Our family story was the trending story in the vicinity as my father was under the accusing eyes of everyone. My mother’s relatives came around asking questions about the sudden death of my mother and three of her children. My father kept crying day and night. He swore he didn’t have a hand in the death of his immediate family. He told my mother’s family that he was ready to go to any Shrine and swear to show his innocence in the matter. I knew my father did not do anything diabolical, but he was suffering the punishment of causing people tears. One night at about 2am, my father woke me up and instructed me to follow him. A taxi was waiting for us. My father and I relocated to another state that night. I thought the serial deaths in our family would make my father stop defrauding people but defrauding people had become more of a habit than a thing he was doing for survival. He started recruiting young boys in the vicinity and they were getting deep in the scamming business. My Father tried forcing me into the business but I held my ground . He however made it clear that he was not going to let me be… I threatened him that I was going to run away and expose him to the police but that was my undoing. That night, while sleeping I felt strong arms carrying me from sleep. I tried to fight them but they were stronger than I was. I was bundled into a car and the rest they say is history. I found myself here, by my count I have been here for 465 days… I try to count every day…” “ You mean you have been here for over a year…” “ Yes… using days makes me feel better…” He said and my eyes dropped tears . I could not believe a father would do this to his own son because of the evil he was trapped in… “ But really? Though I am a Christian… a growing one… I am tempted to ask ? Isn’t God aware that you are here…and Why is He not planning to bring you out?” My heart was heavy as I still had the image of how the young boy looked like when the door was opened… “ God was with Daniel in the Lion’s Den… I have realized that God may not stop people from throwing us into the Den, but He definitely Can stop the Lions from eating. Joseph was also thrown in Prison but he eventually got out… He didn’t die there!” Sammy said to me but I don’t know if it was the devil that spoke through me or my inner fear but I said in response “ But John the Baptist died in prison!” I said “ I don’t dwell on negative examples , I draw strength from positive examples… “ Sammy said sharply…. “ You know my name is Samson , but I have told God I will never die with enemies of God… I believe I am getting out of here very soon…” he said with a dry laughter. I kept quiet as I saw a strong teenager I would love to tell his story to my teenagers at the Lighthouse if I had the opportunity to return there… “ So What’s your story?” I heard him say to me… “ My story…” I eventually told him all about me, and there were points where he shed tears , points where he screamed , points where he laughed , points where he told me he would love to meet the teenagers…In all I was excited when he worshipped God for saving my soul… “ You see Mr Chuks, we can be thrown into a pit or a prison, but God always has a way of bringing us out….” My stomach started churning, I had not drank water or eaten in hours… “ I only eat once a day, and that comes in the evening…” Sammy had obviously heard my stomach rumbling My mind drifted to how I got there… I knew I fell into that pit by my own carelessness. On the other hand Sammy had been thrown in forcefully. If God was going to save anyone, Sammy was definitely worthy. We heard someone’s footsteps approaching us… “ The food is coming early today… Guess because You are here” Sammy said As the footsteps got closer, I knew something was off, my heart raced as I did not know what was about to happen. “ Is Rejoice’s Husband here to kill me?” I thought as I had realized how deadly he was….A man who could do this to his own son was capable of doing anything to anyone. To be continued
