CHAPTER 3
The team had been set up in a 3 bedroom bungalow. The house belonged to pastor Bartholomew and he had offered it to the team for the duration of the crusade. Osi wondered where the pastor himself would be staying. He made up his mind to ask him.
"What kind of meeting is this? For how many hours? This is quarter to three!" the deacon asked loudly from the bedroom. He had taken one room, Bukky being a female had a room to herself, that left Osi, the driver, Gregory and Ovie with the last room. Ovie being direct and straight forward had wanted to join the deacon saying the rooms ought to be shared two to one. Osi had restrained him saying the three seater in the parlour had looked tempting.
"With all due respect, pastor this your humility would make people like the deacon think you're a fool they could ride on" Ovie said
"The Lord exalts the humble and humbles the proud and arrogant" Osi replied. He patted Ovie on the shoulder when he apologized and went to the kitchen to check on Bukky.
Bukky was preparing jellof rice in the kitchen. She was pleased with the utensils she had met. The driver had helped her carry the foodstuffs from the bus through the back door. He was currently outside cleaning the bus.
Osi walked into the kitchen "Something smells nice"
"Brunch is almost ready" she replied with a smile
"Brunch this is too late for brunch already"
"That's true its almost 3 o'clock. God I'm starving where are
you going?" she asked Osi as he headed towards the back door.
"I'd like to stroll round a bit, farmiliarize myself with the village.. I'd be back soon"
"Please don't get lost oh"
He chuckled opening the door "I promise I won't"
The mention of her late mother had brought to many painful memories. Amara walked the lonely path with her mind faraway. Her mother had died two years ago after battling diabetes for more than a decade. Her mother had been beautiful. kind and she had een her daughters best friend and their confidant. Amara remembered the talks they used to have while her mother plaited her hair in her favourite style (cornrows) or while they prepared dinner. Suddenly she missed her mother so much her heart ached, she yearned to speak to her. Without knowing it, she headed towards the path away from home, where her mother was buried.
++
The devil watched her as she approached the grave site. After the meeting, he had watched her walk alone and on impulse had followed her at a distance. He couldn't believe his luck when she had chosen the path that was lonely and surrounded withy grass and trees. He could feel himself growing immediately hard as she squatted down to run her hands along the marble surface of the grave yard.
The devil imagined the different ways he would have Amara and he couldn't wait anymore. He imagined laying her lifeless body on the grave when he was through with her. He couldn't wait anymore. no.he had to have her now!
++
Speaking to her mother always brought her comfort and made her feel better. She talked about anything she could think of from what she had prepared for breakfast to her younger sister, to Oluchi and Paul and the stranger(s) she had seen that morning.
"He was very tall, I was surprised to see them but Pa Kenneth explained that they/re pastors here for a crusade"
She suddenly felt a presence behind her and heard the breaking of dry leaves. She whirled around and gasped "You!"
Osi raised both hands "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you"
Amara blinked, placing a hand on her chest. Her heart was beating like a talking drum. "You...you from the park"
Osi nodded in reply. He hadn't meant to scare her. He had been walking around aimlessly for the past 15 minutes trying to find his way but it seemed he kept getting more and more lost. He had doubled back(he hoped) and was beginning to get worried when he heard a voice....her voice. He couldn't discern what she was saying but he had followed the voice till he saw her standing in front of a grave. There was something painful and breathtaking about the way she stood there and he had stared for some seconds before deciding to approach her. Not until she turned around that he realized she was the very same girl he had seen earlier in the park.
But the look of fear in her face rendered him speechless. She looked so afraid. Subconsciously he raised both hands in a 'I come in peace gesture'
"What are you doing here?" She demanded. Her pulse was returning to normal now. No, that wasn't quite apt, it was still racing, albeit for a totally different reason now.
"I was taking a walk and I got lost, I tried to find my way but I ended up...." He gestured with both hands awkwardly.
