Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,152,745 members, 7,817,056 topics. Date: Saturday, 04 May 2024 at 01:43 AM

The Man In The Church And Other Stories - Literature (3) - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / Literature / The Man In The Church And Other Stories (21429 Views)

Unveiled [and Other Flash Fiction Pieces] / The Man: Bob Dylan, Newly Crowned Nobel Laureate / The Adventures Of One Man Squad And Six Other Stories (2) (3) (4)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (Reply) (Go Down)

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Nmeri17: 11:20pm On Jan 12, 2015
a young punny intended to lure our brother into the valley of the shadow of death but thankfully the Lord saved him smiley

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by drollster(m): 6:45am On Jan 13, 2015
Royver, morning. This should be a true story, right? Were you the lured and was she one of "the tails "?

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by morsadh(m): 7:39pm On Jan 13, 2015
Royver:
Savigne, Fatalveli, JeffreyJamez, MhizDare, morsadh, Frankenstein, teetee92,
write2obi, lenmafon, Nmeri17, et al.

thanks much!

@lenmafon that guy no be chukwudi o cheesy
but I'll relay the message just the same smiley
You're welcome,
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by morsadh(m): 7:39pm On Jan 13, 2015
Royver:
Savigne, Fatalveli, JeffreyJamez, MhizDare, morsadh, Frankenstein, teetee92,
write2obi, lenmafon, Nmeri17, et al.

thanks much!

@lenmafon that guy no be chukwudi o cheesy
but I'll relay the message just the same smiley
You're welcome.
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Royver(m): 9:12pm On Jan 13, 2015
drollster:
Royver, morning. This should be a true story, right? Were you the lured and was she one of "the tails "?
yes, this is a true story. About the tails...i never saw her legs so...i dunno. but i doubt it smiley
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Lawconfessor(f): 9:44pm On Jan 13, 2015
Royver, be richly blessed- that first story was awe-inspiring.

I woke up this morning with the thoughts of "the next voice u hear" and was like I'll log in to nl today to hello u. Was so happy to be greeted with that first story.....it reminded me of what my mom experienced when we were small- we did not travel for Xmas that year n as usual we clean the church n the only pple that was priviledged to keep the sanctuary clean, dress Holy images of our Lord n the Blessed Virgin and wash alter cloths at home...bla bla bla.

One fateful morning, on our usual duty after holy mass- except for one old man n a lady in the church engrossed in their prayers- we saw our mom suddenly kneel n trembled...later that night she told us her encounter. That she was called by her native name three times and was asked of the promise she made to give a certain amount after the season.
And another occasion when she was given a diamond Holy Rosary right in her b'ra.

Royver dear, u are awesome- ye though u walk in the valley of shadow of death......thou shall fear no mermaid...for He is Emmanuel.

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by JeffreyJamez(m): 11:46pm On Jan 13, 2015
See as mami water be wan carry my guy cheesy
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Flakeey(f): 10:43am On Jan 14, 2015
Wonderful!!!

*following*
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by oghenekome51(f): 9:40pm On Jan 14, 2015
Royver, nawa for u o! Na evrytime ude see different things! Nice work!

2 Likes

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Nobody: 11:37am On Jan 15, 2015
Hello everyone its smartshadow. I am currently using a friends nairaland account
Some of you might have read my novel(complicated desire).
Well thanks to the wise and mature minded moderators(and truly I say this with the highest level of sarcasm there is), I have been banned from this section and my work has been moved to sexuality section.
I must say that I wasn't by any means warned or alerted about this decision
It pains my heart because not only have I invested valuable time in writing this book, but there are nairalanders who have been following, supporting and enjoying my work.

It goes to show that its not everyone who can use a computer that actually has common sense.
I am in no way going to continue writing the novel because what inspired me to write in the first place was because I wanted to share in the intelligence and talent of writers and readers in this section.

So to everyone that has encouraged my work and who have been supportive, I say a big thank you.

Samsondavid Harkanbi Calmdove Viktoh kwencypresh bookj estellar12 Costlybabe Vickthoriah prettydiva89 Elparaiso Elzicks paperlord007 Rapmoney Tiffanyj amenna ayodijex ESIXlOVE

And @ Op. I am so so sorry for derailing your lovely thread
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Royver(m): 11:07pm On Jan 17, 2015
That point it time when a kiss is so magical, it blows your mind away...

