Spoilt at the church
EPISODE 4
The pronouncement was swift and precise.
Everyone held their breath to know what would be done to sinner-girl that had all along been pretending to be a Christian.
The Pastor climbed the pulpit, fixed his glasses atop the bridge of his nose, cleared his throat and began. He instructed Martha to stand and face the congregation. Looking straight at the people, he said, “Martha had gone against the will of God by engaging in premarital s*x that resulted in an unwanted pregnancy, to which she couldn’t pinpoint a single person that impregnated her. She lied to the Church and tried implicating innocent people. Therefore, she is suspended from being a Church worker. She will have a special seat at the front of the congregation, where she must always be at every service.”
Martha couldn’t raise her head, to behold the people who had always listened to her sing and hear her teach. She was dressed in a black garb, like someone in mourning. Her 4-feet- plus frame looked diminished. Right there at the front of the Church, she looked vulnerable, with no support system at all.
The women were the most affected with the pronouncement. They expressed their emotions in diverse ways. Some cried, some nodded in support of the penalty, while some felt unconcerned. A particular girl in the choir was ecstatic, since Martha will stop being a hindrance to her showcasing her talent.
The Pastor continued by calling on Prof. & Mrs. Aboderin to be on their feet. It was only the wife that was present because, Martha’s father had refused to be a party to the show of shame. Traveling back to his station the day after the council meeting, he told his family not to expect him in a long time.
“After deliberating on what your daughter did,” the pastor announced, “and your complicity in not exposing her in good time. The Church council has decided to remove you from all leadership positions for a period of one year. We pray God will grant you the Grace to make amendments where necessary.”
After that, the Pastor turned to the congregation and said, “We want to put a mechanism in place to check mate our young men and women from engaging in premarital s*x. We discovered that, even with the teachings and admonitions, our youngsters still go behind to do whatever they like. Therefore, there will be an active monitoring system from now on.” He paused, then continued by saying, “I humbly call on Deaconess Johnson to come forward.”
Mrs. Johnson moved to the front with head held high.
“You are going to help our boys and girls to maintain a firm stand against fornication.”
“Yes sir.”
“You will checkmate, teach and monitor their activities, with the Church giving you the necessary support and encouragement.”
“Thank you sir.”
“And now,” the Pastor continued. “I stand as a minister of God, to ask all our young people that are virgins to come to the altar. Remember you are in the presence of God,” the Pastor warned. “We want only virgins. Those that are not virgins will fit into another program that we are presently working on.
There was slight hesitation from the audience. Then as if on cue, the young people began trooping to the front, especially the ladies. Tall, short, dark, fair, slim and plump, almost all the unmarried people stood up. Mrs. Johnson scanned to see if Kike was among them. She smiled on sighting her. She whispered, I trust my daughter.
The Pastor looked at all that came out and reduced his eye to a slit. “Well,” he said hesitatingly. “If you all say you are virgins, then we will take you as virgins. I hand you over to God and Deaconess Johnson. She’s a tested and trusted mother, and will help in guiding you to the right path. Remember, you are brides of Jesus and mustn’t get defiled. Christ will come for a bride without blemish.”
The Church applauded as the service came to a close, with the declaration of Grace by the Pastor.
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The homeward journey for the Johnsons was quiet. Everyone was engrossed in different thoughts. Mrs. Johnson tried engaging the others in conversation because she was in a good mood. She was basking in the euphoria of the honor received at the Church. Her husband concentrated on driving, while the children looked as if they were terrified.
Mrs. Johnson had expected them to gist all the way home, especially on the trending topic of Martha’s punishment. But they behaved as if they were mourning someone dear to them.
Kike looked pale. Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. She refused to look at anyone, but insisted she wanted fresh air and placed herself close to the window. It was in the process of opening the door to the house that a wave of dizzy spell overtook her, and she went down.
The atmosphere at Crystal Medical center was tense. Kike’s agitated parents paced from one end of the reception to the other.
Immediately they arrived at the hospital, the Doctor and Nurses started working tirelessly to resuscitate Kike. She was semi-conscious. The parents and siblings were refused entry into the room where she was kept even after much persuasion. The attending Doctor, a young, lanky and tall individual, who looked too young to be a Doctor, gave firm instruction that no one should be allowed into the room.
They sweated! They prayed! They cried! Dropping herself on the floor of the hospital, Mrs. Johnson called on the Almighty to safe her daughter from whatever had befallen her and to put the plans of the enemy to futility.
“What could be wrong with her?” Mr. Johnson asked repeatedly. He expected no answer from anyone in particular. “She showed no sign of sickness before now.”
It is the enemies at work,” Mrs. Johnson replied. She had turned to a wreck within the space of few minutes of waiting. There was no manifestation of her bravado. Sighting the Medical Director of the hospital, a fellow Deacon at the Church coming from outside, they rushed at him.
