I do or I Don’t EP 11

The END!!!!!!!! Thank you for going on this journey with me. I love you.

Episode Eleven

Kade knelt beside her bed, her palms clasped together. She sighed. She was meeting with Pastor Daniel and Priye in church later that day. She had finally seen Priye for who he really was, and she had also realized the part she played in their abusive relationship. She had encouraged him to treat her the way he did because she allowed it. She accepted the blame for each argument they had. She accepted his apology easily without dealing with the real problem.

Her stay with Mrs Damini for some days had shed light on her true situation. She had been counselled extensively by her, and a friend of hers who had a prayer group for women. Everything had become clear to Kade. She had even been able to deal with her fear of what people will say. It wasn’t important. Her part was to make things right. She would start with making things right with God.

She had sinned by lying that God had spoken to her about Priye when all the while it was her flesh that pushed her to him. She wanted to be part of his success. She had also played God when she assumed her submission to Priye would change him. She should have known she had no power to change any man.

She let out a low sigh. “Dear Father,” she started “I’m so sorry for running after material things, instead of waiting on you. Thank you for giving me a second chance to allow you lead my life again.” She prayed for herself and for Priye. She prayed for strength to do what was right. She prayed that God will touch Priye and change him. She also prayed for other ladies facing the same challenge she faced with Priye. Some were already married and were finding it difficult to leave, even when there was grave danger to them and their children. Kade prayed for God to help them break the silence before it was too late for them and their children.

When she ended the prayer, she went about her daily routines quickly. She was thankful to God for a friend like Tari who never stopped telling her the truth. She was never carried away by all the flashy things Priye represented. Some other friends would have encouraged her to keep on with Priye since he met all her needs.

Kade shook her head. When she finally told Tari the whole story, her friend didn’t tell her ‘I told you so’, instead she held her and prayed with her. Tari offered her shoulder for her to cry on, and gave her a listening ear. It made her feel better than she had been feeling before then. Her friend did not condemn her. She was with her when she made the call to Pastor Daniel. Her final prayer was for all to go well that day. She wanted no confrontation with Priye.

Pastor Daniel kept to the time they agreed on. He met her in church five minutes after she arrived. He ushered her into his office. She settled into one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. He moved some books to one part of the table and placed his arms on the created space. They talked generally for a few minutes before Priye joined them. It was the first time they were meeting after the incidence. Two weeks for her to get over her shock. Kade looked at him. He looked haggard. His usual clean-shaven face was gone. In its place was a stubbly face. There were dark circles beneath his eyes. One part of the collar of his polo stood while the other was bent. She pitied him. She saw the man she hadn’t seen before: Priye, the troubled man.

“I’m sorry for coming late.” He said in a calm voice which was strange. Gone was his larger than life attitude.

Kade shook her head. She wouldn’t be fooled by his pretence anymore. He took the chair beside her in front of Pastor Daniel. She turned to say hello to him. He returned her greeting with a ghost of a smile. It was time to end it all.

“You said you had something to share with me, Kade.” Pastor Daniel said.

“Yes sir.” She nodded. She inhaled and exhaled, trying to calm her nerves. “I want to let you know, sir, that I won’t be continuing the relationship with Brother Priye.” She informed him.

Pastor Daniel gaped at her. Beside her, Priye said nothing. He just bent his head. “Why, Sister Kade?” Pastor Daniel asked.

Kade prayed for wisdom to relay her message. “You see, sir, I got it all wrong from the beginning. It wasn’t meant to be.” She said, clasping and unclasping her fingers.

Pastor Daniel considered her words for a while, then he said, “There is more to this, right?”

Kade gave a small nod. Before she could speak, Priye burst out in tears, looking frightened. He placed his hands on the table. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, sir. I just wanted the kind of relationship my parents had.” Kade and Pastor Daniel looked at him in confusion. He continued, “If only Kade was as submissive as my mother was to my father, I would never have beaten her.” His voice hardened a little.

“What?” Pastor Daniel gasped in shock. “You were beating her?” He asked in a tone of disbelief.

Priye looked away when he nodded. Pastor Daniel looked at Kade. “And you kept this all to yourself?”

“I didn’t want to destroy his image in church. I thought he would change.” Her excuse sounded foolish to her now. She didn’t need to look at Pastor Daniel to know he thought the same way too.