I was sitting down in my office, quite occupied with the affairs of this world when I heard the song. It was an old song, a song from a different era, when nigeria was, well, different. It reminded me of excitement and romance, of teenage valour and unfulfilled love. I tried to ignore it but my soul tugged at me. Get up, it said, follow it before you lose it again, forever.

So I got up from my seat. I walked slowly and gently outside for fear that my hurry would drive the singer awaylike it had done years before and years before then. I went outside and stood still, listening to the now faint song as it floated on the evening breeze towards my antenna-like ears. It was an old song and she sang it the old way, with feeling, with love, with faith. My heart wept deep within my chest but I kept my head clear. There was no way it could be her. I took another step and there she was, the singer, singing that tune that we had forged together under the mango tree at "zuma rock" many, many years ago when the air was young and the harmattan came in september.

She turned as I approached her and when she saw me she let out a gasp, like she had been holding her breath. She held her left hand to her heart as if to steady it. I saw disbelief in her eyes.

"You told me, If I sang..." she stuttered.

"I would find you." I completed the sentence.

People moved around us, glancing at us as if secret spectators to this coincidence of coincidences. We stood for another moment looking at each other, not smiling, not crying, just being. Just being like the days of old when the sun was warm on our faces and her cheap perfume smelled like heaven to me. Ismelled it again as I approached now, swiftly, though if it was real or simply the remnants of a memory I cannot now tell. I entwined her in my arms and hugged her, feeling the fresh scent of her hair and the weight of her body as she collapsed into me. We became one body, one flesh, one scent, one song, revelling in each other, our souls intertwined in one beacon of light. I didnt care that we were blocking human traffic, I didn't care for the indignant and mischeviousl glances and yellow teeth flashes.

All I cared about was that somehow I had found her again, my Okome.

5 Likes 1 Share

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by oghenekome51(f): 11:21pm On Jan 17, 2015
Wow! Hmmmmmmmm, royver hmmmmmmm!
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Royver(m): 1:19pm On Jan 18, 2015
oghenekome51:
Wow! Hmmmmmmmm, royver hmmmmmmm!
lol! happy sunday smiley
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Flakeey(f): 3:14pm On Jan 18, 2015
kiss kiss kiss
love mo love ehh love wantintin

okome okome
I go love ooooo
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Mutaino7(m): 8:35pm On Jan 18, 2015
I was there when it happened.. D guy name nah sikiru.. Royver twisting stories since 0bc.

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by SexySapphire(f): 9:38am On Jan 19, 2015
U're the guy Royver

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Evangelio(m): 10:40am On Jan 21, 2015
That sand man story makes me wish i was the lady in the story. Roy (O'banon?) u're special!!

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Nobody: 3:47am On Jan 24, 2015
picture nkor?
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by yomi007k(m): 3:56am On Jan 24, 2015
eunisam:
is this for real or a fiction? Am begining to think twice.
How u go dey ask ds kind thing.
If its real oya make him tell us d name of the church n address.
So many stolen books wey I don use pass examz.


Nice story sha

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Nobody: 5:31am On Jan 24, 2015
oghenekome51:
Hy royver! Nice story n may i ask, is dis story fictitious or its a real story?
And again, i want to bring to ur notice a certain 'olagoke olajide rapzy' to ur notice, cos i saw a part of ur story on his page tru a group i cant recall, its 'i see tins odas do not see' if am correct! So pls chect it up n do sumtin bou it! Damn plagiarists!

This is nothing but a sham concocted by the Catholic Church to gain more Riches from their gullible followers.

If the foundation of Christianity wasn't built on Ridiculous Lies, the World would have been a better place.
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by fesnge(m): 5:34am On Jan 24, 2015
Good one...

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Nobody: 5:44am On Jan 24, 2015
I dedicate this space to Gej
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by babadee1(m): 5:49am On Jan 24, 2015
You write very well. You have a bright publishing future ahead of you.

1 Like

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Nobody: 5:56am On Jan 24, 2015
this bible story sweet oooo
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by gidjah(m): 6:03am On Jan 24, 2015
wa o!this is a brilliant write up!i am so so blessed
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by kkboy(m): 6:06am On Jan 24, 2015
Royver:
I don’t know how to tell this story, so I’m just going to tell it and leave it for you to figure out because I’m tired of thinking about it and I want it out of my system. My name isn’t necessary, it’s just enough to let you know I used to sweep the Catholic Church down the road every Tuesday and Thursday for the past two years. I do it as a kind of penance for my sins; I don’t know…it kind of gives me grace. I feel peace doing it. I’m a four hundred level medical student so you don’t think I’m some bum with nothing better to do than sweep churches. I don’t belong to any church group and I’ll be the first to tell you that sweeping gives me asthma attacks. So why do I do it?


