An Orphan's Prayer

“Why did you drop all the money in there? Tithe is one tenth of your income. And plus, you did not work for that money”. Lanre said wanting to scold Eno. Eno smiled at her. She told Lanre to close her eyes that the pastor was praying for the tithes. Lanre gritted her teeth and forced close her eyes. After the tithe, they did offering. It turned out that it was a special Sunday in the church. Immediately after the offering, they had an hour of high praise. Lanre had never danced like that in a long time. She had forgotten she was pregnant. She danced both in rhyme with the beat and off the beats.

For the first time in a long time she felt so much freedom. She felt happy without knowing the cause. She did not have to explain why she was happy. She had no explanation. The joy was not what she expected, but it was something she enjoyed during the praise and even after the service had ended.

After service, Lanre felt like calling a lot of people. She went through the contacts on her phone. She started by calling those working at her shop. She spoke with Ebitari and asked about her family if she was hearing from them. It was the first time she asked about Ebitari’s family after the day she spoke with them. Ebitari told Lanre they were fine and that her eldest brother was now working. Even her sister was doing something and would be going back to school. Lanre smiled. She told Ebitari it was a good thing to know.

Then she asked if Sharon was home. Ebitari told her Sharon had gone out. Lanre told her she would call Sharon later. She wished Ebitari well and ended the call. She called Okechukwu her course mate. She spoke happily with him. She even apologise for always ignoring his calls. Okechukwu told her it was fine and that he had also learnt his lesson. They chatted for a while before Lanre moved on to call the next person. She called Aaron, Pascal, Muyiwa, Uduak and every other person working in her shop.

“Aunty Lanre, this one you are calling people like MTN…” Eno said.

“I know, right? I just feel good today”. Lanre said.

“You should! I prayed for you with the five thousand you gave me. I asked God to keep you happy and keep you safe. God answers the prayers made by orphans a lot”. Eno said.

Lanre looked at Eno shocked. She had no clue Eno had sowed that money as a seed on her behalf. She asked Eno to come close. She hugged Eno and promised her to give her double portion of the money. Then as if something had just struck Lanre, she pulled away from Eno.

“Why will you call yourself an orphan? Your father is alive”. Lanre said. A tear streamed down Eno’s cheek as though it has been waiting too long for this opportunity and could not wait to be free.