Amara nodded slowly but sue remained where she was. "Who are you?"
"My name is Osi, I'm a pastor"
"You're here for a crusade" she prompted
He nodded, suprised "Yes, how did you know that?"
"It was announced earlier today"
"Okay" he took a step closer looking at the grave "are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Where are you heading to?"
"Pastor Bartholomew's house" Osi replied. He desperately wanted to say something, he could only guess whose grave that was and who she had been talking to but she seemed to be on her guard and instinct told him not to push it.
She was talking to him now and her voice had gotten lighter and friendlier "wow, from pastor's house! How'd you end up here" she smiled "you're really off...but don't worry, I'd take you".
"Thank you...I don't know your name yet"
She smiled shyly "Amara"
The devil couldn't believe his eyes. He had been about to jump out from the bush when this tall baboon had appeared from nowhere. He watched in disbelief, listening to their exchange. So this was the pastor?
The devil gritted his teeth in anger as he watched them leave, rage clouding his vision as he saw Amara take the man's hand.
He needed to break something. He clenched his fist in rage as he imagined breaking the pastor's face. The devil had a vivid imagination.
Pastor Bartholomew also mistook the deacon for pastor Osi "I'm sorry I'm late sir, we had a meeting and I had to stay behind to talk to the leaders" he explained as he shook hands with all of them.
The deacon didn't look impressed "No problem, but time is of the essence and valuable time has been lost. You know it takes less than a minute to win a soul"
"Exactly pastor, believe me it. Couldn't be avoided, I'm glad you all came in now, when the reverend called me I was quick to accept. We need you all now more than ever"
"Why, what's going on?" Gregory asked
"Actually he's not the pastor, the pastor isn't in yet" Ovie corrected with a frown
"Oh...." Pastor Bartholomew looked surprised. "I'd rather wait till he comes then"
Deacon Oforbuike once again didn't look pleased. He was about to say something when they heard voices from outside and the backdoor opened.
"Thank you..hope I'd see you again"
"Yes, try not to get lost again o, oya come Joy let's go"
Pastor Osi entered the parlour looking flushed.
"sorry I took long" he looked at Bukky "I missed my way"
"Welcome back pastor" the deacon greeted sarcastically "hope we can set up the
crusade or should we all go sight seeing?"
` It was becoming natural for Osi to ignore the deacon. He shook hands with pastor Bartholomew and took a seat. His eyes drifted to the dining table where a plate of food (no doubt his) was covered.
"Welcome pastor" Bartholomew continued "like I was saying, when the reverend called me, I quickly jumped on the opportunity to have you all here" he rubbed his hands, looking at each of them "the thing is, this past month has been a very dark one for us, someone has been raping and killing our daughters, in four weeks three girls were raped, beaten almost unrecognizable and killed, so everyone in our community is living in a state of fear and despair"
The team was shocked. Even the deacon couldn't help it as his mouth hung open in disbelief.
For once Ovie didn't have a reply or a comeback. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably trying to digest what he had just heard.
Osi was shocked. He remembered meeting Amara earlier and the look of terror on her face when he had startled her. He felt his heart bounce on his rib cage like a wrestler on the ropes as he imagined the possible danger she could have been in earlier.
Pastor Bartholomew continued speaking "we have no idea who is behind this dreadful acts and we had a meeting this morning to talk to the villagers who are understandably agitated"
The deacon was the first to speak up "so that was your reason for sending for us then? We are pastors not detectives we don't solve crime, we preach the word of God"
"That is why now more than ever my people need you, they need this crusade, they need the word of God, they need to discover the peace which only God can provide"
Osi could see there was a retort coming from the deacon so he spoke up hurriedly "I totally agree with you, we need to seek God's face for direction. I don't believe its a coincidence or that we are here by chance, God wants us here and we have to make ourselves available for his use"
Pastor Bartholomew gave a sigh of relief.
