I tiptoed out of Favour’s flat, she was living in a 2 bedroom flat in a 4 flat duplex. She lived in the flat above. So it took me about 10-15 minutes to carefully walk down the stairs and move towards the gate. They had no security man at their gate, each tenant had his or her personal key to open the gate on their way in, But from within you could easily open. I opened the gate gently and stepped out of the gate,jamming the gate. That way I couldn’t enter back, except I had a key. I heaved a sigh of relief. “ Where was I going?” Was the question that hit my chest. “ I don’t know, but Holy Spirit help me” One of the lessons I had learnt from Favour was speaking to the Holy Spirit. “ The Holy Spirit is our help, our friend, Jesus in our days, so whatever you need help with, you ask Him”. She had said on the day she taught me about the HolySpirit. She prayed with me and I recieved the HolyGhost with the Evidence Of Speaking in tongues. I kept walking towards the right and speaking my baby tongues…It felt like a newborn blabbing but as I kept at it, it felt like l was charging my Spirit. The Spirit of boldness came over me as I walked in the dark. Suddenly, I started hearing loud footsteps running towards my direction, I turned back and saw about four heavily built men running towards me and in the split of a second ran past me. I wondered what was happening. One of the men shouted at me.. “ Guy, the black horses are coming!” “ Black Horses?” I thought to myself, but simultaneously I heard the siren of the police van. Instinct told me to find a place to hide, as I immediately understood that the four men who had run past me were probably criminals on the run… I hid under a trader’s table in front of her closed shop. The police van drove past where I was . I heaved a sigh of relief silently thanking God I had escaped evil. “ Come out of there,before I shoot you!” I heard the voice of a man from a dark place speaking the Yoruba Language. As the son of a military man who got posted a lot, I understood Yoruba and other languages. I didn’t know who he was as he had his torch flashed on my face… “ I am not a thief sir!” I quickly pleaded in Yoruba but my Igbo tongue gave me away “ Then why are you hiding? Igbo boy speaking Yoruba, You are a thief on the run…” He concluded “ I am not a thief , I am homeless ….When I heard the police siren, I thought it wise to hide before I am mistaken for a thief.. Please sir, I am a Christian, I am not a thief” I said pouring out my nylon… “ Stop it, what are you trying to do, you want to bring out your gun…?” “No,Sir I wanted to show you my BIble as a proof sir… The truth is, I just got born again and I have been living with a sister down the street, but been alone with the sister in the house is creating an avenue for me to return to my vomit of sexual immorality..Please sir, I am not a thief, you can follow me to her house…” “ Keep Quiet!, Who is buying your lies?” The man blew a whistle and there was another response of whistling from a far distance… “ If you make any move I will kill you!” The man said in deep Yoruba as he still held his torch to my face, so I couldn’t tell if he had a gun or not. I stood still not wanting to make any move that could be misinterpreted. A second man walked towards us and thankfully I was able to see him. From His appearance, he looked like a vigilante and he had one of those hunting guns hung loosely on his shoulder. “ What is happening?,Who is he?” The new man asked in Yoruba “ I caught this Igbo boy running away from the police!” “ En… En, very good,finally we have caught you. You will definitely lead us to your other gang members” The new man said cocking his gun… “Let’s Tie him up and afterwards I will call the DPO” “I am not a thief Sir!” I said as drops of tears flowed down. “Holy Spirit help me, Help me” I said crying as they dragged me. “ What if he is saying the truth?” Another voice said from behind us in Yoruba “ Ha! Baba Agba…Greetings…” said the second Viginlante “ Baba,he is a criminal, I saw him running from the police..” “ Who wouldn’t run and hide at the sound of the police siren at this time of the night… I implore you to please verify his claim before calling the police.” “ Ha! Baba” it seem the “ Baba” was a revered man because the two vigilantes gave him the Honour of listening to him…. “ Young man, What is your true story?” The man asked me in Yoruba Instead of answering, I broke down in tears, I felt God had betrayed me.. I felt God Should not have allowed this to happen to me, as I just did the right thing of leaving Favour’s house. I expected God Should have sent someone with a car who would have picked me up and taken me to his house, i expected supernatural help, i expected a miracle, instead I am receiving slaps and about to be taken to the police station where no one was going to bail me out from and unfortunately I was not sure if I could remember Favour’s phone number by heart. “Baba we are sorry, this one has to get to the station before any further talk…” I was bundled on a rickety bike with one of the vigilantes behind me and one riding the motorcycle. I could sense Tina’s laughter of mockery somewhere in my heart… I thought a new life in Christ was meant to be crises free. “Maybe I shouldn’t have left Favour’s house” I thought silently as we rode towards the police station. To be continued
