Rachael (8)

Rachael and Emmanuel sat in silence. The silence was quite loud but it held some kind of presence that made her comfortable. She could hear the crickets and the soft wind rustle the trees. "You need to tell me all that happened to you. I can help you if you would just talk to me." He said calmly. Rachael stared at the wall, like she was lost. She then realized that she never really talked to anyone about her matters except with Toyosi or Eric. Eric passively listened to her and she stopped talking to him about deep stuffs that bothered her. Toyosi on the other hand, always seemed not have a clue when it came to Rachael's needs. Toyosi was just a girl who lived and understood life the way she chose to understand it. She never seemed to know past her immediate circumstance and so talking to Toyosi was like telling someone your problem and all the person does is to reiterate them again to you and sympathize.

It then dawned on her why opening up to Emmanuel was such an ordeal. She never really spoke to anyone not even her mother. Her mother was not the person who could understand her issues or so she thought. She looked at Emmanuel and took a deep breath and narrated her story. She told him everything up until the murder she had witnessed. As she spoke, she literally felt like a weight was carried from her shoulders. She began to tell him how much resentment she carried inside her because she felt life was unfair to her. She wanted more but her mother could only give her little. She turned to Eric because he was her escape route away from her deep seated fears and anger. She wanted to be somebody, she wanted more but now she felt so empty and useless. Her life was being ripped apart. "I feel so ashamed, confused, angry and let down. I have always thought that I could handle anything. I thought I was a tough girl, I thought I was in control. As it turns out, I am no longer in control. In fact, maybe I never was in the first place."

Emmanuel looked at her and she was amazed at how concerned he was about her. He had just met her and he had gone out of his way to make her comfortable. He held her palm in his hands and said, "I can help you through this. I just want you to allow me help you. The things you think you can fight are a whole lot bigger than you. There is so much you don't know. You really don't know Eric. Well, I am glad you saw for yourself what he is capable of but that is only a part of the picture. Eric is assigned to you. He is assigned to pull you down. He is assigned to ensure you do not fulfil God's plan for you. He is to ensure that no matter what happens. you and I would never meet." Rachael stared at him. She was trying to understand what he meant by "assigned". He stood up to leave. She watched him walk to the door. He looked back and smiled. "If the devil had known, he would not have crucified the Lord of glory." She had heard that before but couldn't place it. "What do you mean?" He turned the knob of the door and opened, With his his back to her, he replied, "You will understand it better by and by dear." With that, he walked out the door. She didn't know when she fell asleep. For the first time in years she fell asleep in peace. So much peace that she felt she could touch it.

"We would have to pray hard for Rachael, the battle has only begun." David said to Marian who was still recovering from the shock she had received from David's confession. Her daughter was in trouble. She felt weak and fell on her knees and began to sob and began to pray in the spirit. As Emmanuel walked to his own room, light began to shine. The whole room was aglow. Time seemed to stand still as even the air waited for him to pass through. As he opened the door to his room, a man dressed in white suit was waiting for him. He had a smile on his face. Emmanuel understood the reason for the joy that radiated on his face. "Rachael has come home." Emmanuel nodded with a smile. "Yes Gabriel, she has" The room kept glowing and songs of praise were chorused. It was the most beautiful rendition ever.

Rachael (7)

Marian was shocked that David would come to see her. If he wanted to see his daughter, today was a bad day. Rachael had been missing for some hours now and nobody could ascertain where she was. David stared at Marian with a very piercing gaze. He could see she was tired. He was ashamed to be in her living room after over seventeen years. He had not done well in treating her. Looking at her now, he felt remorse. God had to have a plan in this. He turns all things to work for our good. He had a strong impression that morning to look for her and he did not know that his efforts would pay off quickly.

'I am sorry to barge in on you unannounced. I just felt deeply that I had to see you. I asked your friend Margaret for your address. I guessed that you would still communicate with her. She was the only friend I remembered." He said with calmness picking his words one at a time. Marian was still trying to come to terms with the fact that David was sitting in her living room than she was actually listening to him. "What can I do for you?" She asked because she felt that was the only logical thing to say. "First, I want to apologise for the past... We were young, I should have taken responsibility of what I had done but there are some things I will be opening up to you that might shock you, so I want you to please prepare yourself..." He said and licked his lips and rubbed his palms together. That was what he did when he was nervous. She excused herself to get him a cup of water. She drank a glass full herself before bringing a tray with a bottle of water for him. This would be a long night.

