“CHAPTER 3 – “CORDELIA”

©️ Opeyemi Akintunde
As Inspired by the DEEP ONE

We went the next day.

We didn’t get past the gate.

“Do you have a pass?” the security man asked.

“Pass? For church?” I asked, bewildered.

He smiled slightly. “You need to attend our discipleship class online and be approved. We don’t open our doors to just anyone. The Kairos Household is not for everyone. It is the church for the saints.”

And then it happened.

Cordelia walked past the gate, eyes sunken, face pale. She looked like someone whose soul was far away. I called her name. For a second, something sparked in her eyes…recognition. But just as quickly, it vanished.

“Cordelia!” I called again.

A female barked, “Keep moving!”

Cordelia looked back just once, and I swear I saw tears.

That was when I knew.

We had to go in, but there was an issue. We had to tell Mummy G.O, because from the look of things we would have to go away for a few weeks.

I stepped into the church office, heart pounding like a drum at vigil. I had to be careful….careful not to sound dramatic, careful not to sound too emotional. Because when it comes to strange spiritual matters, Mummy G.O and Daddy G.O preferred facts and wisdom over fire and frenzy.

“I need to talk to you ma,” I whispered to Mummy G.O just after midweek service. Her eyes narrowed with discernment, and within the hour, Daddy G.O was with us in her office. That was where I began to unfold the things I’d seen, heard, and feared about the place Cordelia had joined.

I described the man who paraded himself as a shepherd yet wasn’t part of any known spiritual association…not CAN, not PFN, not even one of those fringe fellowships. Daddy G.O’s brow furrowed.

“This man… he doesn’t belong to the body. No one knows him,” he muttered.

The next morning, Cordelia’s parents were informed. A trip was arranged. Tijesuni and I went along, seated in the back of the car, while her parents approached the compound of the so-called “church.” We didn’t want to be spotted with her parents so as not to hinder our plans.

We weren’t sure what to expect…tears? Hugs? Repentance?

But Cordelia came out smiling. Not the kind of smile you wear when you’re free. It was a rehearsed, robotic kind of smile…one that didn’t reach the eyes. Her parents stood outside the gate and it felt like a prisoner and family relationship as she couldn’t come out of the gate and neither could they enter. GOD ABEG! I almost screamed in the car when I heard her say…

“Mummy. Daddy,” she said calmly, “I’m no longer yours. You are still in darkness. I have seen the light. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”

Her mother burst into tears. Her father tried to plead. But Cordelia’s eyes flicked toward our car…towards me…and lingered for just a second too long.

Then she said it.

“If you genuinely love me… leave the world and join me here. Tell Aunty Mabel that I need her… I need her to see the light.”

She turned around and disappeared into the building.

But her eyes…oh God….those eyes didn’t match her voice.

She was crying for help.

On the drive back, I couldn’t stop trembling.

I didn’t even wait till the next day. That same evening, we gathered a few trusted sisters and started a prayer chain in church. But deep inside, I knew something more had to be done. It wasn’t enough to intercede from afar.

To be continued….

We celebrate you our readers, thank you for joining us on another journey, feel free to share to enlighten others. God bless you. Follow Us:
🌐 www.deepthoughtsintl.org
📘 Facebook: @Opeyemi Akintunde
📸 Instagram: @OpeyemiAkintunde
🎥 YouTube: @Deep Thoughts TV

✍️ DEEP THOUGHTS NOVELS
Inspired by the TRUTH REVEALER
Written by Opeyemi Akintunde
📞 +234-8151103646