The choirmaster 3
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As time went on with the blackmail proceeding, Abigail gradually lost her touch on life. She moved from the once cheerful and lively pastor’s wife to an always moody woman who constantly drowned herself in her own thoughts, and was always oblivious of her environment. Most of the time, it took loud noises and body touches to jolt her back into reality. She stopped eating as supposed and had become thinner and very unkempt. Her mind had always been on the many things that would go wrong in her life if the video was leaked. These ugly thoughts had kept her in constant melancholic mood as she believed the video would definitely come out someday.
Also her finances had constantly being at the scratch since the blackmail started. She worked very hard to make sure she had the next payment before the due day. As a housewife who had no independent means of livelihood, she constantly dug holes in the family’s budget in order to meet up with the demands of her blackmailer. Sometimes when the family’s budget could not pay for the ransom, she sold her properties to raise the money. The most hurting part was that the man who lured her into that life tormenting situation was not bothered at all. He still came to church and performed with the choral group unperturbed. He also still flocked with his new catches.
The few times she’d gone to him to ask for his help in paying the ransom, she met disappointment. The manner in which he talked to her and how unconcerned he addressed the issue made her regret ever going to him. But as the saying goes, a drowning man grabs at whatever object he sees. She still went back to him a few more times, probably hoping Paschal would have a change of heart and help. But he didn’t.
It got to a point that her pastor husband who was too concerned with his religious career to make out time for his wife and family noticed the change in her mood and appearance. It must have been too drastic for the man whose whole interests were on the things of the church to notice. When he asked what was wrong with her and she gave him a flimsy reason, he didn’t ask again. He only told her to visit their family doctor if she was sick. What a way a man cares for his beloved wife? There is always no smoke unless there’s fire.
At one time, Abigail couldn’t raise the money for that month’s payment. She went to Edna to reason with her as her fellow woman. She begged her to have pity on her and delete the video. She narrated all she had passed through since the inception of the blackmail. She told her how she had been the one paying all the money and how Paschal had exempted himself from the payments. “Sister please, have pity on your fellow woman. I am at the verge of death and I don’t know how to raise your money. I’ve sold all I could. I made a mistake engaging in that ungodly act but please forgive me and delete the video”, she begged with tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
After crying and begging at the feet of a girl whom she was far older than, after pouring out her heart to someone who wouldn’t ordinarily be her discussion mate, after telling her whole personal stories to Edna, she (Edna) showed no compassion. She just stood up, took a few steps away from Abigail, turned and said “make sure you have my money before this month’s deadline. I need it for something urgent and of course, you know the consequences of defaulting”. After saying that, she walked away leaving Abigail almost choking on her shame.
Abigail knelt down there crying. She was enveloped by shame, guilt and regrets. She remembered the periods before she was caught pants down with the choirmaster. How respectful Edna was to her and how she was looked up to by Edna and some other young girls in the church. Oh, how the mighty has fallen. And for what? A few minutes of sexual pleasures. I’m yet to ascertain what was put in that thing called s*x that it has the powers to make the strong weak, the righteous sinful, the wise foolish and the rich poor. Oh s*x, what are thou?
Abigail did a quick mental calculation. She realized she had exhausted all her means of getting the money. She didn’t have any more properties to sell. She had hit a wall. Then she made a decision, a hard one. She decided to personally confess her sins to her husband. She thought that if the video would be leaked, it was better her husband heard about it from her and be prepared. She also unconsciously hoped that if there was any possibility of salvaging the situation, her husband could. She was willing to lose whatever there was to lose. She couldn’t take it anymore. She decided to pay for her sins once and for all. She made a decision to tell her husband about the video after church service the next day being Sunday.
That Sunday morning, when they were preparing for church, she told pastor Usman, her husband that she had something to discuss with him when they come from church. He didn’t take it seriously, his whole mind was on going to church and the programs of the day. It was when he noticed that Abigail was crying silently that he picked interest and asked her why she was crying. She simply told him she’d tell him the whole story when they were back from the church. He pressured her a little but left her when she insisted on telling him what was wrong only when they were back from the church. They dressed up and left for the church.
In the church, when the sermon was going on, everywhere was calm and serene, with just the amplified voice of the head pastor echoing around the congregation. Then suddenly, people started murmuring. The murmurs started faintly and later became very loud. The preacher paused. Many of the ‘murmurers’ moved their eyes to the front row where Abigail and her husband sat while some looked at Paschal where he sat in the choir’s pew.
The video had been leaked. It was posted in the church’s Whatsapp group. But it was not leaked by Edna.
Who leaked it?
Find out when I get money to afford a new pen.
TOCHUKWU ANOZIE
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