Chapter 9

Jesse playlist

I will bow to you

By women of faith

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Charlie was seated close to her husband in the city hospital ambulance, she had admitted to the doctor her husband case was a spiritual one which no amount of medical measure can cure and she had dicided to take him to his village for solution.

Charlie came to that conclusion last night ,there was no other solution or friends to help her ,her only friend Ajoke had rejected her though it was all her fault she couldn't stand that smelling beast laying as much of a finger on her to talk more of giving her body to him,she had so much wished she could bump into that stranger that had for saw what would happen the day her daughter was mysteriously taken away,she had combed through the streets of every area possible closed to the place where she met the strange man but it was to no avail,the so called men of god and diviners she had given huge amount of money to profer a solution had failed her,her head ached already from too much hands laid on her, she woke up before the cock crew and had angrily disposed all the items she had been given by those fake people to use to aid the quick recovery of her husband and had found her way to the Hospital .

Dr Paul had reluctantly signed her husband discharge from the hospital but Charlie had to sign an undertaken she would take responsibility if anything happened to him .

She was frightened because she was going to a strange land ,how would she locate her husbands home,how would his family react,who would believe the stories she would tell them,Ikenna was a very private man ,he had managed to separate her from the affairs of his family,she was only aware he cut ties with them...that was her greatest fear, was her going to Umumiri going to propel a solution or it will leave the matter complicated,somma was another she was so worried about even if she had gone to the police to file a missing report how ridiculouse would she look when she tell them her daughter vanished into thin air with a stranger who looked like the devil incarnate.

The ride to Umumiri was a long one ,they had left in the early hours of the morning now darkness had rested its blanket on the sky no soul was seen on the road ,she had never been to her husband place ,he was the type who didn't like to talk about his place of origin ,he had told her it wasn't something he was proud to talk about .

Charlie eyes turned to her husband who was carefully confined in the Ambulance bed ,even in his unconscious slumber tears came down his eyes

"Don't let them take me to umumiri"

Those words played through her mind ,it plagued her conscience.

"Am so sorry honey,Am doing this for our daughter...I will do anything to protect you both "

Charlie broke down in tears how does she even locate the stranger and her daughter

Charlie realized she had blindly left the comfort and safety of the city into a strange land her husband dreaded without knowing her fate or what awaits her and her family.

" Madam we have just entered Umumiri ,which direction should I take"

The driver asked loudly from the Ambulance he was a youruba man in his late thirties, dark skinned with thick tribal marks marred on his face and a pink lips.

"That's the problem OGA Tope I don't know which direction to take ,am so clueless right now"

"What do you mean? Madam" the driver questioned confused ,suddenly he brought the Ambulance to a screeching halt as red dust blew everywhere, the wind howled angrily that it shakes the Ambulance

"What is happening " charlie asked frightened as she grabbed the the strap close to her to keep her balance.

"Mogbe !I don't know ,something strange is happening ohh" OGA Tope looked frightened too

"Its like this breeze is trying to stop us from going any further"

"What do you mean? Can't there just be an end to this" charlie feet danced in despair

"Madam Charlie ,no worry,na spiritual matter be this, I will show them I am the son of the great juju man in yorubaland" the driver spoke as he stepped down from the Ambulance pulling out a small cowry from his neck ,he ignored charlie call

"Come back here ,OGA Tope don't be stupid ohhh"

The man was too engrossed in his incantations to even pay attention to her ,he held the cowries between his lips chanting on it.

Charlie watched the whole scene through the widow of the Ambulance... Before her very eyes Tope was picked by the wind and thrown deep into the into the deep forest in between the road.

Charlie screamed knowing he wouldn't survive it ,she screamed loud as the back doors of the Ambulance pulled ferociously out of it hidges and fell to the ground as red dust blew inside it was so mighty that she knew she won't survive it,she was loosing her breath as she tried to cough out the dust that was around her lungs,she tried moving close to hold her husband who laid there unshakingly

"I am sorry...am so sorry" she whispered before she passed out on the cold hard floor of the Ambulance.

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Nwoke sat under the mango shade that stood proudly at the centre of his house ignorant of the fact that everyone had gone inside he was the only man that could dare do things differently from the ways of the community.

He had long been branded as a mad man since the incident that happened to the late pastor Kingsley and the other members of the church who had been wiped out inside the church building by a mighty wind most were lost into the wind while some died tragically, Nwoke happened to have escaped death they faithful day but his life never remained the same again he had single-handed buried the remains of the pastor and the other members and had separated himself from any activities that has to do with oshimiri.

Several times he had been beaten to stupor by the youths ,threatened to be burnt to death with his family or flogged by masquerades in the dream he was one survivor whose life was marred with scars which has left his mind tormented.

Today however seemed to look inauspicious as masquerades danced round the whole community they seemed to be in search of someone, there was a rumor that a stranger entered the sacred river of umumiri and rescued the twins that was taken by the masquerades to be used for sacrifice, this had left the whole community in an uproar as everyone seemed to have locked themselves indoor.

Nwoke however choose to ignore the pleas of his daughter Nnomma as she called out to him from the door step in tears

"Papa you know you are all I have ohh,please come inside"

"Oshimiri cannot harm me Nnomma in physical since they have not succeeded in my dreams " he replied his daughter humming one of his favourite song pastor Kingsley have taught him

π. He arose

He arose

Hallelujah Christ Arose π