"When was the last girl killed?" Gregory asked
"Her body was found two days ago"
"Who found her?" This question was from Bukky
The pastor shook his head sadly "two very young girls saw her body floating in the
stream...the younger girl is still traumatised as we speak"
"Has any autopsy been carried out?test for semen...any DNA samples?" Ovie asked
The pastor laughed. A strange sound considering the mood everyone had been thrown in. Even the driver sat at the dining table, a solemn look on his face.
"We don't have any medical examiner. The state police has been informed and according to them they are carrying out their investigations" (he made quotation sign with his fingers when he said investigations)
The Deacon shook his head and for a second he looked sad "this is dreadful, just dreadful but now can we go over this evening's schedule, we are behind already" he said dismissively.
"You like him don't you" Joy teased her elder sister as they walked home.
Amara shook her head "No I don't, I just helped him out because he was lost" but her eyes betrayed her.
She had been surprised at the easy connection. She and Osi had talked freely after the initial awkwardness like they were old friend and she had been surprised to find out she could be herself around him. They met Joy walking home with her friends and she had quickly bade them good bye and followed her sister curious about the tall stranger who was no doubt the reason for the abundance of smiles that had once been so rare.
Joy was 17 years old and also very beautiful. However she was saucy and known to be rude most times. She and her sister didn't really get along but they loved each other.
"Is he one of the pastor's that pa Kenneth talked about?"
"Yes" Amara replied absentmindedly replaying the exchange over and over in her head.
"He's cute" Joy commented. That drew a frown from her sister "he's too old for you"
Joy laughed "I only said he's fine biko, don't cut off my head"
They continued walking in silence. Each girl lost in her thought.
°•°•°•°•
Stevenson walked round the market square, a pad and pen in his hands. He wore khaki shorts and his shirt from the meeting earlier but had unbuttoned his shirt. He wore a white v-neck underneath and the breeze blew his shirt open as he walked.
"Our very own oyibo" De John waved at him when he saw him. Stevenson forced a smile and walked over.
"De John good afternoon "
"Afternoon my son, why...you look frustrated"
Stevenson sighed "I've been asking questions, trying to get information about the new yam festival coming in two days but I'm not really getting much background. I need to know as much as possible.
"Ohoooo...i knew it must be your book, anyway you met the right person" Dé John chuckled cheerfully. One thing he enjoyed most was talking about his culture and tradition especially to a foreigner.
"Lemme collect this fresh palm wine- undiluted and we would go to my compound while I tell you everything you need to know"
Stevenson smiled "I'd appreciate that sir"
Osi's sleeves were rolled up to his elbow. He was sweating profusely as he balanced on the ladder to fix a light bulb. He was yet to set up the speakers, tune in the amplifier and run sound tests.
Gregory and Ovie were setting up the drum set and piano respectively while Bukky set up the banner and arranged the podium.
Pastor Bartholomew had promised to bring people to help with the set up but presently there was no sign of him.
"Arrange the chairs three here, two there so that there would be space to walk through the middle" he pointed with his hands as he instructed Samuel the driver who was busy arranging the chairs.
As Osi got down from the ladder and began rolling up the excess wire he noticed a white man making his way towards him.
"Good evening pastor, anything I can do to help?" The man asked cheerfully as he offered his hand for a shake.
Osi was surprised the man had figured him to be the pastor and not the deacon. Probably because the deacon was not around.
He shook the hand vigorously, noticing the man had a firm handshake.
"its a pleasure to meet you sir, if you wouldn't mind assisting to set the chairs, I'd be very grateful"
"Its my pleasure, you can call me Steve"
"I'm Osi, that's Greg and Ovie, the lady laying the carpet is Bukky and the young man setting the chairs is Samuel"
The European waved in their direction. "Nice to meet you all"
He then proceeded to greet each of them personally. Offering each person a firm and enthusiastic handshake.
"What a friendly person" Osi thought to himself as he tried to place the man's accent.
