A cold January night

The evening of that very day, Uche sat on his thin foam with his back against the wall. Reading "Your God is too small by Atheist Republic". He flips through the pages, devouring and digesting every word. Yellow light from the evening sun reflected through the window onto the pages of the brown paper.

To distract himself from the thought of Omo, he was reading. A few minutes before picking up the book, he remembered their walk to church. Her warm arms in his, how she occasionally whispered in his ear. How the villagers admired both of them. He smiled shyly as he remembered how she threw her entire body into his arms, her breasts caressing his chest, the sweet smell of her perfume, and her naughty, playful smile that revealed her perfect gapped tooth. The way she looked at him with those piercing dark eyes. He felt warm racing down between his legs. It was when his little John reported for duty that he decided to pick up the book.

"Knock! Knock!" A female voice came from the other side of the door.

Who could be there? He wondered. It certainly can't be Omo; she was really pissed at him for making a joke out of Christianity. He was about to respond when the door pushed back and Omo stepped in, dressed in a red singlet and blue jean shorts.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello"

"How far na?"

"I am good"

"I hope you are doing well; you are inside alone, like a caged bird."

Uche snorted a faint laugh and dropped the book. "Come sit with me…" He tapped on the bed softly.

"Why should I?" She folded her hands over her breasts. "I don't sit near people who don't believe in God."

A genuine grin spread across his face. "So you still remember that?"

She nodded and sluggishly joined him on the bed. "Why don't you believe in God?"

"Is that the reason why you came to visit me?"

"What other reason will make me come?"

"So, you can't just visit a brother?"

"Stop trying to change the topic and tell me the reason why you hate God."

"Who said I hate him?"

"You do… all atheists do. They hate God for one reason or another".

"Hating him is one way of admitting that he exists. He does not.

"Why do you think so?"

"Why are you so bent on knowing?"

"Because I care, and we need to find the root cause to solve your problem," she said, turning to see him grinning naively.

"Why are you smiling?"

"You said you care"

"Of course, I care. I care for you like a sister would a brother. What is wrong with that?" she asked innocently.

"Nothing." The smirk died from his face as he made up his mind to share his testimony with her. Perhaps she will understand why he abandoned religion and gods. She might even come to realise that the belief in prayer or God is a total waste of time.

He folded his hand across his chest and whispered, "I was once a fulltime Christain," with a distant expression in his eyes.

At last, her perseverance is being rewarded. She adjusted into the bed; her eyes sparkled in expectation. "So what happened?"

"It was a cold January night." Uche began, "The harmattan wind was singing around the house. Despite the long day, the service was excellent. My younger brother John and I gave a testimony after I was done teaching Sunday School. We thanked the Lord for getting us through university, and we were greeted with applause from everyone. My mother has never been prouder. When I woke up in the morning, Daddy had already left for work. Mother, however, made sure to call and let him know that everyone enjoyed our Thanksgiving service at church.

"You taught in Sunday school?" She hummed softly, a sparkle in her eyes.

"Yeah," he smiled. "It is so hard to believe now but I actually once believed in God with every ounce within me. I evangelised bringing people to his fold. I was actually a triangle student at the university, going from the dorm to the classes, then to the church, and finally back to the dorm.

"What happened? What changed?" Omo thought aloud.

"Past midnight that same Sunday, I was fast asleep when I began hearing faint music that sounded like my ringtone. Without looking at the phone, I wondered who could be calling at this time. What was so important that it couldn't wait till morning? I was reaching for the phone when the call ended.

"Oh! Thank God, I can continue my sleep," I whispered in my heart. Still scratching the surface in search of sleep when my door burst open and John came in almost screaming with a voice laced with panic.

"John is your younger brother?" Omo asked.

"Yes," he gestured with a nod.

"How many are guys?"

"Four. Three boys and a girl. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing… just wanted to know."

"Uche! Mummy called," he resumed. "She said Daddy's police vehicle has been ambushed by armed robbers. Two police officers were seriously wounded by a bullet and were taken to the hospital, while one officer was killed. In order for Daddy to return home safely, we should pray. He said and moments after, he dashed out of my room. I heard him telling our only sister the same thing.

In my experience, panic and worry do not make anything change, so for some odd reason, I managed to stay composed. Deep down, I had faith my father couldn't die just like that. He was one of the two in the hospital.