Caught in the act eps 3

 

 

        Luckily, I was not assigned any class in church that Sunday. All through the service all I could think of was pastor Emmanuel. I played out the scenario over and over, his questions and my response. I looked out for him during service, for someone who knows my dirty secret he did not as much as take a glance at me. "The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God...", and service was over. I can hardly remember the topic of the sermon, not to talk of the details. Getting to church was a huge struggle. I was beginning to consider whether suicide was not better than this walk of shame. "here goes nothing" I said, some minutes later when I found myself in front of pastor Emma's office. I knocked. No response. A second time. Still no response. I was about to leave when he showed up behind me. "Ayo! How are you doing?" You would be deceived we have known each other for long. "Fine sir, good afternoon sir" I rushed my words. "Oh good good" he said as he opened the door to his office. "Please , come in". 

         I promised to make this really awkward and difficult so he let's me off in time. The atmosphere of the office brings a sort of calm I don’t understand. He offered me a sit. I sat down, feeling relaxed for the first time since I was caught in the act. He sat at the opposite end of the table, directly facing me. I took a quick look around the office. A bookshelf was lounged to my left hand. I can tell he loves reading. It is filled with books, not even an empty space. Beside it, there is a refrigerator. On my right hand, slightly behind me is a long sofa. I suddenly felt sleepy. He took off his suit and rearranged his desk. He walked past me to the refrigerator, he was back with two glasses of orange juice. He offered me one, I took it and my, I was amazed at the work a cold drink at the right time could do. I leaned into the chair, forgetting my initial plan. "Ayo, Ayo, how is it that we have never spoken since I arrived here?" I looked at him with suspicion, my plan resurfacing. Can we get past the pretense and get to the crux of this discussion? I decided to play along. "I don't know sir" I said somewhat wryly and he laughed.

"How are things at school?"

"Very well" I responded. 

 "Good good, that is good". 

"How has been your relationship with God?" 

Straight up, he went for it. "It is okay sir" I said. He smiled. His smile made me uncomfortable. He turned on his chair playfully as his eyes studied an uneasy me. I thought hard about what his next question would be so I could have an answer but nothing was coming, my gaze dropped.

         "I will tell you a story" he said. I looked up at him, he still turned in his chair playfully. For a discussion as serious as this, I felt he was too relaxed. Maybe I needed to relax too. "There was a boy" he continued. "Name withheld, he had a father who loved him very much. So much he gave him the deeds to all his property although the father still lived. Now this boy had been lost as a child and was raised by his adopted parents, he was oblivious of the gift from his father. Having been raised poor, he accepted the identity of a poor man, yet his father owned so many properties. One day, he got to know of his father's many riches and was thrilled to be out of poverty. But he could not immediately see himself as a rich man, he still carried about the identity of a poor man. He struggled with the sudden change but eventually he took his place as heir of the many properties." He paused momentarily to sip his juice from the glass. My eyes followed his movement. What does it mean? I wondered. How does this relate? He answered before I voiced my question. 

         "Presently, you are the lost child. You have a father that loved you so much He gave you a gift. That gift is what you can never get by your own effort. Righteousness". His phone rang briefly and he answered the caller, raising a finger to tell me to give him a minute. It gave me time to think about what he said. What was he trying to say? Oh that I am unrighteous, like he is righteous my brain spat. Wait a minute, he has spoken about this in a meeting I once attended, sadly I was not paying attention. Don't be quick to make assumptions Ayo. But what is righteousness? For want of something to do with my eyes and I was uncomfortable watching him answer his call, my eyes scanned the books on his bookshelf. Due to strain, I was eventually content to simply stare at my hands placed in between my laps. He ended the call and apologized for the interruption. "So Ayo, are you righteous?" He continued. I thought about all the wrong deeds I committed the past weeks and my gaze dropped. I heard him laugh and I felt my face crease in a frown. "Don't worry, you don't have to think about all the wrongs you have committed". How did he- who am I kidding, I look guilty already. "Good news Ayo, you are righteous". Where is this headed? I wondered.

                                           To be continued...

Check out previous episodes❤

Episode 2

Episode 1