“Good afternoon Deacon,” Mrs. Johnson greeted, panting. “We don’t know what is wrong with her. A Doctor and some Nurses have been with her for a while.”
“Calm down,” the Doctor responded as he adjusted the stethoscope around his neck and turned to Mr. Johnson. He said, “Deacon, all will be well. I was at a meeting when I received your call. Immediately, I called the Doctor on call to assess and start treatment on her. I will go in now and see how she’s fairing.”
“Thank you sir. Can we?” Mr. Johnson pointed towards the room.
“No!” the Doctor shook his head. “Just give us more time.”
Not long after he entered into the room, the door opened with force and Kike was wheeled out looking lifeless. The Medical director followed suit, giving instructions. “Deacon Johnson please follow me,” he said. “We need to carry out an urgent evacuation on her in the mini- theatre.”
“Evacuation? Of what? Mrs. Johnson shouted holding the Doctor.
“There’s no time for long explanation, as we are at risk of losing her. I need you to sign this consent for the procedure to be done.” He passed a form to the father. “We will also need a blood donor because, she will definitely need to be transfused.”
“We are of same blood group,” Mr. Johnson responded.
“Please move to the lab for urgent grouping and cross matching.” The Doctor entered into a room marked ‘mini theatre’ and left them bewildered.
Kike was returned after an hour. Reassuring them that she was out of the blues and would likely make a complete recovery, the Doctor requested that the parents meet him in his office.
He looked closely at Mr. & Mrs. Johnson and broke the news they had anxiously been waiting for. “Deacon and Deaconess,” he started, “it is so saddening to tell you that, the procedure carried out on your daughter was an evacuation.”
“Evacuation? You said it before, but of what?”
The Doctor removed his glasses and placed them on the table. Picking a pen, he made a show of writing on a pad before him, then passed what he wrote to the Johnsons.
They both stood up on reading what was on the paper.
“Abortion?”
“Abortion!”
“Yes!” the Doctor nodded. “Kike had an abortion which was badly done. I don’t know what she used. Possibly, a quack might have carried out the procedure on her. There were lots of retained product of conception in her womb, which made her to bleed profusely, likely for days.”
“Oh my God! My own daughter,” Mrs. Johnson shouted.
“Factually, the laboratory test showed that the blood in her body was less than 15%. I’m still amazed on how her vital organs were still functioning with a PCV of 10%. She almost killed herself. That she is alive is by the Grace of God. That Grace shouldn’t be taken for granted.”
Mrs. Johnson felt as if the ground should open and swallow her. Frantically looking for where to bury her head, she found none. “God!” she questioned, “If you will disgrace me, must it be in front of a Church member? A Deacon for that matter. Removing her head tie, she used it to clean the sweat that had gathered on her face, then started fanning herself. The air conditioner could not cool the hot air emanating from her.
On the other hand, her husband was calm and collected, with a look not betraying his inner thoughts.
Thanking the Doctor, he asked what the next line of action would be.
“She should be awake by now,” the Doctor responded. “We will monitor her for about three days, to know if she’s getting better. She has been placed on antibiotics to combat infection. We will check her blood volume after the transfusion.”
Mr. Johnson thanked the Doctor, then excused himself to go and settle the bill, not minding to talk to his wife.
The wife sat glued to the seat, as shame would not allow her stand up. There was palpable silence long after her husband’s departure. The Doctor ignored her. Finally, she managed to rise. But instead of leaving the room, she went round the table and knelt before the elderly Doctor asking, “Deacon, what do we do now?”
“Do?” he said. “I told you she will be okay.”
“I’m talking about the Church,” she stammered.
“What about the Church?” he asked irritably. “Madam please stand up.” He knew where she was heading to, but wouldn’t assist her in getting there. The law of karma, he thought and smiled. The Almighty Deaconess has now become a jelly fish. Checking his watch, he informed her that he had a crucial meeting in few minutes, and wouldn’t be in the hospital if not for her family.
“Deacon, can I make a request?”
“Feel free.”
“I want all that happened this afternoon to be between us. She made a frantic to and fro movement with her right hand. “Please help in covering my shame,” she pleaded.
The Doctor looked at her squarely and shook his head before answering. “Madam, it is ethically wrong to divulge the information of my patient to a third party. I would be breaching a professional protocol by telling anyone about what happened today. So, your secret is safe with me.”
“Ha! Thank God. Thank you,” she smiled. “Thank God,” she repeated and prepared to leave the consultation room. The Doctor’s deep baritone held her back.
“Why the sudden joy?” he asked. “Not telling anyone would not subtract from the fact that, your daughter committed an act that almost took her life.”
“We will discuss that when she gets well. It’s a mistake which she will never repeat. The most important thing now is my…”
“Reputation,” the Doctor supplied.
