10 Hoping
The journey home was filled a lot of horrific lamentations from Mummy Church. Chloe wished she had truly not meddled in the business of the visionary and had helped the vision in the little way she could, she wouldn't have received such words from Mummy Church. She choked back tears many tears.
'You must find her for me', Mummy Church said as Chloe drove into the estate Mummy Church and her husband resided. The street was disturbed by the continuous bang from the knockouts being thrown into the air. The DPO had promised to help them search for this particular woman above others. So, she didn't know what Mummy Church wanted from her again.
'Even if you hid her, what would be would be'.
'Don't you dare tell me rubbish. If you had always remained in the place assigned to you, no cursed thing would have happened to her. You should go to the prayer mountains available in the world and let them know that you need to wash away the curse that has followed you from birth'.
Chloe sucked it up, and opened her mouth to talk, but stopped, seeing that they had gotten to Mummy Church's house. The bungalow stood out among others with a big banner of Pastor Fowosere and his wife, hung in front of the gate.
'I'm so sorry. But it was needed'.
'Don't tell me rubbish. I'll be back at your place', Mummy Church said as she banged the door, and stormed into her own house.
Chloe knew it would take her a great effort to reach home without any incidents. Then, the worst thing that could ever happen to human being happened to her there, she saw her Aunt's car. Chloe gritted as she honked to greet her aunt as they got near each other.
'Your psychiatrist called me to say…'Her Aunt said from her car.
'I'm fine'.
'No. He believed you're ticking like a bomb'.
'I'm not ticking. I've stopped going for long'.
'And you're doing what?'
'None of your business'.
'Hope you're not working?' Her Aunt shouted.
'Merry Christmas'.
'Remember my brother's contract'.
'To hell with…. Merry Christmas', Chloe said and drove off. She was in bigger problem, and the only thing her Aunty was so concerned about was her contract with her father. God would make sure he rotted in hell for his useless contract.
***
Nosa stared at his wristwatch for a long time before he decided it was time to leave. He had called Raphael repeatedly, but he wasn't picking his call and that was very typical of him whenever he was with a lady. Nosa had been sitting in the pub the two of them first met. Then, they were in their early teens. Nosa came there when he was only fourteen years because he wanted to know the feeling of being in such place, while Raphael was sent there by his drunk father, who was now dead.
Angry, Nosa drove off to Moriah's house. She would yell at him for coming to her place for the second time in two days. There was no way he would ever escape her repulsion. Times like that required that he used the best people. For reasons he couldn't totally agree with, she decided to pick a slum over a coded place. He had called his people for this exact work, but they were still stalling. She was the one that could do it within minutes.
He fumed as he kept dialing Raphael's number. The guy was something else. He shouldn't have trusted him with Joana's life.
Immediately he came in sight of Moriah's house, he saw some preachers and hissed. These were another set of Christians that disgraced God. He knew he was one of those sets that oscillated between the love of God and the love for other things. But these set disgraced God by looking drab and useless, more useless than those he saw at Victoria's place. At least those ones were moderate in their drabness. Most of them were always decent, neat, and presentable.
These sets, however, were known to always wear big things, probably to show that their God was big. God is big, no doubt. One could see it on the side of the sun, the earth and the water. But why must everything about them show that God was too big? The clothes were always oversize. For the men, they draped themselves in archaic suits that shouldn't be seen on anybody; and the ladies, their skirts were wide enough to wrap five little children. Despite that, they took pride in telling those whose ties were thin that they were sinners because they didn't wear the same fat ties as they. So, when one of them, a lady- lanky and hungry-looking- clambered towards him, he prepared his answer for her.
'Brother, Jesus loves...'
'Don't bother…'
'I have to. You're a sinner'.
Nosa spun in his track and sized her up. 'And you're God. You're my judge?'
'Repent. The kingdom of God is at hand'.
'I know...'
'Turn from your sinful ways'.
He hissed and walked away. But like his shadow, she trailed him with her husky voice. Normally, if not for her extra large worn-out bible, one would have assumed she was a smoker because her lips were black and her eyes red. And who knows, she might be a smoker. Many of them were known to pretend to be on fire for God but were always battling with an addiction or the other.
'Hell is real. You're going to hell if you don't repent'.
He chuckled. 'You... I'm a Christian, sister'.
That statement made her pause in her speech, and like the midday shadow, she seemed to stop for a while, and he thought he had finally warded her off until he saw her shake her head and run after him. 'No. You're not. You're wearing Jeans. Those that went to hell saw it. It's a product of the devil'.
Nosa scoffed and almost buckled as he repeatedly knocked on Moriah's gate. There was nothing he couldn't give to be off the street. He waited at the gate and gritted as the lanky preacher-lady hobbled towards him.
