CHAPTER ONE
“Sharon! Sharon! Sharon! You can’t do this to us. Please open your eyes.”
“OMG! She is no longer breathing, someone please call the porters.” “This girl must not die.”
Those were the words coming from room 32 in Oriyomi’s edifice, one of the hostels in the Federal university. Sharon, a 300 level student of economics suddenly screamed from her sleep and collapsed afterwards leaving everyone in panic mode. She was not sick before she went to bed that night and something like that had never happened in the hall of residence before. And that made everyone confused as to what to do to remedy the situation.
“Has anyone gone to call the porters?” Nike, who happened to be one of the oldest girls in that hostel asked, looking around to see if anyone had gone.
“Yes, Shile has gone to get the porters,” someone answered her and everyone just sat there in silence hoping that when the porters arrived they would be able to proffer solution to what was going on.
“What really happened to her?” One of the porters asked as they stepped into the room.
“She just screamed and collapsed,” someone answered.
“Is she still breathing?” The other porter asked.
“Come and see for yourself and stop asking foolish questions,” one of the girls said amidst confusion.
The porters moved closer to where Sharon was lying and they checked for her pulse and temperature. They were also thrown into panic mode when they couldn’t discover a pulse and she was really cold.
“What do we do now?” one of the porters said.
“Are you asking us that? We called you people here because we don’t know what to do and you are standing there asking us what we are going to do. Maybe you should bring a knife so we can divide her parts and roast it.” One of the students said in anger as they had expected the porters being older should know what to do.
“That’s too harsh; you don’t talk to an elderly person like that. We are all upset and confused but it is totally wrong to say things like that.” Another person rebuked her sharply.
“You guys should just stop all these nonsense and let’s focus on the matter at hand.” Someone else said in frustration.
“We can’t get a cab at this time. It is 2am and if we should call the health centre, they won’t get here till day break.”
“Exactly, I already called the security unit and I told them we have a medical emergency and that someone is dying and I gave them all the details but I’m sure they won’t do anything until daybreak.”
“What a pathetic country!”
“If they don’t help us at least we should be able to help ourselves.”
Everyone seemed confused and even the porters could not think of anything. They placed another call through to the security unit and they got the same reply of “we will be with you soon.” There are no vehicles around. Not even a motorcycle that they could use to convey Sharon to the hospital.
“Is this how this girl will die?” Someone asked and began to shed tears and others joined her. The scene became a pitiable one as these students watched their colleague, friend, and roommate, dying due to negligence.
“Let’s call Lady Fire,” a girl who had been silent since the pandemonium began said, and everyone turned to look at her.
“Do you think this is a joke?” Someone asked her angrily.
“Why are you getting angry at her?” Another person retorted. “At least she can think of something. What can your dumb head think of?” She added.
“You guys are just so pathetic, someone is dying here and all you can do is to argue and insult one another. I guess it’s true that a leopard can’t wash off its skin, she said and hissed.”
“Whether it is Lady Fire or Lady Thunder you want to call please do it on time. We are losing Sharon,” someone else said and some of them giggled at the humour. A lady volunteered to go and get Lady Fire who stayed at the next hostel.
Paulina was a 300 level student of Anatomy. She was born and bred in a Christian family and gave her life to Jesus at a very tender age. She loved the Lord and everything that has to do with church and service to God excites her. She was enthusiastic and very passionate about the things of God. She doesn’t joke with her quiet time, bible study, evangelism, prayer and also the cooperate ones in church, she was always present. She was the only child of her parents and even though they were rich and very influential, she was neither proud nor spoilt. She had everything that she needed at her disposal and never lacked anything. She was very generous and open hearted. She can give her life for someone if she had the chance. She gained admission into the university at the age of 15 and though she was young she was already sound in the scriptures and Christian living. Her parents didn’t have to worry about her getting influenced negatively.
An incidence occurred when Paulina was in 100 level which earned her the nickname (Lady Fire) and other events that occurred afterwards confirmed the name and most students didn’t even know her real name.
It was the habit of most students to wait till examination period before they got serious with their academics. It was at that period that the notes of the serious students would get missing and the photocopying centers would be filled with students photocopying notes and course materials and a lot of them would start doing crash work of reading for long hours without getting enough sleep which mostly led to health crises during and after the exams.
