Anome (A Christian Story)

Chapter 7

She sighed.

"I'm sorry." I said through my hands which were still clamped over my mouth.

"It's okay. I knew you would react that way."

But, the child she gives birth to won't have a father.

Or, is he the Messiah? Jesus said he would come back. Right? But not like this through an inexperienced orphaned teen.

Right?

In the bible, the angels said that Jesus would come back the way they saw him ascend. Not through a teenager. In this generation, no one would believe.

I sighed.

I tried to change the topic.

"Do you have any friends?"

"No. I'm kinda lonely." She smiled sadly.

"Me too. I can actually live here with you. My house is kinda gloomy and boring. I'll go pack my things."

I stood up eager to leave that awkward environment.

I didn't know the way to my house until I got out of her cosy home.

I saw some familiar landmarks and traced them home.

When I got home, I saw some kids playing in the front yard. I sent them away in anger.

I jumped over the small fence and almost bumped into a huge strange looking man.

What's he doing here?

He jumped over the fence whistling a common Nigerian song. I walked into my house and saw women chatting, men drinking and kids laughing.

I was like; "What rubbish is going on here? What are you all doing here? This is my house and if you wanna get in a fight with me, bring it on!"

But, I said all of that in my head and what came out of my mouth was an angry cough.

No one paid attention to me.

My right foot was tapping vigorously. I was angry.

What happened next really pissed me off.

A man tapped me from behind on my shoulder. I spun on my heel to look at him.

He smiled and said; "What can make a beautiful girl laugh?" He pointed to himself "...Me!"  And he started laughing.

"I'm not laughing, okay?"

"Well, that's because you're not beautiful." And he trailed off laughing.

My pride was hurt.

I hissed and shouted back.

"You're such an irresponsible goat head!!!"

He turned to look at me and gave me a sound strong slap. His laughter had morphed into anger in a millisecond.

Without a word he left chewing on a piece of chewing stick.

What an insult! In my own home?
Rubbish!

I rubbed my cheek and folded my arms.

I overheard one of the older children talking. She gave me all the answers I needed.

"....If my daddy did not buy this place from government, we won't be able to play here. They will renovate this place into a public lounge and play centre. They said that Government and the true owner of this house are good friends."

True owner.....? Who..? My dad!
He didn't even care.

But, what if Government just took it?
What if the girl made the story up? What if my father never really owned the house?

I went to my room. The door was unopened. The good news was that my things were intact. The bad news was that I had nothing much; just an old school bag, a clothes bag, two pairs of shoes and some old clothes. Then it dawned on me that I was still poor and helpless but I still believed that Jesus would help me.

I packed all my things into the clothes bag and left the house. At my doorstep, I saw a little girl of about three years old. She was playing with some stones.

I waved to her. She looked at me for a few seconds and rushed to me giving me an emotion filled hug. Then, she whispered something to me. "I need a family."

She whispered it so delicately but it sounded like a request. She slid her small chubby hand into mine as we were walking to the woman's house.

"What happened?" I asked after a moment of silence.

I had to admit that she behaved more mature than a three year old.

She closed her eyes and stopped walking. I stopped too.

In another whisper, she said: "I-I can see spirits."

She opened her eyes and motioned for us to continue walking.

We strode quietly.

"A spirit of doubt is on your shoulder."

At this point I had to ask her;

"How old are you? "

"I'm three." She said with a large smile that deserved to be treasured. Then she said with an innocent voice; "I would have helped you to carry your bag but it would carry me instead. It looks so heavy."

I was never a children person. I hated them at some point but now, there was a child I was getting attached to within minutes of meeting her.

She was certainly more mature than a three year old. And she spoke English so fluently. If not for her baby voice, baby face and body, I would've never believed she was three.

"The spirit is trying to take your mind away from the truth."

I nodded politely.

"Should I send it away?" She said delicately like a doctor would tell a child not to worry before a shot.

"Sure." I shrugged.

"You'll have to bend though. I can't reach your shoulder."

I bent. We were under a small tree.

She closed her eyes. I closed mine too.

"Jesus, you said you will do anything for us if we believe and put our faith in you. I believe that...Anome will be free from this evil spirit and any other bothering her in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen. "

The next second, I was on my knees and my left shoulder was hurting badly. Almost as sudden as it came, it left.

The pain was gone. I opened my eyes.

How did she know my name?

"It's gone." She was looking at me as if she could see right through me. She cocked her head. I felt like she knew everything about me right then.

"Don't forget to read the word."

"Okay."

"That's what the gift was for. And tell her to confess what she did to get that pregnancy."

She was revealing deep secrets. I still couldn't believe that she was three...but she just prayed for doubt to leave my life. So, Esther got the baby from somewhere else? The Bible is a gift given at the appropriate time.

"Your father is looking for you. He wants you to stay with him, but, do not answer him."

I nodded. By then, we had reached the house. I knocked on the door and it creaked open. So, I pushed it open. I dusted my shoes and she did the same.

Why was the door opened?

When we got inside, I saw Esther on the floor. She was lying face flat.

"Anome? Is that you?" She said.

I sighed in relief.

I thought something had happened to her.

"Yes. I'm back..." I dropped my things in a corner of the room as she changed position and sat on the floor.

"Good."

"...and, I brought someone."

"Deborah?"

"Esther!"