Somebody Else (Christian Romance)

SEVENTEEN

Wasted years.

This was all Williams Osahon could say as he thought about his past. He'd spent twenty-four solid years on this planet but he couldn't count one valuable thing he'd achieved. He'd always thought he had it all. Because he'd had a billionaire as a father, he'd thought he could live life just the way he wanted. In primary school, he'd been the most notorious, but no teacher had ever dared to reprimand him because the school wanted to be on his father's good side. He'd thought he was having fun in secondary school when all the girls were throwing themselves at him. When he was smoking weed and sleeping around, he'd felt on top of the world. But now as he laid supine on his bed and stared at the ceiling, all he could see was the years he'd wasted. If only he'd met Jesus earlier.

Williams couldn't have been more grateful that his father's plans to send him to a University in the US weren't fruitful. Williams had performed so poorly in his SAT and TOEFL that out of the twelve foreign universities he'd applied for, not one accepted him. His father had tried bribing a number of them but was unsuccessful. That had left Williams with no option but to school in Nigeria. His father had opted for one of the private universities, but Williams strongly declined. He'd rather not go to school than go to one of these Nigerian private universities which were like prisons, stripping you of your freedom with so many rules. How could you tell a university student never to step out of the campus without permission? That was insane. Williams got into the University of Benin without stress because Benin was his hometown and probably because his father was a notable personality. He'd never regret coming to school here because he'd met Paul here and Paul introduced him to Jesus.

It'd been just three weeks since Williams gave his life to Christ, yet the positive changes he was seeing in himself were undeniable. All of a sudden, he'd started having this strong desire to do things right. He'd started attending lectures and reading for tests. Within these three weeks, they'd written three tests and Williams had aced all. In one of the tests he'd gotten ninety-five percent, two other guys got eighty percent, while the scores of the majority of the class were centered around fifty percent. A good number of people failed the test. One of his lecturers had called him aside to ask if he cheated in his test. Williams could still remember the shock on the lecturer's face when he'd told her that Jesus helped him prepare for the test. Jesus was truly bringing out the best in him. There was this new drive in him. Williams couldn't explain it, but it drove him to want to do things well.

If only he'd met Jesus earlier, he wouldn't have the many regrets that plagued his mind. All the girls he'd hurt. All the abortions he'd sponsored. He shut his eyes tightly and felt a teardrop slide towards his left ear. If he'd met Jesus in his first year, he would definitely have done way better in his academics. His CGPA wouldn't have been the mess it was right now. Being in his final year, there wasn't so much he could do to make his CGPA what he wanted it to be. But that wouldn't stop him from putting in his best. His result might not give him high chances of getting a good job. No doubt, his father would try to secure him a job in an oil company through his usual tactics—bribery. But things had changed for Williams. He knew well enough that God wouldn't approve of bribery, and so bribery wasn't an option for him. Indeed, old things had passed away. He'd do all he can to get an exceptional result in his masters and trust God to provide him with a good job. Gone were the days of depending on his father's money. It was high time he started depending on God. Wasn't that what Pastor Alfred had said during Bible Study? He'll never forget that scripture in Isaiah 31:1 because of how much he'd pondered on it. He recited it in his heart.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or seek help from the LORD

That was what he'd been doing all this time. Trusting in his father's money—stolen money. The same money that was supposed to be used to build roads, create jobs and eradicate poverty in the country was the same money that his father and fellow politicians hoarded for selfish gains. He regretted all the times when he'd lavishly spent his father's money all in the name of having fun when there were homeless children on the streets, begging just to obtain their next meal. How stupid had he been? And why were these politicians, including his father so heartless and inconsiderate? He could feel his eyes water as he silently asked God for mercy. How blinded had he been? He was grateful that God had opened his eyes and from now on, he was no longer going to feast on stolen money. Now, he was looking up to God as his only source. Not his father's riches or any future job he might secure. He'd look up to God and God alone. He'd learned that much from Bible Study last Wednesday.

Oh, how he loved Bible Study. He always looked forward to Wednesdays and Sundays because each time he went, he always returned better. It was as though each time he went, a veil was removed from his eyes, causing him to see that he'd been doing something wrong all along and pointing him to the right way to do it.  What he loved the most was the people. The way they'd welcomed him with so much love had brought tears to his eyes. Never before had he felt as loved as he felt in that place. It was gradually becoming like his home. Seeing young people on fire for God was a sight to behold. They motivated him to work towards being a stronger Christian. The one he admired the most was his Bible Study group leader, Dami. She was always with her friend, Vanessa if he remembered her name clearly. The way those ladies dished out the scriptures from their heads was as though someone had injected the Bible into their heads. How could they know so much? Their lives truly radiated Jesus. From their character to the way they related with others, even to their dressings. They dressed modest, not the old women kind of modest. On the contrary. The dressed very smart and he thought they looked truly beautiful. Not just them, most of the girls here dressed modestly and smart. If only more girls dressed this way.

Dami and Vanessa's friendship was what he called true friendship, the kind of friendship which the Bible referred to as iron sharpening iron. Both girls, on fire for God, pulling eachother in the right direction, unlike Stephanie and Chinnie's friendship. His heart broke as he remembered Stephanie. Right from the first time he met them, he'd known that their friendship wouldn't remain that way. He'd seen a lot of those kind of friendships to know that one was soon going to pull the other in the opposite direction. It was either Chinnie pulled Stephanie in the wayward direction, or Stephanie pulled Chinnie in the modest direction. From his experience, he'd known that the chances of the latter happening were slim. And just as he'd predicted, it wasn't up to two weeks before he'd started seeing the changes in Stephanie. From her dressing to her mannerisms. Chinnie was a very bad influence on her, probably lying to her that she looked better that way, whereas each time Williams looked at her, he'd remember the natural beauty he'd seen at the restaurant that day in her jeans and t-shirt with her natural afro. That beauty would hands down beat the artificial beauty Chinnie was turning her into with the over pronounced makeup and multicolored wigs and revealing dresses. He'd known Stephanie wasn't comfortable in those dresses because on many occasions, he'd seen her trying to pull her dresses down because they'd been too short.

Williams had been seeking an opportunity to speak with Stephanie but never got a chance until Charles and Chinnie's absence. He'd taken Paul along with him because he thought Paul would be able to open Stephanie's eyes to see that she was on the wrong path and moving with the wrong people. But from the looks of things, Stephanie hadn't understood either of them. She was blinded by what she thought was true friendship. If only she knew where where Charles and Chinnie were and what they were doing right now. How could they betray Stephanie that way? He could feel his anger rising. He had wanted to tell Stephanie the truth about them yesterday. She needed to know what they were doing behind her back. But she had tests next week and he didn't want her overthink rather than study, so he and Paul decided to save the news for after her tests.

After giving his life to Christ, the first thing Williams did was to break up with Chinasa. He'd known all along that she'd been sleeping around with old men and it was more than a relief to finally be done with her. Charles on the other hand had been stealing from him in millions. He'd known all along but he'd kept quiet about it because he loved Charles. They'd been friends for over ten years. He'd been very relieved the day Charles told him he was leaving. Of course, Williams knew that the primary reason he'd found another apartment was because he couldn't have his fun with Chinnie in this place. Williams chuckle was void of all humor. Backstabbers. That's what the both of them were. If only Stephanie could see that she deserved better. He couldn't give up now. He and Paul would keep praying for her. He couldn't stand to watch her turn out just like Chinasa. He slid his hands behind his head and intertwined his fingers.