"Marian, you are more special than you give yourself credit for. I was working for someone all the while I was with you. We were charged with various objectives but more so, we were charged to some specific women who you can describe as divinely special. You could call it a cult or a group of people who had some twisted ideas but we worked for 'The Boss'. You have a godly father who did not always get things right but it was more of your grandmother, your Father's mother. From the day you were born, she had covenanted you to God and never stopped praying for you. That was what made you special. You had a mission to the world and we needed to stop it. I was sent to get you out of safety. We inflicted poverty so that you will find solace in a rich young guy like me. I was supposed to ensure that you did not get to do that task, Getting you pregnant was one way but you met someone you should not have met and messed up the plan. You met Emmanuel..." Marian's eyes were wide open in shock.

Eric woke up and felt his body on the cold hard ground. He had failed but he planned to make it better. If Rachael was with Emmanuel. he would have to draw her out. He would have to find her weak spot and pull her out. He would not fail. He would have to fulfil the mission, even if he died doing it. 'The Boss' watched him from across the room. His eyes were still very red and Eric pulled himself up."I will bring her to you no matter what it takes."

Rachael (6)

Rachael woke up and wondered how she got to the bed. She felt light headed and realised that she had not eaten anything in the last few hours. She stifled a yawn and looked at the window. It was quite dark. She wondered what time it was but she could guess it was quite late. She heard a knock on the door and jerked in surprise. "Come in." She sat up and waited wondering who was coming in. Emmanuel worked in with a tray of food. "You dozed off after your prolonged silence. I brought you in here and prepared you something to keep your energy up. It used to be your mum's favourite." He brought the tray to her and she accepted it with a smile.

The way he talked about her mother amazed her. She knew her mother's friends but this man was strange. She had never met him and he had never visited if he did, she would recall his face. She opened the covered plate and saw a steaming plate of yam and egg with bottled water beside it. It was her mum's favourite food and now she knew more than ever that this man knew her mother. She took the fork and took a bite. It was the best yam and egg she had ever had. As she enjoyed the taste of the food in her mouth, she remembered Emmanuel's insinuation of her pregnancy and dropped her fork. "How do you know I am pregnant?" "Like I said, I know these things... Besides, I think it is time for you to start doing things right. First, you need to know that your life is really not yours in the first place. You never authored it and you can't finish it."

Rachael was still. Her appetite suddenly vanished. What could she do to turn the hands of time and make things better? "Why do you resent your mother Rachael?" The man looked at her intently and it was like he was staring into her soul. "I feel my mother sees me as the mistake she made and because I remind her so much of her errors, she seeks to turn the hands of time in her life by bothering me, I sometimes blame her for bringing me into the world unprepared, I had to go through school feeling inferior without a father and not been able to stand with my rich mates hurt me so much and I blamed her. I blamed her every single day." At this point, Rachael allowed her tears to flow unhindered.

Eric was restless. He had combed the area and no one seemed to know where Rachael went. He was worried that Rachael would do something stupid and he would have no choice but deal with her. His phone rang and when he saw it was his father who was calling, he ignored and laid down on the bed. His mind imagined what Rachael was doing now or who she was talking to. Any word from her would be his downfall. She did not go home at all and now everyone was frantic looking for her. Then there was The Boss. He had been working with him for quite sometime. Eric was in charge of the locality where he lived. The Boss had specifically asked him to ensure that Rachael stayed within his embrace. The girl was too hurt at home and that was what he used as a platform to get her within their grip. They had a mission. They had to corrupt "The Sent Ones".

When Rachael and her mom moved into the locality, The Boss had told  Eric about how much Rachael would be valuable to them. They needed to get her. The Boss told him of how David had failed in his task to secure Marian. Rachael must be secured. His plans were going on smoothly till she found him murder someone in cold blood. The lights suddenly went off and came back on within seconds. There was a knock on the door. Eric opened. The Boss walked in. That was the darkest suit Eric had ever set eyes on. He looked into his eyes. His eyes were burning red. He stumbled. He had been hit. He had failed. He held his chest. He fell on his knees. He had failed. The look on The Boss' face said it all. "She is with Emmanuel, you incompetent fool!" The room went black.