©️Opeyemi Akintunde
AS INSPIRED BY THE LIVING WORD
My name is Oluwarantimi, and I came into this story at this point. I was a final year student struggling to get my project done. I never thought I would be in a situation where money would be a problem as regards my education….
I am not from a wealthy home, in fact, very far from it. As a student I was the one sending money to my parents. That’s how bad our poverty was. My parents didn’t care about how I was making the money. They just assumed I was working. My source of money for the four years I spent in school was my friend Chisom.
Chisom was a wealthy spoilt brat. She was a clubber, a night crawler, she smoked anything, she drank all kinds of alcohol, and she taught me everything bad.
In my 400 level, first semester, I had read a novel titled “Teacher Chuks” and my life took a pause. The pause was to ruminate on how I was spending my life. This novel made me run to God, and I started yearning for God….
Chisom started noticing my reluctance in doing most of all the bad things she was doing and I was spending more time reading other novels by the author of Teacher Chuks.
She angrily told me
“Rantimi, I am not feeling your vibes anymore, what’s with the churchy attitude?
“Nothing much, I just want to get closer to God”
“Then you can’t roll with me anymore”
It was a difficult choice, but I had to make the choice. A Life with God was better than eternity with the Devil.
However, there was a downside to that, no more money. No money for academics.
Just like I had read in Teacher Chuks about the power of fasting and praying, I decided to cry to God and get help for my project….
I went into three days fasting and prayer, and after the three days I heard only these four words “Go to your mother”
“Go to my mother for what? For money?”
That was impossible. I was the one sending money.
Nevertheless, I obeyed…….
*****
I had been driving for over three hours and I was not close to how far I wanted to be from where F.D and Leni were. I wanted them to suffer deeply, I wanted them not to even see the corpse of their children.
“Aunty Promise, are you sure we will see mum where we are going?” Roland asked the same question the umpteenth time.
“Yes” I replied
I was trying so hard not to make my emotions get the best of me. Roland was been too inquisitive. I needed to put him under control. The police had stopped us about an hour earlier and when the police had asked who I was to the children, I told them I was the mother but simultaneously Roland had said I was their aunty. I needed to quickly remedy this situation by saying their mother was my sister.
The police officer asked where we were headed, and I stylishly got down telling him, their father was dead and we were taking them to the village, but we didn’t want to tell them. I also tipped the officer, so he let me go.
I kept driving till I saw a small village by the side of the road. I needed a place to hide for a day.
I drove into the village
******
I saw an elderly woman drying some cassava.
“Mama, Good evening ma” I said in Yoruba.
“Good evening my daughter” She replied in Yoruba as well
“Mama, please I need your help!”
“OK my child” she replied
“What can I do for you?”
I moved closer to her so that the kids wouldn’t hear what I had to say.
‘Mama I am on the run from my husband and I need somewhere to stay for a while, please is there an accommodation here that I can hide for about two weeks. I don’t mind paying some money.”
“My daughter it is well with you. The only accommodation here that is not occupied is the accommodation that we give to youth corpers. Fortunately, it is presently unoccupied but you need to speak to the village head to explain yourself.” I had bought her heart
I was taken to the village head immediately. After telling a lot of cock and bull stories and faking a few tears I was eventually given the youth corpers lodge. I knew I was only spending a day but I made them believe I would be there for a while.
Thankfully Roland and Greg didn’t understand Yoruba language so I was able to tell a lot of lies even while they were present.
The lodge was a bit decent but Greg did not like the look of the place.
******
“I want my mummy” Greg kept crying
“Greg stop crying, it’s late… we can’t see mommy again tonight, don’t worry in the morning, I will call mummy and you will get to speak with her.”
To be continued…