'Take this tract. Read it. God will speak life to you. Forsake sin'.
Nosa refused to look at her pointed hand. She stood firmly and hurriedly turned to passersby to give them tracts. Whenever she did that, she would spring back towards him as if that was her default settings, and the others were frivolities. She acted as if he was a bone, while she was a dog, and she would do anything to remove the bar between them.
'Narrow is the path. Heaven is narrow. Do you want to go to hell?'
Nosa felt like slapping her head away or zip her mouth for eternity. Where was Moriah for God's sake? She was taking too long. Or was she refusing to open the door for him again? At least, even if she would reject him, she should save him from this God-forsaken preacher. He brought out his phone and dialed her phone number again.
'This tract will teach you about God. Hell…Is…Real'.
'I know. Jesus has saved me'.
'Don't say that. All have sinned and have fallen short of the kingdom of God. You, me and everyone have fallen short of the kingdom of God. But...'
'I'm not a sinner'.
'Then, you lie and the truth is not in you.'
'God! Oh God! I didn't know you're now on earth. Please God forgive me', Nosa said, knelt before her, clasped his hands together and pretended to be in a sorrowful mood, and closed his eyes.
'What's this?' The perplexed preacher lady shouted and withdrew from him.
'I'm praying for forgiveness'.
'I'm not God. Pray to God. Pray to God Almighty'.
Nosa bared his teeth at her. 'See…That's a guy smoking at the other end. Join him like Jesus Christ did to the prostitutes and preach the gospel. He needs it, not me. Why are you trying to open the eyes of the one that can see when you can possibly open the eyes of the blind?'
The lady was perplexed and batted her eyes repeated as she watched Nosa in awe. 'You uttered that from your mouth. That's vile. That's of Lucifer. You're of the devil your father. God will change you. I come against you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth'.
Nosa was surprised. She jumped about like a bulldog that was smacked on the head and was practically barking at him. Passers-by stared at them. The world seemed to rotate around her as he wished the ground would swallow her. Or if he could catch the attention of one of her owners, her brethren so that they would come around to put a leash on her, to clamp her mouth together. Where was Moriah? He could have left the place, but he needed that information about Raphael desperately.
He turned to the preaching lady to talk, but kept to himself, and turned again to the gate. She shouted at him to look at her. Then the door opened.
'Nos...' Moriah began to say but stopped as she glanced from Nosa to the woman, who had progressed to raking about Devil and demons.
'Please, let's go inside', Nosa pleaded.
'No', Moriah said defiantly and gave him an amused smile. 'Someone is preaching to you'.
'Let me through. You don't want to be exposed. It's another bottle of urine'.
'It's healthy'.
'Moriah…'
Moriah, still looking sexy and sweaty, placed her hand across the entrance. Naturally, if she gave him the chance, he would have carried her into the house, to her bedroom, kissing her all the way. However, the only thing he needed there was to escape the psychopath behind him.
'Oh! It's this... No wonder you refused to listen to God's word. You're here to meet a prostitute'.
'Me?' Moriah asked and shifted out of Nosa's way. He, seeing the opportunity, ran into the compound, sighed, and thought otherwise.
'Yes. You. Come to Christ and forsake the path of the devil. This is Dev...'
Moriah jumped on her. The woman crashed to the ground, her Bible flying away, revealing a lot of papers and her bag also joined in flying out of her hands.
She screamed but not as loud as Moriah, who railed curses on her and pelted her face with punches. She kept punching as if she had to melt the lady's face with her punches before her anger could be deflated.
'God punish you. How dare you? Me? Prostitute?'
Nosa pulled her off the wailing woman, who was now defaced with punches from Moriah. Her hair was now scattered, but that didn't stop her from yelling.
'God would destroy you like he did Sodom and Gomorrah', the lady shouted as she struggled to get up.
Nosa hurriedly carried Moriah. Her legs flailed in the air as he dragged her away. She yelled and he could feel the venom of her anger in her expanding body.
'Leave me. Leave me to deal with this imbecile. I'll show you. You're not holy pass. I can be whatever I want. Nobody. I know their types...'
Nosa shoved her into the house as he began to lock the gate. She rushed towards the woman and tried to run past the gate. Nosa pulled her. The lady screamed in pain and shouted that she would surely be blessed because she was being persecuted by the devil. She picked herself, and packed her things, and screamed, 'The truth is a needle. It would pierce you'.
'I know their type. They are prostitutes', Moriah shouted as she banged on the gate.
After being assured that he had locked the gate, Nosa carried her towards the room. At first, she fought him, but when he didn't drop her, she giggled.
