The Chronicles of Jo-kiel

TWENTY TWO: Jophiel

"Wake up and have something to eat" I felt gentle taps on my back as the voice kept coercing me gently, but I shrugged it off and turned to my side. I'd rather sleep than eat anything. "Wake up, Jophiel" the voice came again, this time sterner than before, and the taps a little bit harsher and I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes.

Ruth's frowned face was the first sight I beheld the moment my eyes adjusted to the unexpected brightness of the room, it had been dark when I returned. My planned 5 minutes of rest, turned into an unexpected nap. "Thank God you're awake now, I brought you food" she placed the flask on the bed and began unpacking it while I stared at her with furrowed brows, we were clearly told not to bring food into the dormitory, so how did she...?

"Come on, sit up. I had to appeal to the student council for this and you're not about to let the food waste" she said with a small smile and without even meaning to, I found myself smiling back as I sat up on the bed.

"Thank you, Ruthie," I said and sat up on the bed. She immediately brushed off my thanks and helped me sit up very well, before she pushed the flask closer to me and I muttered a quick prayer of thanks before I dived into the food. The first spoon of the Mac and cheese melted in my mouth and my eyes widened as I bobbed my head in appreciate. "This food came from the school?" I asked and she breathed out a laugh.

"Does it taste like it's from school"

"Absolutely not" I retorted immediately and she nodded.

"Correct answer. I had to order it for you, the school's dinner was already finished before I got there to dish out for you" she explained and my mouth curved into a pout as i stared at her wordlessly.  She has treated me with nothing but love and kindness since I got into this school, and it almost feels imagined. I couldn't wrap my head around why she treats me so good or how I can ever repay her, I'd asked her once and all she did was laugh, and say it's just how humans, especially Christians should act towards their fellow humans.

And that only made me wonder why people didn't act like that then. "Thank you so so much Ruthie," I said after a few minutes of silence and like always, she just brushed it off.

"You know you don't have to do that, Jophy" she said and the hairs on the back of my neck stood erect. That was the endearing name the enemy used in that prayer room, and now I don't think I can hear it the same anymore.

"It's a sign of a battle won, Jophy" the familiar voice of the Spirit whispered and the corners of my lips tugged up in a smile. That's right, that's a sign of a win. My smile widened even more and I went back to shoving the food into my mouth while humming happily.

The silence in the room was calming but I couldn't shake off the eerie feeling that I was being watched, Ruth never watch me eat or even just sit there and stare at me. She was always busy with something so it can't possibly be her. I gulped down my food and turned to my sides in search of the eyes watching me but there was no one in sight, "Ruthie do you think someone is...." My words trailed off when I faced Ruth, and she turned out to be the culprit I was looking for.

Her elbows rested on her lap and she tucked her jaw into her palms, as she stared right at me with a creepy smile on her face "I'm just patiently waiting for you to finish your food so you can tell me how today went" she wiggled her brows and hastily added "I'm talking about your picnic dat... I mean, meetup with the president'

"I haven't told you about it?!" I whisper-yelled and she immediately shook her head. "What?!" I exclaimed and immediately stood up from the bed, carefully dropped the flask on the floor before I rushed over to her bed and sat down. I thought I'd already spilt everything to her, I had run all the way here excitedly so I could share the news with her.  "I seriously didn't tell you?"

She shook her head again, "you didn't! I left before you got backk" so it was all a dream then, I dreamt I already told her everything. "Come on!! You're making me more curious by keeping quiet! Let me in" she pressed on and I squealed.

"You absolutely won't believe what happened today, Ruthie!" I exclaimed and she bounced erratically on the bed with a grin on her face, "today, I, Jophiel, went through a big change. I finally accepted what I've always known"

"Stop keeping me in suspense" she whined and I breathed out a laugh.

"Okay okay" I took a deep breath and grinned like a Cheshire cat, "today, I entered a prayer room, Ruthie and not just that, as of today, I am a Christian. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and personal saviour!" I announced and enthusiastically awaited the squealing I was so sure would follow my news, however, I was met with a deafening silence.

Ruth looked like was in a movie and she had been paused. Her wide eyes stared at me unbelievingly, her slightly open mouth looked like they wanted to say something but all the cells in them were frozen.  The seconds slowly turned into a minute and I tried to shake her out of her trance, but I froze when I saw tears slowly roll down her face, this time around it was my eyes that widened.

"What did you just say, Jophy?" She asked in between her tears and I stared at her, scared that repeating the story would only make her cry more. "Please, repeat it" she asked so tenderly, I found myself repeating the news to her and the moment I was done, she threw her arms around me and sobbed loudly.

"Thank you, Jesus! Thank you so much, Papa. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She chanted as she kept sobbing on my shoulders. "Thank you for accepting him, Jophiel. Thank you so much for choosing him. Thank you for finally becoming a part of my Christian family, sister Jophiel" she said as she pulled away from the hug and this time around, tears welled up in my eyes.

And just like that, we both became a sobbing mess with our arms wrapped around each other. Each comforting the other whilst needing the comfort as well. We both held each other for as long as I can remember and we let it all out.

"Thank you so much for supporting me as I went through this phase, for supporting me and helping me phrase the questions well. Thank you for not trying to shove it down my throat, instead you guided me by making sure I never missed my session with Zadkiel and for answering me when he wasn't available"

"Don't make me cry more" she whined and we both let out a laugh. "Thank you too, Jophy. Now come here and tell me how it all happened!" The squeal I was expecting at first, finally came and I laughed. "Come on, I want to know all about it!" She clapped her hands excitedly and stared at me with excited eyes.

And at that moment, I decided to tell her everything. I'd stepped into a new phase of my life, I night as well let her know about the old phase so it doesn't disturb this new one. I cleared my throat and created a little distance between us, I pressed my back against the wall and pulled my knees close to my chest, "this is going to be a long story, Ruthie"

She must have sensed that whatever I had to say wasn't just about my salvation, so she pressed her back to the wall as well and smiled softly at me, "you don't have to say anything you don't want to" she squeezed my hand in assurance and I nodded.

"I know" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, once I opened them back up again, I told Ruth all there was to my life right from the very moment I could remember to the present day, without missing a beat.

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Well! I want to start off by saying that Ruth reminds me so so much of my best friend😭😭❤️ such a sweet soul fr fr!

Anyway... This chapter was to show Ruth and Jophiel's friendship. I really love it!
Let me know what you are excepting from the next chapter.
Jophiel's past? And what happened in the prayer room or should we just move on to the next scene?🌝 Let me know. Adios

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