CHAPTER 185

" Good! I now want the plaintiff and the defendant to take their positions at the case box. The plaintiff should stand on the right side whereas the defendant on the left side. under the laws of Mariana constitution , I will welcome the lawyer of the plaintiff to state their claims" said Nelly. 

" Your honour. In this case of Mr. Ronald versus the people , the evidence is really clear that Mr. Ronald sells poisonous foods which has led to death of many people in Mambo town. With me, I have samples of the expired products and poisonous foods being sold at Ronald enterprises. I have also the postmortem of those whose death has been caused by the same bad omen. Here they are your honour" said the lawyer of the plaintiff as she handed over the evidence to Nelly.

" Thank you speaker Esther. We may now proceed to the defendant side" said Nelly as Esther went back to her chair and sat.

" Your honour! This is a case of dingnity because today , the respect of Mr. Ronald has been deeply interfered with. Is a man not supposed to sell his or her products in this town? I want to ask you a question. What would happen today if I got sick and died in your house? Does it mean that you will be arrested for murder? This case  should be based only on psychological issues and nothing else" said the defendant lawyer.

" Speaker Rachael! I don't want you to sit down because I have a few questions for you. I know that it is your job to defend Mr. Ronald. But still! What would you do if a member of your family was among those who were poisoned and died?" Asked Nelly.

" No your honour. I will not watch you insult me like this. If you cannot answer my questions then it means that you do not know how to handle cases here at the case square" said Rachael.

" Let me answer your question Rachael because it seems that it is very important for me to answer. Listen here! We have the perishable goods and non-perishable goods. Perishable goods are those goods which their life span is limited whereas non- perishable goods are the goods which have a longer life span. We have all been taught this in mambo town and how to run our businesses. Among the lessons we have been taught is not to sell toxic foods which are poisonous or expired under the third law of Mariana constitution. Therefore, this is my judgement, Mr. Ronald has committed the crime regarding the expired and poisonous products under section three of Mariana constitution and is therefore sentenced to ten years in prison. His shop will also banned from working or selling any products either now or in the future" said Nelly who immediately left the case square which made everyone to stand in honours of her verdict and sit as soon as she left the case square and not even her shadow could be seen.

Faith and Ruth decided to follow Nelly at that instant thinking that Nelly had already forgotten about them. Unluckily, Ruth and Faith found Nelly crying outside the case square. They immediately went towards her and embraced her as soon as they arrived. 

" I don't think that I can do it. When I was born, I was never appointed to be the case manager but Vivian was. Maybe that is the main reason why it's hard for me to rule this land as the new case manager. It's hard to perform verdicts and listen to everyone's plea and contract" said Nelly as tears welled down her eyes. 

" Believe! Believe! Believe in yourself Nelly Mariana. You took those vows with toi much confident and according to me, you are and will always be our case manager even if Vivian is the one who was annointed while you were still young" said Ruth.

" Where do you get that strength to believe when you do not really have to? You character is not only the kind of character that amazes everyone but the kind of character which is unique and which all the children of your generation will continue having. I just love and admire you Ruth . You and your sister Faith always manage to calm me down" Said Nelly smiling.

Nelly, Ruth and Faith therefore held each other's arm and went back to the Mariana Mansion. They unfortunately found that the door was locked. Ryan was standing in the front side of the balcony. Ruth suspiciously looked up and saw Ryan looking at her carrying a gun on his hand. It seemed that he was pointing the gun at someone. It was then that it dawned on Ruth that she had left Purist and Naomi behind. Maybe they were the ones who were in danger.

" Ryan! What do you think you are doing?" Ruth shouted filled with lots of worries. 

" I like seeing you like that. I know that you love your mama Naomi and daughter Purist but their lives are in the palm of your hands. You are the one who has the choice to decide whether they will live or die. Are you going to marry me right now?" Asked Martin.

" Yes! I am going to marry you" shouted Ruth as tears welled down her eyes. 

The door was finally set to open. Ruth entered the house and quickly went to the balcony only to be astonished to find out that both Naomi and Purist were tied all over their body using a rope seated on a plastic chair. Ryan was indeed pointing a gun at the both of them. There was also a priest there and it seemed like there were also gifts written Ruth's name. 

" Go to the priest and let him present to you your first gift. Your wedding gown. Are you not the one who challenged me this morning that you will not get married to me? Why then is it going to happen now? Listen to me carefully. No one can ever dare to challenge me. I always go to any extent to ensure that I get what I want" said Ryan as Ruth went towards the priest and picked the gift.

" Go into your room and put on that dress with the help of Nelly and Faith. Do it remebrance that the life of your mother and your daughter now lies in your hands" said Ryan.

" Fine! I am leaving but remember one thing. I can really put on this dress and get married to you but the heart is a precious things which cannot even treasure a forced love. Please go ahead and get married right now to me" said Ruth who immediately left accompanied by Faith and Nelly.

Ruth was silent throughout the way to her room. This made Nelly and Faith to be filled with lots of worries. As soon as they arrived, Ruth gave the gift to Faith and signalled her to open it. Faith opened and was astonished to see that it was a white wedding dress with a white veil. She immediately gave them to Ruth who looked at them and smiled.

" This is the second time that I am forcefully going to become a bride. The first time it happened was when I was young girl only sixteen years old. I was young and mild and everyone was scared for me but I had to do it of I wanted to ensure that my younger siblings went to school. Now it's happening all over again. I have to forcefully get married in order to save my daughter's and my mother's life from danger. I guess that this is my fate and there is nothing I can do about it" said Ruth as her tears fell in her veil. 

" Ruth! I know that my grandma Mariana is watching you and is feeling the pain in your heart. There is no way that she is going to allow such a bad thing to happen in the mansion that she built with all of her heart. Put on that dress and let me escort you to the balcony. Something nasty is going to happen today" said Nelly. 

Ruth immediately put on the white wedding gown and went to the balcony as instructed by Nelly. She therefore went and stood beside Ryan holding his arm and led to where the priest was standing in order to take their wedding gowns. 

" We are gathered here to witness the wedding of two love birds; Ruth Bora and the son of this mansion and this land, Ryan Mariana. Anyone who is against this marriage is free to raise their complaints right now" said the priest.

" I think there is no one who is in a position to object this marriage. Please go on and continue uniting me and my beloved wife. I can't really wait for out naptual night. I can't wait any longer to carry my own child in my arms" said Ryan as tears of joy welled down his eyes.

Was he running out of his mind? Only Mariana wise ancestors were in a position to answer that. 

MARRIED AT SIXTEEN.