Soteria

She was the most beautiful girl he had
ever spoken to up till the moment he met her
She came to their village to write WAEC
as an external student
Those special centre arrangement runs done
by teachers in those days
He was the most brilliant student of the school
Her hair was
Curly, her lips enticing and her eyes were
like crystal jars of love
He was taking a tutorial class when she
walked in
He had never been to the city before but
he had studied hard and was determined
not to waste the money he made from
his hard labour on the farm.
He was going to make something of
himself
He had great dreams of traveling abroad
and studying in England
Others had done it from his village, although
most of them moved to the city and
traveled from the city
He didn’t know anyone who did it
directly from their village and he
didn’t care
He was not going to rot in the village,
of that he was very sure
She was different from the girls in
the village
He never saw those ones as anything
but classmates and friends but he
saw this lady
He saw her womanliness
He noticed that she was female and
she made him aware that
He was a male
Immediately after his class, he
walked up to her to practice his
command of the English language
He usually practice with his younger
brother who couldn’t speak any better
than he did
They both practiced all the same
because he learned from one of
their uncles that was the only way
they would get better
She spoke well (he couldn’t tell how
good she was but they both spoke
and understand each other)
When she left class he walked with her
He really didn’t know what he wanted
or how to say whatever he had on his
mind but she liked him and they
walked together till they
got to the room she rented
He turned to leave
She asked if he wanted to come in
He did and that was it
They became boyfriend and girlfriend
Her room became his classroom
She cooked, they studied and they
had sex
Loads of sex
She knew so much and he was a
willing student
A week to the examination, other
external students began to arrive in
their village
Suddenly he realised she was not the
most beautiful girl in the world after all
She was the most beautiful until the
more beautiful ones arrived
He realised also that she was not
so intelligent
He met a lady!
One of the external students who
engaged him in an intellectual discussion
for over three hours and made his
head spin for joy
You never knew you liked some things
until you tried them
He realized he wanted more than sex
and food
He wanted a mind, a brain that made
him think
He withdrew from her and started
studying in the school premises again
She didn’t put up much of a fight
It was all for the best…
Examination started, he realized something
She was the official gift the teachers
offered the invigilator while the
examination was going on.
He never saw her in the examination hall,
not once
The invigilator brought the examination
materials and disappeared to her room
in town where she entertained him
The teachers solved the problems and
all the students got settled for 500 Naira
per paper
Her examination was taken care of by
the principal and other teachers
It was a crazy arrangement and the
first time he would ever see anything
like that
He never saw her again
Once they finished the examination,
she jetted off to wherever she came
from and he went back to his firewood
sales and farming as he prepared
for admission
A few months later, the result of his
examination was released and he
passed exceedingly well
He gained admission into the University
of Ixxxxxx
He packed his bags and moved to the city
A week after he completed his registeration,
while standing in front of the SUG building
He saw her walking down the road
He quickly ducked into the SUG building
and watched her as walked towards the
department of education
He made some photocopies and returned
to his hostel
Later that evening, he bumped into her in
front of the library
This time he couldn’t
dodge
She told him she was a diploma student
He didn’t say much
They exchanged phone numbers but
he didn’t call her
He had his sight on a better life and she
was bad news in his opinion
A week later, she bumped into her again,
this time at the shopping complex
opposite the school
They talked for a while, but he still didn’t
say much
He would have walked away but he was
too polite to do so
She told him she had some challenges
with her studies and could use his help
He followed her to her rented room close
to the shopping complex
They had sex again
He felt
he was too weak
He knew should have said No
He wanted to but he was too timid to
do what he wanted
When they were done, he left
He never saw her again
He graduated and traveled abroad for
his masters on a full scholarship
He returned to Nigeria in 2013
Started his own company
He met a lady that he was hoping to
get married to
One Friday afternoon, he was told by
his secretary that he had a visitor
It was her and a six year old boy
He said the boy was his child
He laughed and laughed and laughed
He was way smarter than the village boy
that she met years
earlier
He said he wanted to do a DNA test
She said “fine”
They did the test, the boy was his
He said he would cater for the child,
she said no
She wanted marriage or nothing
He told her to get out
She did
He got married in 2016,
His wife died six months later
He got married again in
2019, the wife died six months later
He was told to seek help
Everywhere he went he was told he
had to marry her or remain single
She had laid an embargo on him, he
marries her or he remains fruitless
He reached out to her
She said it had to be marriage or nothing
He spoke with a friend
The friend told him Jesus saves
The friend introduced him to the
brother in Jeans and T-shirt
He became a believer, full of the Holy Spirit
He met another lady in 2020
The lady was a believer, not born of blood
or the will of man but of the spirit
They got married in
October 2020
They had their baby in July 2021.
Mother and baby are living and healthy

PS: His baby mama came to his office today
and dropped his son, she said she was
leaving for Ireland and didn’t want the
child again
He called the brother in Jeans and T-shirt
The Brother in
Jeans and T-shirt told him to get a lawyer
and make her sign an official document
that makes him the sole custodian of
the child
He did!
She just signed!
He called the brother in Jeans and T-shirt,
screaming and laughing!
Jesus saves to the uttermost!
Hallelujah