Like I said, it makes me feel peaceful. Gives me grace.


Anyway, enough of me and on to the real issue here.


Going to church every Sunday is okay for most folks. The bible did say to keep the Sabbath day holy and all that. There’s nothing wrong in going to church only on Sundays. I do it myself. The Tuesday and Thursday thing is usually done after the mass. But it is on these days that I meet the strangest of people.


There’s the girl that comes every Tuesday and kneels before the Blessed Sacrament, crying her eyes out and holding a picture of her family. I know because I have spied that picture more than once when sweeping close to her. Guess she’s got family issues. There’s the guy who comes to the church soon after mass and sits beside the statue of Mary only to open his engineering textbooks and project works. He’s been driven out countless times by the parish priest but he always finds a way to sneak back in when he thinks no one is looking. I guess he needs supernatural help in his studies. I don’t know if it works for him though.


There’s the old woman who comes for mass without fail and then kneels in front of the altar until she goes to sleep. Literally snores. After about thirty minutes she wakes up, makes the sign of the cross and goes home. Dunno what that is about. I guess it’s between her and God.
There are pious people and pious looking people. There’s the girl who comes and prays real hard after church only to go outside and put on flashy makeup and head for class, always on skimpy and very sexy attires. There’s the guy who says extra prayers while I sweep past him and then when he thinks no one is looking he drops some spare change into the box for the poor.


So many characters. But this story is not about any of them.


There was this guy I noticed right around three months ago. He came to church when the mass was over, when the church was completely empty and then he entered the church. I knew he was doing something there but I could never really catch him at it. The moment I came in he would either go out and wait until I finished sweeping and left for lectures or if it looked like I was going to stay longer, he would give up and go home. If any of the other characters I mentioned was in the church, he would stay outside until they left. He was very persistent and never ever missed a Tuesday or Thursday. I couldn’t tell whether he came on other days or not and I didn’t have anybody to ask. I noticed he would come in looking a little gloomy and down in the dumps and then leave feeling recharged, relieved, happy. But I was quite sure the happiness wasn’t from prayer. He looked…there isn’t any other way of saying this…high. Like he was high on some drug. Whenever he came out his eyes would be wide open, his nostrils flaring, his breathing faster and he would grin at all and sundry and then move on his merry way. I began to suspect there was more to it than met the eye with this customer.


One day curiosity got the better of me and I decided to find out what Mr. Super happy was up to. I came to church as usual when the service was about rounding up, waited for them to finish, then began to sweep out the church. I made sure to wake the old woman sleeping at the altar and she thanked me and went home. I inspected the statue of Mary and luckily the engineering student as nowhere to be found today. I swept out the church and went outside and sure enough he was there, the mystery man, waiting patiently for me to leave. I nodded in greeting at him and he reciprocated with a small smile. I then proceeded to start sweeping outside the church. My plan was to keep sweeping around until he felt I wasn’t noticing and then I would sneak into the church and observe him.


As soon as I moved some distance off to the back of the church, sweeping like my life depended on it and raising not a little dust, my suspect went inside. I waited a little bit, timing it just right because I knew from experience that he spent an average of fifteen to twenty uninterrupted minutes in the church before he was done. I gave him ten minutes during which time I had inhaled enough dust to make a vacuum cleaner jealous. I started wheezing a little bit but I kept up the good work, making sure he thought I was very busy. And then I dropped the broom and tiptoed back to the entrance. If I walked right in he would see me instantly so I went on my knees (hey, I was really curious!) and crawled on my belly into the church, using the side pews to hide me from being seen.


I was still on my belly and crawling towards the altar when I heard the sweetest sound. It was like a choirperson was singing somewhere, probably from a music device the man was carrying but the voice were so clear and beautiful that I had to assume the device was really high tech. The sound was sending sweet shockwaves through my body and I made up my mind there and then to ask him to transfer it to my phone after I was done spying on him. As I got closer, the voice became louder and then I had the eerie feeling that it was not coming from a music device, it was being sung live. I raised myself to my knees and peeked over the pew.