"De I'd like to go to the evening service" Amara told her father as she set a bowl of water before him.
De Nwachukwu washed his hands studying his daughter. "I don't have any problem with that, as long as you don't go alone"
"I won't papa, Oluchi would go with me"
"How did you find out about the service. Did you go to the market square?" He stopped rolling the ball of fufu and frowned at his daughter.
"No I didn't, I met one of the pastors earlier and he invited me"
De Nwachukwu continued eating, satisfied with her answer.
"Speaking of Oluchi, her elder brother came to see me today" He announced after a while. Amara remained quiet.
"He's a fine young man" her father continued "I remember him as a young rascal and very stubborn but now he has really grown up and matured.
Amara still had nothing to say. Instead she sat opposite her father and continued sifting the grounded cassava into a basin.
"He wants to settle down and he wishes to marry you. Of all the suitors who have come for you recently he stands out and its my wish that you two get married"
"Papa I do not love him, when I marry I want to marry for love. I want to have something like you and mama shared"
"You know your mother was chosen for me, we grew to love each other. Love is something that grows and develops" her father said as he attacked a piece of stock fish.
"I promise I'd think about it" Amara assured her father. This was the first time he was speaking to her directly about a suitor. Paul must have really made an impression on her father.
The man of the hour himself showed up half an hour later. He strolled into the compound whistling cheerfully and waving at Joy who was spreading clothes on the line.
"Where's Oluchi?" Amara asked with a frown.
"She couldn't make it, she has been having stomach pain since we got home so she asked me to escort you to the service while she rested" Paul said with a charming
smile.
Amara didn't really believe him, she sensed it was all a ruse, a setup to get her and Paul alone together.
"Okay lemme just get my scarf and we can go"
"All right, what of De Nwachukwu, is he around?"
"Yes but he's sleeping" she replied hurrying into the house.
Osi was pleased and surprised with the turn out for the service. The chairs which numbered up to 200 were almost filled up with just a handful unoccupied.
He stood behind the amplifier board, tuning the knobs as he followed the melody of the worship song led by Bukky.
When he saw Amara his face brightened immediately and he was glad she came.
He noticed she was with somebody and felt a foreign feeling come over him. What kind of pastor am I? He asked himself as he almost went off key.
She looked at him and smiled and he looked away hurriedly, his eyes running into the stare of a short thick man who glared at him in a way that got him worried. He noticed the man had a bottle in his hand and he didn't need anyone to tell him it contained alcohol.
The man wasn't involved with the worship, his eyes were wide open and he looked like he had only come to check out the strangers, Osi in particular judging by the way he kept glaring at him.
Osi shut his mind from all thoughts and focused on the worship song, singing along "you are alpha and omega...."
The devil had seen the exchanged looks between the pastor and Amara. He had noticed the way she had responded to him earlier, blushing and smiling like a school girl while he boiled with rage and animal lust.
He was beginning to suspect the pastor was going to be an obstacle.
That wouldn't be a problem, he knew how to take care of obstacles.
"That was a very powerful sermon Greg!" Osi gripped Gregory by the shoulders shaking him excitedly.
Greg laughed, shrugging modestly.
Osi turned around, he saw pastor Batholomew and called after him.
"Pastor..that your choir...the special number was on fire!"
Pastor Batholomew beamed with pride.
The service had drawn to a close at 9pm and everyone had left feeling refreshed. A certain kind of peace and calm had seemed to settle on the villagers as the overhead bulbs had illuminated the podium, the speakers pulsed with sound vibrations and the open sky afforded a view of countless beautiful stars whenever one looked up to the sky. For a minute, every thing had felt soo....so divine.
They had all left the service half an hour ago with the mentality: God is in town, the devil must flee..
Osi could hardly control his excitement, the crusade had started really well, he hadn't even realized the amount of tension he was in, or the amount of pressure he was
under.
Few feet away, packing the chairs and taking down the speakers, his friends watched him talk to the Reverend.
