FREE TO REMARRY

They thought they had heard confessions until Kassim made them believe he killed his grandmother.

Kassim's father could not hold himself anymore as he bursted into a oceans of tears.

Kazzim Father: "Pastor let him die, he does not deserve to live, let him die".

"I cannot have this monster as a son, he's not my blood".

"Let the bastard die or I will kill him myself".

Sincerely everyone could understand the man's pain. Nneka: "How can a man sleep with his own mother and sister and kill his own grandmother all for the sake of sex?" "Huuug" " _ "

"What sort of life is this?"

"How did I marry a monster without knowing all this abominable ack for over ten years".

"What happened that God didn't reveal all of this to me?"

There was calmness in the hall because of the last revelation. His father walked out of the hall in rage and Nneka's brother in-law joined him pleading with him not to go.

After much begging, Kassim's father never returned to the hall again. He sat by the car but her brother

in-law came in after sometimes. At this time, it was few minutes to 7am and some of the prayer team

members pleaded to go and prepare for work.

The pastor closed the meeting and asked them to reconvene by 9pm again.

Nneka's father in-law and brother in-law knew nowhere in Lokoja so she had to take them to their

house. She really wished that she will not come back to that house again. Even though she built the house together with Kassim, she suddenly became a stranger in their house. She was agitated and restless through out that day for fear.

The food she prepared, her father in-law did not touch it.

"I am not hungry, what is inside me is more than hunger my daughter, he said.

He then called her for a chat at about 2pm. He took almost 14 minutes apologising to Nneka about Kassim's past.

"We would have told you who Kassim is but he told us he was a changed person after he gave his life to Christ."

"I am not a good Christian but I know what it meant when someone gives his life to Christ."

"And moreover, everything we were asked to do for his atonement was done when he raped his mother."

"My daughter you're not bound to this marriage anymore, you're free to remarry if you have someone who will want to marry you".

"By the authority of a father and family head I release you to move on with your life, you are a free woman now".

"If you are my daughter, I will never allow you continue in this marriage with such a monster who had done these evils".

"He may live with the consequences of his atrocities all his life and you are too good to partake of his punishment".

"Your years of barrenness is enough for you my daughter".

"Please go"…. Nneka was in tears without a word. She didn't know what to say because her heart was battered.

As she went into her room, she began to ruminate over what her father in-law said.

Nneka: "He is right, I don't have to suffer the punishment of what I didn't do."

She began to search for scriptures in her head to justify the idea and they began to pop in.

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die...

The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."

"And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."

She began to weigh the options; to continue to live with Kassim or to leave and remain unmarried for the

rest of my life. But she's still young and beautiful. How can she be without a man at the age of 37? How will she overcome sexual temptations when the huge cones?

As she was thinking of what to do next, she heard a knock at the door. She rushed to open the door and it was Toyin her friend. She brought them dinner.

Toyin: "How are you Nneka? She greeted. I just left the church now, I went to give Kassim some food."

Nneka didn't bother to thank her because she thought it was needless but that was a good gesture anyway.

Toyin presence brought some relief to Nneka.

She shared with her what her father in-law said

and how she have been giving it a second thought. She sighed without saying anything...