₦airaland Forum

Victor Uzodinma:
What He Says



Chapter 1: She meets Him

"Hi excuse me" was the dashing voice that caught her attention from behind her at the bar she was sitting, trying to drawn down her tiresome day with a glass of wine. She didn't know if it was the wine or the soft music but the moment she took a glance at him there was suddenly a rush of pleasant... Wait a minute she thought to herself, have I been drinking too much, as she took another look at her glass and apparently seemed to have forgotten was made her turn. Simple put her mind was in a mess.

"Sorry" the voice came once again, "didn't mean to interrupt... " he said this while walking to an empty seat beside her at the bar, "hope you are not too drunk to answer a simple question I have... "

She cut in, "I am not drunk, I am just a bit... You know... Ah forget it. What did you want to ask"

He chuckled a bit as he saw her trying to adjust herself to face him, but the sloppy but stern look in her eyes made him freeze a little and said, "Is it true girls think boys dont like flowers"

She coughed and said, "what" a bit surprised about what he came up to ask her, after a bit of silence that seemed like she was guaging if he was seriously interrupting her drink to ask that, she said, "it depends". Her mind still trying to wrap around why he was asking such a question and drifting between if she was even interested... "Just tell me what you think" he said

She looked at him, he was real, there was a real handsome guy asking her about flowers, "liking flowers is a girls thing, so I guess it's true" immediately she said that a thought of him being gay crossed her mind and damped her building interested, "well I guess some gay guys may like flowers as..

He laughed slowly and said, "what!" "You don't think guys like flowers, but I'm pretty you are prettiest flower in this place and I just find myself liking you"

She gulped as she stared at him with wide eyes wondering where that came from, and hr added while laughing, "...and I am not gay"

He found it funny but she found it, what's the word, she couldn't place the right words to what she was feeling at this moment but call it cliche she was falling for him, from first sight, to his pick up lines to possibly the alcohol in her blood stream. Whatever it was, love, infatuation, arousal, lust she was sure of what she was going to do next and he felt he had her exactly where he wanted her.

Her day, well also the drinks, have brought her to this moment, a moment she would be the most daring she has ever been as she moves closer to him and kisses him. Then whispers into his ear, "how does this flower taste"

She was being her best seductively, not the best version of herself, but who is the judging, the young man was laughing and said, "I think you have had too much to drink, time to go home, so... "

"Oh what a bad boy, just two lines and you already want to take me home with you", she said smiling from ear to ear, brushing herself into him... "Okay fine take me home" teasing him, "am all yours"

He takes her by the hand and says somethings she doesn't hear properly but she responds, 'I said I am not drunk, "am I not a pretty flower to anymore, pretty boy" she leaned so close to him outside the bar as he tried to stable her, she gasps and said "oh my, wow, what is that" as she turns to look at him lustfully, "and here you are pretending to be... When you are all exicted, please where's your car let's go"

.....

Ewa wo toluwa sefumi... The phone kept ringing on a shelf beside the bed, a Yoruba christian song played for many times while she slept

"Ooo my head, who's calling me, my phone" she lazily wakes up and stretches her hand to reach where the phone, picks it and before she could speak she hears a female nag her through the phone, "why ain't you picking your calls since morning. We have an important meeting by 9:30 and I thought you would be here already. I called because I noticed you didn't even check your whatsapp messages since last night, ah... "

Mtcheww she hissed softly to herself and her hand slowly dropped the phone even while the caller kept speaking saying someone would get pissed, expectations and all that but she wasn't even in the right frame of mind for a call least of all this particular call. "Ah and I was dreaming of being in a gospel concept," with all I went through yesterday"... At this moment some illustration images began to flash across her mind
"What's that hard thing"
"You naughty boy"
"We are here"

... "Oh my God" she gasped, "wait where am I" she lifted the duvet she was so comfortably in, scanning what looked like a modest hotel room, she sighted her phone which had been ringing been plugged but the one thing she saw that shooked and shocked her was a dress resembling hers folded neatly on a chair between the bed and the door.