Think what you like, but I’m telling you right now that guy was standing on air. I mean he was literally standing on nothing a few feet above the ground, his two hands clutched to his chest and his mouth open wide. He was the one doing the singing and from the altar a light was shining towards him. I blinked once or twice in case it was a reflection from the sun outside or something, but no. That light was coming from the altar! I didn’t know when I let out a small cry of alarm. The guy turned around startled and I saw his mouth and eyes were filled with light.
I got to my feet and ran faster than I had ever run in my life. I ran through the door like a bullet, not screaming, not having enough breath to scream, not realizing I was having a full blown asthmatic attack. Not until I collapsed near the fence of the church from sheer exhaustion and lack of oxygen. The air just couldn’t get through to my lungs, my chest was so tight. I raised my head and looked around to see if anyone could help me…and saw the guy standing in front of me. I couldn’t even scream though I was scared silly.


He smiled and knelt beside me and put his hand on my chest. Immediately my lungs opened and cool wonderful air flowed in. I breathed in once, twice and soon I was alright again. I sat up and gazed at the man in front of me. He didn’t look so frightening anymore and the light had gone from his mouth and eyes.


“You nearly scared yourself to death there.” He said. “Don’t you know better than to sneak up on people?”


“I’m sorry sir.” I said immediately. He laughed.


“It’s okay. I’m just glad you are alright.”


“Are you, like, an angel?” I asked.


He smiled again.


“You have a good heart. Keep up the good work. The Lord really appreciates it when you do things for him from the depth of your heart and not because you are being forced to do it.”


“Okay.” I said. I didn’t know what else to say.


“I have to go now. Tell Eunice to call home tomorrow and tell Matthew that if he wants to pass he has to return those books to their owners.”


“Okay.” I repeated.


Then he strolled to the church gate, his hands in his pockets and entered a bus and was gone.


I didn’t even ask his name or number.



The next day I went to church. I waited until the girl with the family picture came into the Blessed Sacrament and I went to her.


“Excuse me please, are you Eunice?” I asked.


She looked at me curiously.


“Yes, do I know you?”


She had a nice smile when she wasn’t crying so much.


“Em, I was told to tell you to call your home today.”


Her eyes widened. “By who?”


“One guy like this. Sha call home.” I said and moved towards the statue of Mary where the engineering student had settled in for his early morning study.


“Matthew?”


The guy nearly jumped out of his skin. “What?”


“I was told to tell you that if you want to pass you have to return those books to their owners.”


Matthew looked at me for a few seconds. The next thing I knew he was on his feet and had me by the collar of my shirt.


“Who are you?” He shouted. “Are you calling me a thief?”


I was about to respond when we both heard a loud cry and we turned around to see Eunice on the phone crying and kneeling and shouting
“Praise God for healing!” Then she cut the call and ran towards me. Matthew released me as she fell into my arms and hugged me tight.
“God bless you! My father and mother are going to be alright!” She smiled through happy tears. “Who are you?”


“Me?” I gasped. “No, I’m not the one…there was this guy yesterday…”


“You must show him to me tomorrow!” She shouted and the parish priest appeared from the hallway. Matthew was looking at me strangely. Suddenly he picked up his books and things and hurried out of the church. The parish priest sent me and Eunice out as well and shut the door.


The strange man never came back. I came the next day with Eunice to see him, no show. I came the day after that and the day after that day but till now he has not returned. Eunice and I are currently in a relationship. Don’t laugh, I’m trying to keep it as godly as possible but my goodness she is wonderful wife material. She's so kind and caring. She makes me so happy and we study wonderfully well together. She’s an accounting student by the way. I have a feeling that she’s going to be a big blessing to my life and we are going to share a future together.



I guess I just want to say, Thanks bros.
Thanks, God.
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by stuff46(m): 6:09am On Jan 24, 2015
front page, congratz oga Royver
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by kilokeys(m): 6:28am On Jan 24, 2015
some pple makes NL worth it.. and the op is def. one of them..

2 Likes

Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by chimyfidel: 6:35am On Jan 24, 2015
This is entertaining indeed.....
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by Lawconfessor(f): 6:36am On Jan 24, 2015
I welcome every nick d!ck n harry aboard to fp.
Well done Royver, take notice of what someone said up there- ur "i see what others cant see" on another's page.
I suppose it wont be a bad idea editing ur stories once completed or still starting a story here n finishing up on ur blog- you can as well handle it entirely like prettyspicey.
Re: The Man In The Church And Other Stories by clemz85(m): 6:39am On Jan 24, 2015
excuse me heaving, some one wannu tell me
this is fiction?

who the earth is Royver?

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (Reply)

A Love And Hate Relationship (based On A Truelife Story) / Amina Mama Celebrates Her 62nd Birthday Today / Showcase Your Blog and Get More Comments And Followers

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 64
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.