A Dread in the Spine - Episode 11

 

 Joana's fat body, depression, and new-found faith couldn't make her jump over Raphael the moment she saw him. Before, she would have hugged him, brought down his head into... She shook her head. Thoughts and memories like those ones were meant to die with her baptism. They shouldn't be allowed to resurrect again.
He was as tall as ever. His broad shoulder still made her have a tinge of desire to hug him again, but she denied herself of it . It was unholy and she needed to abstain from every appearance of evil. He had a knack for keeping a white beard and an afro. He still kept them, the way she always admired them. His big chain shone from his neck alongside the bracelet and the ring he wore. If she didn't know him before, she might have assumed the ring was charmed as it was the custom of so many get-rich-quick guys.
'Jah!' Raphael shouted when he saw her pulling a Dhayour duffel bag. His scowl deepened as she got nearer. 'Joany, what have you done to yourself? No. This is pathetic, even the fish in the Sardine that had recently been growing thinner isn't as thin as this'.
'What?' She asked as she followed his gesture that she should enter the car. His eyes didn't leave her as she scrambled into his car

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. The darkness shouldn't cover how she was. If not for the reflection of the street light, and the busy street, she might have refused to meet him. He should have waited till the next day, but the fear releasing itself into her was a better motivation and persuasion than he.
'First of all', he said as he started the car. 'Jah! This is too much. Bottle. This is a bottle of urine'.
'What now? Raphael, you have started this your crazy ways of acting again'.
'When you started using my name and started speaking formally I knew you have changed...'
'Of course'.
'For bad. But this...You look worse. You are now looking like all those Deeper Life people. Why now?'
'See I've met Jesus. If any man is in Christ, old things are passed away. Hell and Heaven are real'.
'Of course. Of course, I know. Prophet Vegas, you know that my very handsome Prophet. He went to heaven last week', Raphael said and chuckled. 'When he first said it, I thought he was lying, but one of those tiny waist ladies in the church said he wasn't lying. Then, she winked at me. And I knew my prophet must have gone into trance after copulating with her'.
'But this one is real'.
'I know. All of them are real. But, God can't be wicked enough to take everybody to hell'.
'God is not wicked. He just has his rules and laws'.
'That's your problem. I know Jehovah well; he has his method. He knew all of us would not be faithful. That's why he made some of you faithful'. 
'Raphael, see...Forget it. Just know that life is short'.
'Yes. I will forget it. My problem still remains that why the sudden change? You look too drab. You are not wearing those...'He said and gestured at her breast. She felt naked in his presence. 
'Stop that now. I'm a daughter of Zion'.
'I know'.
'So who was the person that had been calling to know about me?'
'I don't know yet, but I've given it to Emma...Emmanuel. You remember him now'.
She nodded. 'Your partner in crime'.
'No. Emma is not my partner in crime. He was my mentor. The guy was good. He can have three women in a row'.
'It's okay. What did he do?'
'Emma is now a bonafide Christian', he laughed. 'He called it something...Born something like that'.
 'Born again...What did he say?'
'Yes. Born again. He has stopped going to clubs and the rest. Now, he is also crying about Heaven and Hell'.
'You see. If your teacher has changed, why can't you change?'
'Did God create us to go heaven?'
'Yes...'
'Why didn't he just create us in heaven?'
'Oh I see where you are going? So you think gallivanting about the whole town would do it? You have not change for better at all. And I'm surprised at your way of life'.
'See forget it. Emma will get the answer to me soon. The guy is good with all this computer stuff'.
'Good. Maybe I'll tell Nosa the person'.
'Which Nosa?'
'He's...What' your concern?'
'My concern is that you will marry me again'.
She laughed. 'What does light have to do with things of Darkness?'
'See this hippopotamus o. I'm darkness. I'm helping you to safety and you're calling me darkness'.
'I'm sorry'.
 He bantered on as they drove into the darkness, into her unknown future. She knew the apostles ran from place to place because they were under siege because of the word of God. People wanted to kill them, persecutors. Her own fear wasn't about persecutors. It was from someone that was just kidnapping them and wasn't even demanding ransom. She allowed her mind meander into oblivion. If she was persecuted like the apostles, she would endure it, but she couldn't possibly die without the message of God to the world.
He checked his phone and yelled, 'thank God'.
She sat up with the expectation that he had gotten the response from Emmanuel. 'What's that?'
'My boys. Those boys are good. Ah! Bet9jaYou people have failed. My two odds make sense. Somebody must suffer. Your father'.
'What's all this? You haven't stopped gambling?'
'See this girl-she. Gambling is my water and blood. How do you think I maintain my fine look? When I finish with you, I will load games for tomorrow. Ah! Betnaija Their mother'. 
Joana hissed and turned to watch the darkness and the light that reflected through it. Raphael inserted a song and was dancing. At least, he should wait till she got down from the car before he rejoiced. She glanced at him as he rejoiced with his croaky voice. She turned to the window and thought of the many times of her life, and knew that if she got the opportunity to choose again, she would choose this one over and over again. Working for God was the sweetest thing that could ever happen to her.
Suddenly Raphael stopped. She turned to look at the place they were. They were in one of the brothels in town. The sounds of knockouts resounded from nearby stalls, and Raphael bared his teeth at the blasts from the knockout. He pointed at them and shook his head as if they brought out archived memory.
