We thought we had heard confessions until Kassim made us
believe he killed his grandmother. His father could not hold himself anymore as
he bursted into tears. Pastor let him die, he does not deserve to live, let him
die. I cannot have this monster as a son, he’s not my blood.
Let the bastard
die or I will kill him myself. Sincerely I could understand the man’s pain. How
can a man sleep with his own mother and sister and kill his own grandmother?
What sort of life is this? How did I marry a monster without knowing for over
ten years. What happened that God didn’t reveal this man to me? There was
calmness in the hall because of the last revelation. His father walked out of
the hall in rage and my brother in-law joined him pleading with him not to go.
After much begging, Kassim’s father never returned to the
hall again. He sat by the car but my brother in-law came in after sometimes. At
this time, it was few minutes to 7am and some of the prayer team members
pleaded to go and prepare for work. Baba closed the meeting and asked us to
reconvene by 9pm again. My father in-law and my brother in-law knew nowhere in
Lokoja so I had to take them to our house. I really wished I will not come back
to that house again. Even though l built the house together with Kassim, I
suddenly became a stranger in my house. I was agitated and restless through out
that day for fear.
The food I prepared, my father in-law did not touch it. I am
not hungry, what is inside me is more than hunger my daughter, he said. He
called me for a chat at about 2pm. He took almost 14 minutes apologising to me.
We would have told you who Kassim is but he told us he was a changed person
after he gave his life to Christ. I am not a good Christian but I know what it
meant when someone gives his life to Christ.
And moreover, everything we were asked to do for his
atonement was done when he raped his mother. My daughter you’re not bound to
this marriage anymore, you’re free to remarry if you have someone who will want
to marry you. By the authority of a father and family head I release you to
move on. If you are my daughter, I will never allow you continue in this
marriage with such a monster who had done these evils. He may live with the
consequences of his atrocities all his life and you are too good to partake of
his punishment.
Your years of barrenness are enough for you my daughter.
Please go…. I was in tears without a word. I didn’t know what to say because my
heart was battered. As I went into my room, I began to ruminate over what my
father in-law said. He is right, I don’t have to suffer the punishment of what
I didn’t do. I began to search for scriptures in my head to justify the idea and
they began to pop in.
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear
the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the
son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness
of the wicked shall be upon him.”
“And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for
sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” I began to weigh the
options; to continue to live with Kassim or to leave and remain unmarried for
the rest of my life. But am still young and beautiful. How can I be without a
man at 37? How will I overcome sexual temptations?
As I was thinking of what to do next, I heard a knock at the
door. I rushed to open the door and it was Toyin. She brought us dinner. How
are you Nneka? She greeted. I just left the church now, I went to give Kassim
some food. I didn’t bother to thank her because I thought it was needless but
that was a good gesture anyway. Her presence brought some relief to me. I
shared with her what my father in-law said and how I have been giving it a
second thought. She sighed without saying anything...
Watch out for the next episode...