‘Put me down. Nosa…Put me down'.
By this time, regardless of his initial desire, he wanted that moment with her. He kissed her neck, and she giggled.
'No. Pastor's child'
'I don't care'.
'God will punish us'.
'I don't care'.
'Your wife. I don't...'
'Chloe will never know. Remember we don't want to turn her bad'.
'And I don't want you to be bad'.
She pulled away, but he kept pecking her neck. She cringed.
'Don't you get? I'm bad already.'
'Not as bad as me'
'I know. But, I want you'.
'Not now. Not here'
'Inside'.
'Never'.
'Impossible'.
'Watch me', she said and released herself to his continual pecking. He released her and she turned to kiss him. He let go of his grasp and was engrossed in kissing until she suddenly pushed him away and grinned.
'I told you'.
'You cheated'.
'Woman power'.
He shook his head and straightened his cloth. Things and times were bad, but he must give in the moment, her moment, for his own sake also.
'I told you not to come here often'
'This is a case of emergency'.
'Are you being chased?'
'I'm always being chased'
'Is your life in danger?'
'My life is always in danger especially when I'm not with you'.
She opened her door and allowed him to enter immediately.
'I told you to let me put a tracker on you'.
'For God's sake, you've not forgotten this: I'm not to be tracked'.
'Your death sentence. Things could get out of hand'.
'Remember that case I was called for yesterday'.
She stared into space for some moments and shook her head. 'I don't remember your case. I don't want to remember your case. I'm nothing to you. I'm not your mistress or your wife. Well, maybe I'm your girlfriend. I think I am'
Nosa batted his eyes repeatedly. 'What are you saying? I wish I had time for this. You're not my mistress or my wife. You're my love.'
'Don't you dare go there'.
'Moriah, this case is massive. I can't find Raphael. He visited my wife this morning. I can't find the womanizer'.
'He visited...'
'Chloe'.
'And you allowed him. Have you forgotten he had...?'
'Crush on her. I know'.
'Yet, you allowed him. That's bad and reckless. Why are you always reckless?' Moriah said as she edged towards the door. She turned to him with sad eyes. 'I could have trusted him, but after our last encounter, I don't think I can trust him'.
He nodded and rubbed her arm. She gave him a galling look and brushed his hands away. He raised his hands into the sky and followed her indoor.
'So, we were supposed to meet at Korede's bar'
'Seriously?' she said and smiled. 'The two of you?'
'I know, right? I was hoping it would help me forgive him for being so crazy around you'.
'That place holds a lot of memory', she said as she began to type into her computer',' the good, the bad, and the ugly. But more of the bad'.
'So, I waited there for more than an hour. He didn't show up'.
'Raphael. He must have met a lady on the way'.
'I know. But, I seriously need to find him. He has something on this investigation'.
'Before he returned to heaven through the same door he used in coming to the earth'.
Nosa stared at her for a while, trying to decipher what she was saying, and when he understood that she meant he might die through sex, he frowned. 'That's gross'.
She rolled her eyes. 'I've told you not to associate with me, daddy's boy'.
'Find him'.
'Okay. I'll triangulate the phone towers around his phone and then ping his lo...'
'Don't give me the details. Find him'.
She nodded and proceeded to type into her laptop. She was like a goddess and the computers were like her subjects. Notifications from different computers popped up repeatedly, and she kept typing until she got his location. 'He's...'
'Where's that?'
'I don't know but I think...You know what? Bring your phone'.
He stared at her suspiciously, and she got the meaning.
'I swear. I won't do anything stupid. I won't bug your phone'.
She collected his phone and did what she knew how to do best. Before long, she returned the phone to him. He collected the phone and rubbed her arm. 'Thank you'.
She pulled him nearer and kissed him longingly. He felt like going on and on till the end of the world came. He could give up everything for being near her. But he couldn't stay for long because she would soon draw away and call him reckless. With her, he always tried to caution himself. Painful though, he pulled away and she swallowed hard.
'Why didn't you say yes to my proposal? We can still work something out'.
She wagged her tongue at him, and he could swear he saw her eyes become red, but he didn't want to dwell on that.
'I will make you bad', she said as she warded him off.
'I want to be bad'.
They silently walked on till they got to her gate. After she typed something into the computer at the gate, she held his hands and kissed it longingly. 'I don't want you to be bad. I love you'.
He opened the door, and there he met a lady, another breed of the first preacher. She ran up to him and said, handing him a tract. 'Sir, have you given your life to Christ?'
***
She received the most shocking news of her life: they've lost the woman they've been after since the previous day. She rushed out of the house.
'I'll handle this'.