At this point she seem not willing to believe they were hers, "ah no no no no, lifting up the duvet to see underneath it, "NO, no nah, Kat" though not a shout, that was the most audible she had been since she wake up.

While putting on her gown she wore a more remorseful look opposite of the excited look she had last night and kept muttering things to herself, "they said be daring Kate but not that daring" "ah God a hotel, a stranger, my virginity.. What was I thinking"

That if she was even thinking as she unplugged her phone picked up her bag and suddenly froze on the door as a thought seemed to have crossed her mind that made her tremble a bit before she opened the door.

She had left the house which was surprisingly empty and open, and endured an early walk to the estate's gate where she stood waiting for a vehicle wondering where exactly she was. She looked at the address written on a store close to the estate and realized where she was and she was two buses away from her place. She felt more confused than she was last night when she went to the bar, "thank God he is not a ritualist, but who leaves his house empty and open with a stranger in it" "wait does he think I am a prostitute waiting for money..." Her thoughts kept pouring in while she was in the bus and got down, "I feel less than a prostitute,  she whispered to herself as she managed to get home.

Tears came down her eyes as she sat on her bed in her one room apartment, she wasn't even sure why she was crying, she felt at lose, she felt she had lost. She got up and took off her gown, her hands kept shaking as she took off her last piece of garment that felt wet to her touch. She closed her eyes as she took them off and ran into the bathroom. "They will probably laugh if they saw me now. What courage, what bravery... " her voice trembled as she turned the knob of the shower, "I.. I... don't even know if he used protection"..."My God I am so stupid" "why, why, why".. She kept repeating to herself weeping while the showering kept pouring


"God forgive me" as she stepped out of a shower filled of tears and struggle to both wash her body and her mind clean. Different thoughts drifted through her mind then a sudden flashed through her eyes, "forgive what... God, hmph, God, with all I went through, where were you when I went to bar..  Where" she broke down again weeping... "If you didn't hear me then you probably won't hear me now. Where...?

Her phone ring cut her off, she picked it in anger and said, "what is it" the same female voice that nagged her in the morning froze and after a moment said, "sorry to disturb you but Pastor would like to see you after rehearsal  seeing as you didn't make it for excos meeting... " before the caller could finished she cut the call and hissed. Shortly after she got a text

"Sorry how I sounded in the morning wasn't happy you ignored my calls. Hope everything is okay, its not like you, you know we care about you. I will see you tomorrow"


"Hmph, our ever zealous youth leader, hmph not like you would understand. Wonder what the meeting was about... " as she dropped her phone, "ah need to eat something before that rehearsal and its already to 12, 2 more hours to that rehearsal. Do I even have to go"
 

"Yes you have to" it felt like talking to herself, "ya apart from being the one that scored the songs, it may help take my mind off these things. Before they get worried something happened and send someone here tomorrow, I have to go"

She made up her, to pick her self up and put it behind her or at least pretend it was all a dream and get on with her day. It didn't stop the fear she felt but to her the worse kind of fear was it been true to others especially those who still treated her with a bit of respect.

"Kate, Kate" she heard her name as she barely passed the church's gate, in her heart she prayed silently that it wasn't one of those spiritual mummy's calling her about anything they have seen because quite frankly she has a lot to hide well not from a God that seems far from her and claims to see it all but from a church that would probably judge her and.., "Mema is that you" as she saw a female sanctuary keeper walk, more like run, quickly towards her.

Mema, from her names Mercy Mary, a weird but fitting name her mother gave her, fits her because she is weird as well. Kate smiles as Mema approach, "of all people I don't want to see yet so glad to see" she murmured to herself.

Being scared of those spiritual mummies is one thing but Mema is on a whole other level that makes her weird and also strange that not many if there's many apart from Kate that has experienced her "gift". The difference is those 'mummies' could claim God was speaking whereas it was their own thoughts or bias but Mema if she did speak and that time or times she did was frightenly accurate. If one person must not find it, it should be Mema right?