“That is nonsense, Sister Kade. You should not jeopardize your life like that. You should have said something.” He chided her. He faced Priye. “Brother Priye, Kade is not your mother. Hitting her is very wrong. The Bible admonishes us to respect one another. God didn’t give Eve to Adam as a punching bag. He gave her to him as a help meet.”

Priye started crying again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I don’t want Kade to leave me. Don’t let her leave.” He pleaded.

Kade shifted her chair away from him in horror.

Pastor Daniel sighed. “Brother Priye, you don’t need Sister Kade now. You need help. You need to deal with the demons from your past, from whatever you learnt from your parents’ marriage. Until then, you can’t have any sister.” He told him in a fatherly tone.

Priye looked baffled. “Was I wrong to have hit her when she did not submit?” He asked, but went on without waiting for her answer. “Every time my mom tried to be a little bit less submissive, Dad will place her on the table in the living room, and flog her very well. Afterwards, she’ll say thank you to him, and they’ll be fine. Mom never talked back or threatened to leave him. They stayed together in peace until Mom went to the market one day and never came back. We looked for her for a long time. Dad cried. He never got over her disappearance. It was clear he loved her so much. I love Kade like that, and I want us to be like my parents.” He finished his story.

Kade jumped up from her chair. She looked at Priye like he was raving mad, and she believed he was.

Pastor Daniel looked at him with compassion. “Brother Priye, that is not the kind of love that Jesus has for us his children. He would not treat us like animals. He loved so much that he died for us, and called us his friends. What you witnessed as a child was a wrong kind of love. God never intended our marriage to be like that. Let me read Ephesians 5 to you.” Pastor Daniel picked up his Bible from the desk and read verses 28 and 29:

‘So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but cherishes it, just as the Lord does for the church.’

He closed his Bible and looked at Priye. “You can’t claim to love someone and delight in hurting the person. Will you like to cut yourself with a knife?” He asked. Priye shook his head. “That’s the way you should feel when you want to hurt someone you love, because it is like cutting yourself with a knife.” He touched Priye’s hand. “You need to learn the God-kind of love because you can’t give what you don’t have. Your heart is not ready for marital love. Let’s discover God’s love for us first. Let Kade go. Make yourself a better man.”

Priye turned to her with tear-filled eyes. “I’m sorry, Kade.” He said simply.

Kade felt a rush of compassion. “You will be fine, Priye. God will heal your heart.” She encouraged, then she turned to Pastor Daniel, “Thank you, sir.”

“It is well, Sister Kade. The Lord be with you.”

“Amen.” She answered.

As she walked out of the office, Pastor Daniel kept speaking to Priye. Much as she felt for him, she couldn’t resist the feeling of freedom that rushed through her.

“I’m free! I’m free!” She screamed when she got outside. Each step she took led her away from the bondage she brought on herself and to the future God had prepared for her.

 

THE END.

And it’s a wrap. I hope you enjoyed reading Kade’s story. Share the lessons you learnt from this story please. one more thing: We must break the silence, either for us or for someone we know.

Below is an excerpt of the story that will be on the blog soon. Wait for IT!!!

OLD FLAME

One

Time was against her. Ebika checked her wristwatch for the umpteenth time since she joined the ATM queue in front of Royalty Bank. She grimaced when she realized she had been on the queue for over thirty minutes. She tapped her feet impatiently. She counted the persons before her now. There were three persons left. She frowned deeply. It shouldn’t take long anymore, but the man making withdrawal at the ATM seem to be withdrawing for his entire family. People around started murmuring. The man remained unperturbed. He had his back to them, his broads shoulders raised confidently. Ebika finally lost her cool.

Putting up her best imitation of British English accent she called to him. “Hello, Sir. I hope you know there are people waiting on this queue to use the ATM.” She said. Heads turned towards her. She kept her face serious, adjusting her glassed a little. It wasn’t the time to count the number of persons she had charmed with her accent. “You should not remain there like it is your living room.” She added.

The man turned to look at her. When he didn’t turn back to the ATM after a few seconds, Ebika’s confident waned. What if he was a Professor or a Linguist? She pondered. Has he sensed my British accent was not the real deal? He must be someone important, she observed, looking him over. He was smartly dressed in a grey suit that hung perfectly on his lean but muscular body. His shoulders reminded her of wrestlers in WWE. She swallowed when she looked at his face. His beard was neatly-trimmed around his strong jawline. When her eyes met his, his was twinkling. A strange feeling crept up her body. There was something oddly familiar about him.