That particular semester was Paulina’s first semester in the university and with little orientation about the incidences surrounding examination time, she didn’t handle her notebooks and textbooks with special care. She just kept them like she had been doing before. She would keep her books and textbooks in her locker in the hostel without locking it and then go out.
On a particular night about two weeks to the commencement of the examination, she came back from evening prayer meeting in church and after doing a few things she decided to head to the library for night class. She opened her locker and she discovered that all her books and textbooks had been taken away and not even a single one was left, even her jotter where she wrote rough things was also taken. She just stood there perplexed and was looking from face to face to see if any of her roommates would smile so she would know who was playing a prank on her. They were all busy with their things and none of them even looked at her.
After a few seconds of wondering what could have happened, she decided to ask them.
“This is not funny guys. You people should suspend this joke till after the exams o because as it is now, I’m a very busy person,” she said and they all looked at her wondering what gibberish she was saying.
“You are not the type that joke or play around so I wonder what joke you are talking about,” one of them said not being able to piece together a single meaning from all Paulina said.
“Did you hit your head? Another one asked and they all laughed.”
“Don’t try to play a fast one on me at all. I know you guys understand what I’m saying perfectly,” Paulina said not convinced that they didn’t understand what she was talking about.
“When you are ready to talk, let us know. We are also busy people.”
“Okay guys can I have my books now,” she said.
“Are you sure you are fine?”
“Are you hungry? Or do you need to sleep so you can come to your senses and stop talking rubbish.”
“Do we share your books with you or which one is can I have my books?”
Paulina at this juncture didn’t know if they were still pulling her legs or they were being sincere because are roommates were fond of playing pranks on her being the youngest in the room. She was getting frustrated as time was going and the hostel would be locked by 10pm which meant that she won’t be able to go to class that night.
She narrated to them how she left her books in her locker only to come back to meet an empty locker. Her roommates were shocked at the development and blamed themselves for their negligence.
“You didn’t send anyone to help you bring your chemistry textbook?” One of them asked.
“No.”
“We didn’t even suspect a thing and we didn’t even tell you about the dangers of leaving your notes carelessly during exam time.”
“We are so sorry. We think your notes had been stolen.”
“Someone came around and said you asked her to help you bring your chemistry textbook to class because you won’t be coming to the hostel tonight. We didn’t suspect her because she looked decent and we never taught she could be lying.”
Paulina’s roommates really felt sorry for her. They apologized over and over again.
Paulina couldn’t come to terms with the fact that her notebooks and textbooks were gone. She didn’t cry or scream. She just laid on her bed and opened her bible. She read a few verses after which she started praying.
She had not prayed for up to 20 minutes before someone ran into the room screaming…
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please forgive me, I’ll return them.” The young lady in her early twenties was screaming on the top of her voice and she was scratching her body violently.
She called the attention of the other students and they all assembled in Paulina’s room wanting to know what exactly was wrong with the lady that was screaming.
They tried to calm her down but all to no avail. She was turning red and her body was becoming very hot as if she was being roasted. Paulina’s roommates and others around just didn’t know what to do. They wanted to calm her down and listen to her but the more they tried the more restless she became.
All the while, Paulina was still lying on her bed praying. She didn’t mind the noise and distraction and she continued with her prayers.
“Paulina, help us here now,” someone said and tapped her. She ended her prayers and sat up.
Immediately the lady saw her, she became calm and she went on her knees begging Paulina to forgive her that she was sorry for what she did.
“I don’t know you and I don’t know what you are talking about,” she said.
The lady then narrated how she was in the same department with Paulina and she was not always in class and when she did her findings she got to know that Paulina was very punctual in class and had an up-to-date note. She followed her to know her hall of residence and she had been monitoring her for some days before she eventually decided to strike that very day by pretending to be a friend and went away with all her books.
“Haah!” Everyone exclaimed and started calling her bad names but Paulina remained calm.
“Why are you here like these?” Paulina asked.
“I’m sorry I didn’t know your father is a king.”
“As I was returning to my hostel, I was kidnapped by some guys and they said I was a thief. I tried to deny it but somehow I could not tell lies around them. I confessed all the wrong things I’ve done and they instructed me to return your books.”