“Yes! How will it sound? To hear that my daughter, my own daughter got pregnant and even aborted. What will people say about me?”
“Hmm, you see life? The other day when the case of Mrs. Aboderin’s daughter came up, you felt as if you were the Almighty and the only perfect mother on earth. You made it look as if you knew it all. You condemned her, condemned the mother and couldn’t hide the fact that you were out to carry out a personal vendetta. You enjoy going around the Church like a police officer, monitoring other peoples’ children and leaving your own garden untended. You felt that you could merely protect your children just by being strict. You did not build a formidable wall around them because, you were busy meddling in others affairs. You’ve forgotten that, those that live in glass houses should not throw stones. Now that the serpent has pushed through a crack and bitten one of yours, I hope you will make amend.”
“I’m still concerned about what people will say.”
“That is our problem. We are so concerned about what people say, so full of ego, that we don’t mind sinning against God. You are concerned about your reputation now, but will be the first to pass instant judgment on others. What you feared most has befallen you. What will you do?”
“Humph.”
“Remember Achan that stole the sacred things in the Bible. He thought his sin was covered, until God exposed him and he implicated his household. Remember David and how God dealt with him because of his secret sins. Our sins will always find us out. The Bible says he who covers his sins shall not prosper, but he who confess and forsake them will have mercy. You will be laying a foundation of a lifetime of deception and guilt for your daughter if you let this go.”
“What do you suggest I do?”
“Talk to her and let her go to God in full repentance. Inform the Pastor of what happened, and be ready to face the music. Your daughter should take responsibility for what she did, so that she won’t repeat it again. Then, continue praying for God to give her the ability to say no to immorality because, no one can prevail by mere human strength and wisdom. I pray God will help you to do the right thing.”
Life became unbearable for Martha to the extent that she felt like giving up.
The attitude of people towards her- her parents inclusive, made it look as if she was the worst sinner in the world.
Her parents were unyielding, unloving and callous. With her father refusing to visit, her mother continually accused Martha of destabilizing her home and setting discord in an otherwise happy marriage. She became bitter to the point of resenting her.
To make matters worse, Mrs. Aboderin became a laughing stock to all and sundry. She returned home from Church at most times in tears because, one person or the other had made a reckless utterance, cast a stone at her or, reacted to her negatively. That was bad for her already fragile mental health and translated in different kinds of physical maladies. She became a recluse and continually transferred aggression on Martha. She only spoke to her in mono syllables.
Martha wanted companionship but no one was there to give to her. She wanted hope but her future looked bleak. Anytime she sat and ruminated on her predicament, she would remember her father’s exact words- You have used your hand to ruin your future. You will never amount to anything in life.
Furthermore, he said he was glad that she wasn’t the only child. He was optimistic that the other children would bring glory to the family name. She constantly remembered those words, until they became part and parcel of her and she started living them. Her talks, thoughts, dressing and demeanor depicted utter hopelessness.
Martha wanted someone to hold her and speak peace to her. She wanted a shoulder to lean on, and a balm to soothe her frayed nerves.
The symptoms of pregnancy did not make things easy. There were times she would throw up, to the extent of almost passing out and all her mother would say was- use avomine, take bitter cola. It got to a point that she felt her Mum was wishing her to die, and she in turn wished her fetus would die and free her. Free her to live a normal life, free her to move on, free her to re-awaken hope and free her to go back to the way she was; a vibrant, young and optimistic lady.
She wished to wake up from the long sleep that she had been subjected to. She wanted to be in the choir singing. She wanted to be in the congregation, not as a caricature in front of the Church, to listen to the Pastor teach about life. She wanted to stand in front of the children and take them on Bible lessons. But no one would allow her sing in the choir, or teach in the Sunday school. She could neither mingle with the unmarried ladies, nor be allowed in the midst of the married.
Martha had become a tainted woman, a scarlet lady that would live the rest of her life in regret, so her father said. Like Tamar, she would die in her father’s house as an old maid. He said she wouldn’t get a good man to marry her because, no sane man would marry someone with a bastard child.
She expected the Church to delegate someone to counsel her. The Pastor tried, but the person delegated was full of himself. He taught like the Pharisees of those days would do. So Martha stopped seeing him, and he was too glad to be relieved of the duty.
Martha tried turning to the Holy Spirit for help, after she had blamed God for abandoning her to her predicament and letting her enemies gloat over her, but her heart was closed to the gentle voice of the Spirit reassuring her that all will be well.
She developed resentment against God, her family, Jide, Kike, the Church and the whole world. She became extremely bitter, to the point that she stopped having her quiet time. And then, she began wishing for death. After the wish came the actualization. Solitude, a knife, to cut across the wrist.
She left a note for her parents.
TO BE CONTINUED