"He's under too much stress" Bukky commented frowning.
"I agree, the weight of responsibility must be crushing his slender shoulders" the
Deacon retorted. Not one to engage in the physical work, he stood a short distance away scrolling through his phone. He had overheard Bukky talking to Ovie and replied her.
Now he walked over menacingly and she fell silent.
"Can we hurry up and retire, we have a lot planned for tomorrow yet your leader seems to think the crusade has ended today"
Bukky continued folding the carpet and Ovie picked up the speaker he had been about to carry but he couldn't help it "sir..with all due respect your attitude towards us isn't right...I see no need for the hostility, we are a team. All of us"
"huh!" The deacon scoffed "I know how you young people are! someone has to keep you grounded all the time" he spat the words at Ovie's retreating back.
"So I'd meet you up for the evangelism tomorrow morning"
"No problem pastor..have a good night"
Osi shook hands with pastor Batholomew as the latter took his leave.
°•°•°•°•
Paul walked Amara back home that night. The sky was pregnant with stars and it just felt like a romantic night.
He took her hand in his.
"Hope you enjoyed the service?" He asked her
"Yes I did.." She gently removed her hands from his.
"Paul..." She began
"You know what...I think the weather is too cold for that shirt you have on" he
interrupted her. Somehow he just knew where she was going and he didn't want to hear it. He removed his leather jacket and put it round her shoulders.
They continued the walk in silence, each of them lost in their thoughts. However, Amara's next question would be an indication of the region her thoughts had strayed.
"What did you think of the pastor?"
Paul blinked as he stared at her trying to clear his own thoughts. He had been going through different lines in his head trying to come up with one that would be perfect.
"Pastor....what pastor. Oh, the one that preached?"
"No..the first one that gave the opening talk"
"Oh..he's a pastor?"
"Yes"
He shrugged "Amara what do you have planned tomorrow?"
Amara looked at Paul and shook her head. She knew she had to make her thoughts clear towards him. They could only be friends, she wasn't ready for anything else.
She was about to say something when she heard a noise- a rustle of leaves coming from the bushes she stopped, taking Paul's hand in hers and stopping him also.
Chinaza was a light skinned girl in her mid twenties. Friends was too strong a word to be used when describing she and Amara, they spoke to each other in the market
square and whenever they saw but it was no deeper than that.
Now she emerged, carrying a log of firewood on her head.
"Chinaza, where to? Its too late to be out alone o"
She sighed "Amara, I had to get this firewood for something important..I need to prepare something overnight" she glanced at Paul "Paul....I heard you're back, welcome how was your journey"
"It was wonderful..long time Chinaza...how's your dad?"
She sighed, her eyes getting downcast "he's alright..."
An uncomfortable silence followed.
"Well...lemme be going, see you later Amara, Paul"
"Wait...why don't we walk with you till you get to your house path" Amara asked.
Chinaza was surprised "but its not along your own path"
"Don't worry I'll take the longer route, we have to look after ourselves and I'm sure Paul won't mind.
"Of course I won't..no problem" Paul spoke up hurriedly.
He led the way, walking slightly ahead of the girls while they talked.
But his shoulders seemed tensed. In fact Amara thought she could detect a little
tension between Chinaza and Paul.
Osi and Gregory waited behind at the market square. The driver had carried the last batch of the chairs and carpet and instruments but the remaining space could only take three people.
Ovie equalled two already and Bukky was definitely the first choice, so Gregory and
Osi had stayed behind, praying and thanking God for the service.
Just as Osi was finishing the grace, he felt a presence from the shadows. Behind a banana tree he saw a kind of movement, or was it his imagination?
He squinted hard pointing the flash light he held towards the direction.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Gregory asked
"Nothing, I thought I saw something?"
"Saw something?...who's there?!" Gregory called out.
