful!” She said smiling…

“ Ok, I just thought to check on you!” I said

“ Ok, thanks , but I know you want to find out if I heard about what happened at the fellowship center, Yes I did, Timi, but it’s okay I believe you should be happy that the truth is out, because the Bible makes us understand in Proverbs 12:19 that “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed”.

If this had not come up now, it would have come up at a time you won’t be able to control the effects. Imagine if Bro Kennedy had found out after the wedding, it would have been disastrous… But it’s still better this way… If God wants you both to end up together, God will make it possible. All you need to do right now is seek God’s face and when God forgives you, raise your head high, because When God Forgives, Man’s criticism is inconsequential. So brace up, remember it is bad when we fall, but it becomes worse when we refuse to rise up… Forget the shame and rise up.

Sis Timi, When bad things happen to me, I don’t let it lessen me rather I take it as a Lesson” She said and after about few minutes of encouragement, she ended the call…

“How will I face the whole school?” I knew I would receive a lot of finger pointing. I knew the campus newspaper would see it as a great news. I could imagine the headline:

BORN AGAIN SISTER GETS PREGNANT &ABORTS BABY FOR PRAYER WARRIOR LEADER….

I didn’t want to face that shame…

It was therefore a wrong timing for the so called Bro Stephen my mother was trying to hook me up with. I was emotionally sick and needed healing.

Unlike Bro Kennedy, this Bro Stephen was a handsome, born again Christian. He looked clean, he had a good set of teeth, his cloth was always well ironed, he had a nice haircut but the fact that he was a religious brother, an evangelist for that matter, I was not interested.

Anytime he came around, I would dress up and leave. I only greeted him out of courtesy. When it was about 5 days to the end of my two weeks break, Bro Stephen spoke up …

“ Sis Timi, it seems you don’t like my presence, you always leave anytime I come around”. He said and I saw the way my mother eyed me maliciously like an original African mother.

I knew I would need my allowance when going back to school and if I continued that way Mum was not going to give me a good allowance. At that point, I couldn’t joke with money because of my final year project.

I politely waited and smiled.

“ Not at all sir, I just wanted to take a walk!”

“ So how is school?” He said

“ School is fine” I replied meanwhile what I wanted to say in actual fact was “ Bros, What is your business, are you the one paying my school fees?” But the stare I was getting from my mother few meters away from us told me it would be a big mistake…

“ Ok, Your Mum told me you are in your final year, so what do you plan on doing after school?” He asked

“ Oh Boy! Is this some career talk session?” I reasoned Silently “Some of these Spiritual brothers can be one hell of a boring lot.”

I saw the way my mum was looking, so I knew I had to get us away from where she was so I could give this Bro Stephen some stones of words that will send him far away from me.

“ Sir, do you mind if we take a walk, I like taking early morning walks” I said

“ Wow… That would be nice, actually walking is my hobby. It really gives me an upper hand as regards my ministry, as I can trek miles while evangelism.” He said as we started walking away from the house.

“ It was on one of such occasions I met your Mum, when she was also evangelizing. The moment I saw her, my Spirit clicked with her…” He was saying and I cut in…

“ Sir, I actually took you away from there so we could talk!”

“ I know” he laughed

“ Ok Sir, mummy tells me you are interested in me, so I want to know if that is correct?” I asked very bluntly

“ Yes, absolutely, I have a certain peace about you…”

“ Good, but I need to let you know me a bit, because I don’t want you to judge me by my mother’s spirituality. I am Jadesola’s mother” I said expecting a look of surprise but he said..

“ Ok… I know that already, your Mum told me!”

“ Ok, since that is not a problem, I want you to know I recently got pregnant and had an abortion!” This time around he looked shocked and became silent, so I knew that was my best time to strike

“ The reason why I am telling you this is for you to know the kind of person I am, I am not a saint and judging from your level of Spirituality, you will want to marry a Godly woman, unfortunately I am far from that. Please, don’t break my mother’s heart by telling her about the abortion, all you need to do is tell her, you don’t think we are compatible… God bless you sir…”

I walked away from Him as I knew I had stoned Bro Stephen and whatever love or attraction he must have felt for me had died.

I returned back home hours later and expected my mother to look at me in a terrible way, but to my utmost shock, she smiled and gave me a big hug saying….

“ Bro Stephen said, you are exactly the kind of woman he wants to marry.. Praise the Lord!”

“ What! This brother Stephen is sick and stubborn but if only he knows who I am, he won’t dare me..” I reason silently as I watched my mother dancing in excitement.

I didn’t want any church boys!!!!