Chapter 70
Touched by the story, Ewatomi asked, "If he was so powerful then why did he die? Why didn't he just destroy them all?" She curiously asked because she felt that that was what she'd have done.
"He's very powerful but fighting against those who killed him would have ruined the very reason why he was sent down to earth, and that was a great risk he was not willing to take." He explained. "He realized that the greatest sacrifice which was worth being killed was dying for you and I."
"But I don't even know him. Why would he die for a total stranger?" She frowned, perplexed.
"Because he's the son of God and he loves us so much that he'd rather give his life for our sake than have his father destroy us all for our sins."
"Why didn't he just stay alive and protect you all? What good is he, dead?"
"He was actually betrayed by one of his disciples, with a kiss. The soldiers took him away, humiliated him and then nailed him to a cross until he died. He had the power to fight back. He had the power to command legions of angels to come to his aid, but he did none of that. Although, three days after his death, he rose again and returned home to his father."
Crestfallen, Ewatomi sighed sadly and hung her head as she murmured. "His story is awfully similar to mine; the difference is that my mother doesn't love me just like the Sky God loves his son."
"Right..." Vincent said, still skeptical about her story in what he presumed was rather a tall tale. "You are right though. God does love his son very much but in order to get to God himself, you'll have to accept his son first."
"I'm not getting married! I've told you that before!" She stubbornly stated.
Vincent laughed. "No, no, no... It's not what you think...what I mean is that you have to accept his son, and when I say accept, I mean that you have to agree that he's your Lord and personal savior. You have to believe in him and also obey God's commandments."
"How do I accept someone I cannot even see." She asked, glancing up at the sky.
"He already dwells in your heart but you just don't know that he's there yet because you do not believe in him. All you need to do is to open your heart to him and he'll come in and take charge of your life."
Ewatomi gently placed a hand on her chest in wonder then asked, "Just how powerful is he?"
"Powerful enough to raise the dead and powerful enough to tell the largest mountain to move into the sea and it would."
"Can he help me defeat my adversaries?"
"In Luke 10:19, God said- 'Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
"It is in this book?" She held up and shook the bible in her hand.
"Yeah, and many more."
With her hope renewed and the cheerfulness returning to her eyes, she eagerly said, "Then I want to serve him! I want him to be my master! Teach me how to read his book so that I can know him better!"
"Alright...calm down... Like I said before, you'll need some education first."
"Try me! I'm a fast learner!"
"Fine, but we'll have to study in the church." He said and her smile waned now, so he explained to make her understand better. "I'm a priest, Ewatomi, and for transparency, I'm not allowed to entertain female guests indoors or alone. To prevent people from jumping to conclusions, we'll have to do this in the open to make people know that nothing else besides teaching you how to read is going on between us. If word gets out that I let you into my room, I could be suspended or dismissed, and that's a risk that I'm not willing to make."
"Fine...I understand..." She said softly. "But I'll have to think about it." She finished with a sigh. Suspending the bible in the air with the ability of what was left of her dwindling powers, she let it float towards him. By the time he took the bible in the air, placed it on the table and turned to say something to her, he realized that she was gone. Heaving a sigh after glancing around and seeing no sign of her, he withdrew from the window and grabbed his towel, so that he could have his bath, dress up and go to the church.
★★★
When Gideon stepped out of the bathroom in the evening after having a bath, he turned around to face the room as he started to wipe his face with his towel but suddenly gasped in alarm, recoiled and flattened his back against the wall in surprise and fear when he saw Ifede on his bed.
"Hello, father." She said sultrily, leaning on her arms behind her as she leered at him.
Gideon glanced at his door and noticed that the bolt was still in place. "How did you get in?" He asked in a trembling voice.
"How did I get in? You let me in, father." She answered.
"What do you mean by I let you in? How would I have opened the door for you if I was in the bathroom?" He asked, perplexed.
She gave a sinister chuckle. "I did not need the door to be open before coming in... besides, people like me do not need doors to gain entry into any place. If you must know, father, you let me in by your own deeds." She continued in her seductive tone.
Still very much afraid and confused, Gideon asked, "What are you talking about? What deeds?"
"Your weakness...that weakness which you thought no one would ever find out about..." Ifede slowly let her eyes move from his face down to his groin. "According to the popular adage, a lizard can only get into the house through a crack on the wall, and unfortunately, your crack is your sin."
"I don't know what you are talking about! I'm a priest! I do not sin!" He vehemently said.
"Oh, do you think that you are above sin?" She gave a quiet wicked laugh that was partially mocking. "Be humble, father, you and I know that you are not above sin. No human is... I believe that your book which your kind carry around, says in
1Corinthians 10:12- 'Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.' You think that you stand, don't you? Your sin is your folly, father and being a priest doesn't make you unaccountable." She got off the bed now and slowly sashayed towards him in a seductive manner. "So, because you wear a white cassock doesn't mean that WE are blind to the blemishes on your garment. You can't seem to deal with that sin that keeps besetting you and it has inevitably called out to me..."
"What are you talking about?" He asked with a trembling voice, his eyes fearfully following her. Somehow, he knew what she was talking about but he didn't want to admit to it.
"Masturbation, father, masturbation." She whispered huskily. "I smelt it from three miles away... You just masturbated and that's why you have gone to have your bath...but trust me when I say that the bath cannot wash away your iniquity no matter how hard you scrub. I can perceive it and I'll perceive it whenever you do it."
