CHAPTER 11 – BATTLE OF THE BRETHREN

©OPEYEMI AKINTUNDE
AS INSPIRED BY THE CREATIVE ONE

“Did you see her leave here this morning?” I asked the receptionist.
“This morning?” I confirmed again.
“Yes! She left around 6:30am… alone. Quiet. Just carried her bag and entered bike,” she replied.

“Did she leave with the brother she came with?” I asked.
“No. He left around 8am. Are they dating, ma?” the receptionist asked quickly.

“Why did you ask?”
“It was obvious. The brother wanted to literally swallow her. Even Dorcas took pictures of them.”

Pictures?
That was not good. That was so not good for the church brand!

“Oh! Can I see the pictures?” I asked.

Dorcas was called, and she excitedly showed me the pictures.
And in the split of a second, I deleted them permanently.

They were shocked.

“I’m sorry I had to do that… They are not dating. The brother wants to date her, and he’s doing everything possible. If this picture gets out, it will break the sister,” I said, hoping they would understand.

They didn’t understand.
They were furious!

But I knew these things.
I had learnt a few tricks from Mama.

I asked for their account details and forwarded some money from Mama’s purse account with me.

That calmed their nerves.

Wahala be like wetin?
Wahala be like camera wey capture innocent moment and nearly cause church earthquake.
(Wahala is like a camera that captures an innocent moment and almost shakes the whole church.)

But Grace be like wetin?
Grace be like person wey God dey protect even when people dey plot scandal with screenshot.
(Grace is when God protects someone …even when people are plotting scandal with a screenshot.)
If that picture got out, it will bring ridicule to her. They would say she had been pretending all along. They would not analyse the picture well to see that it was Pastor Dan that was making the moves, but as usual Grace found her.

T.J. didn’t come to church for the next two days. I was avoiding calling her, because of Mama.

No post.
No text.
No choir check-in.

Then, Sunday morning…
She walked in.
Usual Ankara Themed dress. At this point I was beginning to think She was a Fashion Designer.
Usual sleek back scarf.
But there was a storm in her eyes.

Not the angry type.
The “I am Unshaken. This is my father’s House” look.

I tried to catch her after service.
She dodged me.

Later, I heard from another sister that T.J. had gone to one of the elders … Elder Akin… and requested to be removed from the choir for now.

No explanation.

Just like that.

Meanwhile, Pastor Dan was glowing more than usual.
“The Lord is doing deep work in this season,” he said after service. “Some pruning comes with silence.”

I wanted to scream,
“Abeg, who ask you?”

But I just nodded.
Because… church.

Wahala be like what?
Wahala be like private prayer retreat wey turn to unspoken trauma.
(Translation: Trouble is when something meant to be holy becomes a setup in disguise.)

That night, I went into my small prayer corner in the church.
And I wept.
Not for me.

For her….
Sincerely.. I felt like I was to help T.J flourish in that Church. I felt like I should stand up for her. There was a knowing in my spirit that our Church was dying and T.J was sent to revive it.

But the Question is why did He send the innocent looking girl? He could have sent a prophet! A revivalist!

But a simple looking girl.!

To be continued… ( TO PAY FOR THE THE FULL ACCESS TO THE E-COPY of this Story, Kindly Chat +234-9069926797 to pre-order your copy)

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