"Where have you been, I felt a great disturbance for you... "

Crap she knows, thought Kate as her face froze like a thief in the light.. "Anyway God said I should tell you everything would be okay, sorry I didn't have time to pray for you o, even now, we are still cleaning especially new pastor's office and... " "hey Kate are you... "

"Thank you Mema" Kate softly said, if it's her she always knows what to say, I wonder why she is still in sanctuary unit. "Are you okay, later now you will say I am weird, I have to go" as Mema walks to leave, "yes Pastor Anthony as been looking for you" she squints her eyes, "have you done something again"

Don't know why but Kate bursts into laughter, "what do you mean by that" she felt joy flow into her that she hadnt had since...

"Kate Kate, you finally came and on time for rehearsal" by this time Mema had left but choir coordinator had come out from the church. He was tall and handsome, that very thought brought back the sting of this morning and it was like the joy she just felt evaporated and she answered coldly,  "yea I am" and walked passed him into the church.

Not that Greg, who was standing outside confused, had done or said anything wrong to Kate, but she was going through a lot she wanted to forget.

Greg was the choir coordinator and apart from how good is looks and 'suspicious' he might act he's one of the best christians in the church, he was one of those you could be forgiven for thinking he wasn't. At the closing of the choir rehearsal Greg walked up to Kate who had lend the rehearsal, "Pastor Anthony said you should come meet him, you have never missed a youth meeting before not without informing like you do for choir ministrations and meeting. You know you can talk to me"

Kate looked at him and just walked out, "what's wrong with me, why I am even angry. I can't be angry at Greg right. None of this is his fault. I shouldn't even show him how I feel... Ah this is awful" she spoke to herself as she walked to Pastor Anthony's office. Pausing in front of the door and adjusting herself and attitude she knocked, "its Kate sir you said you wanted to see me"

"Come in"...  The door opened to a standard office, with shelf with books, table with his laptop and picture of his family. Pastor Anthony was a matured man with a keen eye for pictures as he handles media and word publicity of the church, some say he is an evangelist as well.
"If I didn't call you would you have come" he spoke sternly, did I forget to add Pastor Anthony is also a disciplinary

"Sir, I was.. " her words hang in her throat as she wasn't even prepared with what to say, lie to give nor ready to say the truth

"I believe you were aware we had a meeting this morning. Your president covered for you, a youth secretary who was supposed to be in the meeting and take notes"

"Sir I promise it will not happen again"
"Don't promise.. " he cut her off, "I believe you won't, you never have but try and speak Mrs Elliot on Sunday, for now we have to go and see the new youth pastor"

That's right Mema mentioned something about a new pastor, is he our new youth pastor, I should be on my best behavior so I can convince Pastor not to send me to Mrs Elliot. Now who is Mrs Elliot, you have heard of G.Os wives who were strict and commanded respect, she was like them but more, in that she didn't command respect she was respected for one unusual reason, her humility. Reason she's called Mrs Elliot, her only pride is Jesus and her husband, you can also add the workers as well. If Mema was weird, Mrs Elliot could look into your soul, she will listen to you till you told her all your secrets strangely you will never hear it in a message or preaching, just know she is strict enough to give you 60days fasting or marathon prayers.

We had reach the door of the new youth pastor's office when we heard him praying
"He is a very spiritual young man, you really missed in the morning, anyway you do get to meet him as you will.. "

Suddenly and strangely the door opened like he was expecting them, but the face Kate saw made her freeze in her steps

"Miss Kate this is Pastor Tunde David, Pastor this is the youth secretary Adaobi Katherine, we call her Kate because she grew up with the church... "

Pastor Anthony kept talking while Kate still frozen at the door didn't realize they were going inside.

"Why is he here" her mind raced inside, wide eyed as she stared holes into the new youth pastor.