"It doesn't matter that I masturbate! I'm human after all and I'm allowed to sin once in a while as long as it is not a serious sin. No one can be perfect and my God fully understands that we are sometimes susceptible to the lust of the flesh! What really matters is that I do not break my oath of chastity by sleeping with a woman. The most I can do to get some sexual relief is to masturbate; after all, the bible says that I'm covered by his grace!" Gideon defensively stated.
Ifede sneered. "And that book of yours yet again states in Romans 6:1 that 'What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?' and in verse 2, it continues thus- 'Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin, live any longer in it? Now, prove me wrong, father."
He stared at her in astonishment. "How do you even know how to quote the scriptures?! You are just some local maiden who has no access to education!"
Ifede grinned wickedly at him. "If our dark master can quote the bible to the Son of the Sky God, we also can do the same to you mortal beings." She answered. "Now, since you have subjected yourself to unnecessary celibacy, why not come to me and I shall give you the pleasure which you seek..." She pulled down the small wrapper covering her breasts and cupped them in both hands as if offering them to the priest.
"Feast your eyes on these lovely mounds and tell me; don't you want to touch them? Don't you want to know what they taste like? You have not had the pleasure of a woman for the past fourteen years, Gideon and that's why I, Ifede, have come to make your wishes come true...this will be between just you and I and no one else has to know; I give you my word..." She said in a sultry tone then added.
"I've got within my thighs, something much more pleasurable than your hand... All you have to do is admit that you want me and I'll be all yours!" She began to slowly rub her hands over her breasts and fondle them.
Gideon swallowed hard as he feasted his eyes on the hard nipples placed within the small and dark circles of her areolas. He was less afraid now and he removed his back from the wall. He indecisively glanced from her face to her chest and his fingers began to move at his side as if contemplating whether to reach out and find out how those breasts would feel in his hands or not. Just then, a loud knock on the door startled and interrupted them and he turned his head towards the door and tentatively asked after a second knock came.
"Who's it?"
"It's the Parish Priest, father, you have a letter." The father said out loud.
Gideon started to panic now. How would he explain Ifede's presence in his room to the parish priest? If she was seen, he would be queried and punished, so he concluded that he had to quickly hide her, but when he turned to look at her, he was all alone in the room; she was gone. Wondering how that was even possible, he saw the curtain of his window fluttering as if someone had gone through it.
The knock came again, making him flinch a bit. "Father, are you there?" The parish priest asked.
"A moment, please." Gideon said and quickly went to fetch his shorts, which he hurriedly slipped into o before rushing to answer the door.
★★★
Two Weeks Later...
Vincent approached the back of the palace where he saw Kikelomo sitting on a rock in the sun which was so high in the sky and was burning hot.
"You are late." Kikelomo said in displeasure as he approached her.
"I apologize that I couldn't come immediately you summoned me, I had other business to attend to in the church."
"Well, I'll let it slide...what matters is that you are here now." She smiled now. "It feels so good to see you again."
"Thank you..." Vincent replied, not knowing the perfect response to give to her, just then, he placed his hand over his forehead, lifted his face and managed to squint up at the sun. "Why do you always sit in the open when the sun is at its highest? Do you want to get a sunburn?" Vincent curiously asked Kikelomo. "I don't think sitting in the sun all the time is good for you, princess."
She smiled again. "Thanks for the concern, priest, but I like sitting in the sun because it gives me the energy I need for the day. I need to be as active as I can be."
"Active? Only cold-blooded animals need the sun to stay active." He pointed out.
"And what if I'm one?" She asked with a sly look in her eyes.
He smiled. "Nice joke. You got me there... it's good to know that you have got a sense of humor..." He sat down on a wooden bench under the shade of a tree. "How about I get straight to the point? I'll have to leave for the church soon... So have you heard about Je-" Vincent started to ask.
She quickly interrupted him, dread evident in her eyes. "Do not mention that name!" She stated.
He gave her a confused look. "Why not?"
"I just don't want to hear it!" She answered.
"I see...I thought you summoned me over because you wanted us to discuss. If you won't discuss the Son of God, what then is there to discuss?"
"Love." She smiled now.
"Love?" He lifted a brow.
"Yes, love."
"I could tell you about how God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son to die for us in order for every one of us to be saved." He smartly switched the direction of the topic.
"Could you stop yapping about your religion and your god already? I'm getting sick and tired of hearing it. If you keep on with it, it's going to make me find you boring, and trust me when I say that you wouldn't want me to find you boring."
"Fine! What love are we going to talk about then?" He asked in resignation.
"Love between a man and a woman." She said with interest in her eyes.
"Well, I'm no love guru and I don't think that I've any experience in that aspect either."
"I could teach you all you need to know about it. But first, I must ask you, are you a virgin?"
"Why do you ask?" He was surprised at her question.
"What? You don't want to tell me?" She asked. "Or are you that coy?"
"No, this is not about being coy. This is about the fact that that question is rather personal."
"Well, I don't think there should be anything we should keep from each other. If we are going to end up being more than what we are right now, you should as well tell me all there's to know about you. If you will like me to go first, I'll willingly tell you. I'm a virgin and I intend to only give it to the man whom I intend to marry." Then she shrugged and said, "You see? So easy... So, tell me, have you lain with any woman?"
"No." He hesitantly answered, cringing a bit as he remembered the bad memory. "I lost it in my teenage years."