'What? What are we doing here?'
'Celebrating Let's buy something to drink before anything happened to you'.
'Are you m What's wrong with you? I told you I'm a Christian'.
'And I'm a Buddhist? Forget all those rubbish. Do I look like someone that has gummed his eyes? You are very safe here'.
'Raphael, stop all these jokes'.
He burst into laughter. 'But at least, let's eat pepper soup made with Catfish'.
'I don't eat the same food that sinners see as the best'.
'Jah!' Raphael exclaimed and raised his hands. The music from within the brothel spread outside and above the one he was playing in his car.
'You're not feeling fine. You ate these things when you were here. Somebody should help my memory? I even bought you Suya from Ibrahim, the Fulani. If not that he has gone home, we would have bought some'.
Joana shrugged. 'Those were in the days I was foolish'.
'Then, foolishly pay back all the money we used then'.
'Those were in my old life'.
'Something is wrong with your church brain', Raphael said as he hissed and turned. 'I'll look for someone better'.
He looked around and sighted a slim lady on Yellow shirt. He gestured at her. She rushed towards him with her tiny legs. Joana was sure he couldn't do anything foolish with her sitting there.
'Baby girl', he said and pointed his phone at her. 'I tried to call your number, but it wasn't going through'.
'That's because I forgot to give you my number', she said and flaunted her padded chest at him.
'Raphael, please let's go', she groaned.
'A minute', Raphael said and dashed out of the car. The lady outside rolled, but Raphael ran past her into the brothel and returned with four cans of beer. Joana slapped her hand on her face, while the lady stared in surprise. 
'Till later baby girl. This church woman wants me to leave this beautiful place. Merry Christmas'.
'Miser', the slim lady yelled at him.
'Chicken That's how every one of them does. They are looking for a husband on the road', Raphael yelled and drove off.
'What do you see in that woman?'
'Beauty is in the eyes of the beer-holder'.
 Joana glanced at him and hissed. Then, looked back into the darkness that engulfed the roads of Fortunecity. Raphael hissed at her and opened a can of beer. It made a noise that propelled a big sigh from Joana.
He drove off and started the song playing in his car, and shouted along with the song. However, he became silent when the playlist got to Four years by Stylplus. Gradually, houses started dissolving into grasses and the grasses soon started making way for huge trees. Then street light gave up on them and handed the watch to the moon.
'Raphael, where are we going?'
'I'm taking you to a place no one would ever think of finding you'.
'Where?'
'Prayer Mountain. My prayer mountain', he said and winked.
'What of my video testimony and the magazine?'
'You will do it.'
She became silent again and tried not to talk to him. At least, she was having it both ways- working with a heathen and still pleasing God. She preferred to term it as God having his way. On a normal circumstance, she wouldn't have trusted anyone, but she trusted Raphael. They had gone far in their relationship for her not to trust him. She might not like his method, but she liked him and believed he would never hurt her, even if they handed the world over to him.
 When they got to the place, she was skeptical about heeding to Raphael. Despite the fact he told her he was taking her to a mountain, she never believed it would be a place like the one he had just brought her to. The peak of the mountain was the only thing protruding from the tall massive trees that surrounded it. Even in the darkness, the blackness of the mountain's peak highlighted the coldness that was building up in her heart. She shivered as they got out off the car. The rain was drizzling, and Raphael merely glanced at the drizzle as if it was a child jumping about excitedly because its favorite TV show was being played.
Raphael began to give her details of how the place was without a balanced network, and how lonely it might want to be.
'I thought it was a church'.
'A...?' Raphael said, hissed and chuckled. 'Me? Bring you to church? The only church I like is the one I attend and no other', he said as he brought out two torchlights from the duffel he withdrew from the trunk of his car.
'But when did you plan all this?'
 'Since the day I met you.  After you told me about the cruise you took and always wanted to take. I always wanted this to be our own cruise. I've been planning to leave the world alone and spend the rest of the year with youOn' He said as his eyes roamed her body.
'Argh! You need God. The Bible says without holiness you can't see God, even heaven'.
'Who? Heaven? God? I don't want to see God now. I have a lot of plans for my life'.
 Then, they came to the top of the mountain and he pointed the torch towards a direction. 'That's the house. It used to belong to me and my friends'.
'Do I know them?'
'Not sure'.
He turned and pointed to a very far end. 'I wanted you to come to this place. That place I and my friends used to play a lot of games there. It's sloppy but one of us knows how to climb it. We would run and come out of the other end', Raphael said, smiled and shook his head.
'Let's go. I'm tired. And everywhere is dark'.
'Yes, I know.

Read " Lost But Satisfied " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. I'll remember to show you tomorrow. Immediately, we enter I'll take your phone'.
                     ***
When Raphael was sure she was out of earshot, she dialed the number.
'She's disappeared', he said.
'Thank you'. 
Then there was a pause at the other end. 
'Where is she?'
'Remember our promise. I can't tell anybody where she is'.
'I remember. I just want to access her when it's time'.
Raphael shook his head. This wasn't time to even think about passing the information. 'Remember why you asked me to do this?'
'Yes. I know...'
'Okay. I'll update you soon. She wants to me to upload a video of her tomorrow'.
'We will do it. Just do everything to make her stay put'.
'I will. And I will change her mind about announcing herself to the world'.