“They released me and I went to my hostel. I thought about all that happened and concluded that it was just a mere coincidence and I discarded the thoughts of returning the books.”
“As I slept, I had a dream where I saw you and those guys and you instructed them to tie me up which they did and you brought out a long whip and started flogging me.”
“I pleaded for mercy but you will not listen and then after a while you stopped and asked those guys to bring petrol. You poured it on my body and set me on fire.”
“I screamed out of my sleep and when I was awake I started having the sensation of fire all over my body and my skin became red and hot and that’s why I’m here to return your books please forgive me and release me,” the lady said amidst tears.
Everyone was amazed at such a thing. They all knew Paulina to be a Christian and such a thing was strange to explain.
Paulina just smiled and said “you don’t hurt a child of God and go scot-free.”
She prayed for the lady and the lady was whole after which she told the lady of the danger of stealing both here on earth and in eternity. She preached Jesus to the lady and that night she repented of all her sins and confessed Jesus as her Lord and personal savior. Others who were also convicted of their sins begged God for forgiveness that night and since then they never ceased to call Paulina Lady Fire.
There were other incidences that occurred which made people around her to see her as a special and rear kind of person.
There was a day a snake entered their room. As other students were panicking, she just spoke to the snake and it ran out of the room and that was the last time they saw a snake in the hostel arena.
On a particular day, they returned from fellowship late at night and the gate of the hostel arena was already closed which meant that they would have to spend the night elsewhere because the porters won’t allow them in no matter how they plead or how sincere they were. Paulina just stared at the lock for a few minutes and the gates opened by itself.
She was also known for possibilities and there was nothing that anyone took to her that did not receive a positive impact. She was known for always praying for the sick in the hostel and even going to the health centre to pray for patients and they would be healed instantaneously.
She was also very sound academically and she taught her mates and junior colleagues tutorials and whosoever she taught would receive a special kind of understanding for that course that such a person would not be able to explain.
She was loved and respected by everyone but, she had some haters who just didn’t like anything about her and they were always in the business of criticizing her and finding faults with whatever she did but she couldn’t care less.
The lady that went to call Paulina finally arrived with her.
“What is happening here?” Paulina asked as she stepped into the room.
“She just screamed out of her sleep and fainted,” someone said trying to explain the situation to Paulina.
Paulina went over to where Sharon was lying and touched her neck she discovered that she was actually becoming very cold. She excused everyone from the room and closed the door. She went on her knees close to her and said a word of prayer.
“Lord Jesus, what do I do? I believe you can heal her and raise her up but I know that everything you do is always to the glory of your holy name. Father, let your will be done in this situation. Glorify yourself Lord, in Jesus name Amen.”
She finished praying and went over to touch Sharon again. Sharon sneezed and sat up, she was sweating profusely and Paulina gave her water to drink.
“What happened?” She asked after taking a gulp of water.
Paulina explained to her that she fainted after screaming from her sleep. Sharon started shedding tears and told Paulina all she had been going through. How she was always seeing herself being beaten and molested in the dream and when she wakes up she would see the marks on her body.
Paulina preached Jesus to Sharon the only solution to her problems. She knelt down beside the bed and surrendered her life to Jesus.
It was at that point that the people outside lost their patience and opened the door to see what was going on. They were surprised to see Sharon hale and hearty and they couldn’t hide it. They were all eager to hear how it happened and Paulina gave Sharon the privilege of sharing the testimony herself.
By the time Sharon finished sharing her testimony, a lot of them were already in tears, and some of them were on their knees while others were rolling on the floor. They were grateful to God for the deliverance He wrought and some of them were just left in awe of the might of God.
A lot of them that had similar problems began to speak up and they all willingly surrendered their lives to Jesus the only one that could save them. After which Paulina led them into prayers and there was a mighty revival in the hostel that night as evil spirits were being cast out of many and deliverance and liberation from all oppression happened to all that were being oppressed by the devil.
After which there was a mighty praise session as everyone began to praise God in their various languages for all He did for them. Paulina was also lost in worship as she knelt down and tears were running down freely from her eyes. God had used her once again as an instrument in His hands and she was just grateful.
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