"Relax..it must be an animal, no need to get worked up for nothing"
When Samuel returned, revving the engine of the bus and waiting for the pastors to get inside, Osi suddenly felt courageous to check out the tree from earlier. partly majorly due to the fact that the bright beam from the vehicle's headlights illuminated everywhere.
He pointed his touch behind the tree noticing nothing spectacular, just rubbish littered on the floor. A banana peel, an empty alcohol bottle, a cigarette butt and a basket of rotten tomatoes which must have been dumped by one of the market women. He decided that was probably what had attracted the animal, maybe a cat.
he directed the beam back to the bottle on the ground trying to remember where he had seen it before.
His phone rang breaking into his thoughts and causing him to jerk involuntarily: it was the reverend, from Port Harcourt. He answered the call and hurried towards the bus.
"Hello Reverend..."
Chinaza's father was suffering severe arthritis. That was the formal medical term.
However it was rumoured that he had been afflicted by a
dibia in the neighbouring village over a land dispute he had with his cousins from his mother side.
And truly, should one ever experience him shouting from pains and suffering from swelling of the joints that rendering him stiff and motionless, one would think the symptoms were too 'severe' to be severe arthritis.
Chinaza had been given the recipe and concocted a herb mixture every first few days of a week to last for two weeks. The procedure was stressful (she would have to boil a certain leave overnight, waking up at intervals to change firewood and pour the then coloured water into different jugs before refilling it) but whenever her father drank it, he seemed to feel better, the pains lessoned and he could sit up, talk easier and even stand.
She was the only child and the only one to look after her father as her mother was late. She performed her duties diligently, she couldn't bear to see her father in pain.
When she got home, after saying good bye to Amara and Paul, she hummed to herself as she thought of Paul, he had behaved so aloof..so indifferent...
She focused on the task at hand when she heard her father cry out in pain from his room. She arranged the massive pot, set the fire then put the leaves in the water.
She placed her hands on her hips, deep in thought as she studied the basin of water and then the log of firewood she had fetched. She knew she would need one more.
°•°•°•
The devil roamed in the night. He was an opportunistic offender, one that moved about looking for the right opportunity to strike. But lately he had been falling deeper into his horrible urges.
The interruption from earlier had left him feeling foul, he had been primed and ready, eager to strike then that man had shown up....that..that..
He kicked the sand in anger as he remembered the interruption.
He was tuned up and there was no way he could get tuned down...no...he had to hunt! He could lose his sanity(the irony) if he didn't get satisfied immediately. He walked round the village looking idly about but no such luck. He decided to head to the woods. It had worked for him before, if he could find any animal he would be fine.
Bestiality had been a way out before, when the lust had been too much to bear. If not he knew he would make a mistake, slip up in public and he couldn't afford to let that happen...
°•°•°•°•
Amara knew her father would be waiting for her and she could tell he had been happy to see Paul bring her home. He even offered the extra room to Paul saying it was too late to move about but the young man declined his offer. He waved Amara goodnight with a smile and hailed Dé Nwachukwu with eulogies before taking his leave.
"Such a nice young man...he would make a fine son in law" her father commented as he shut the gate.
Amara rolled her eyes and went to bed.
°•°•°•
Chinaza walked the bushy path in the woods with her axe in hand. She couldn't help it as her mind drifted to the recent killings. The first girl had been her close friend.
But Chinaza was tough, she didn't grow up under the roof of a man like her father and end up soft.
She swung the axe with precision splitting the log. She wouldn't hesitate to use the axe in defending herself.
She stopped suddenly and listened....
Nothing...it was just the night.
She continued with her task.
The devil licked his lips as he watched her from the distance.
He knew he was going to have her
Chinaza was tying the logs with a piece of cloth when she heard a sound from behind.
She gripped the axe and turned sharply.
But then she relaxed when she saw him.
"Oh...I didn't expect to see you"
She relaxed the hold on her axe.
The devil smiled...
"You shouldn't be out alone"
To be continued.....
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