THE EVIL BRIDESMAID
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The news of Pastor Paul’s untimely demise sent shockwaves through the congregation. Many who could not witness the incident refused to believe he was indeed dead. The paper he left behind, with its eerie message, was scrambled, the words seemingly written in a moment of struggle. He died not because he was a fraud or lacked the strength to fight the ghost, but because he saw the ghost in its full form and was weakened by the sight.
As the sun rose, casting long shadows over the streets of our small town, the air was thick with whispers and rumors. The evil bridesmaid’s curse had claimed another victim, and fear was palpable among the townsfolk. It became even more terrifying. The elders in charge of the church fled for their lives. Others banned us and blamed us for the death of their pastor. It seemed this girl did not want anyone to save Miranda and Louise.
Linda, still shaken from the previous night’s revelations, nodded in agreement. “I’ve been thinking,” she said, her eyes scanning the room as if searching for answers in its corners. “The pastor’s vision must be connected to the history of Quincy’s family. We need to delve deeper into their past.”
All this was happening in our town. Loise was warned by Miranda to stay away from relationships or marriage for her own sake. But it seemed like all the advice fell on deaf ears.
Amidst all this, we were informed by Miranda that Loise had just gotten married and nothing happened to her. Days passed, nothing happened. Days turned to months, and months became a year, still nothing happened.
We concluded that maybe the pastor’s prayers worked after all, little did we know that Quincy was digging a much deeper pit for us. Miranda moved on with her life and started dating again. Willy and I decided we would get married soon.
My fondness for Linda made her open up to me in many ways. Among her biggest secrets was that she was barren and could not conceive a child. She told me Derrick was not her biological child but her gift from the heavens.
Derrick was a child she found at a football field in the same quarter when she had just moved into the neighborhood. Since she had no children, she decided she would live with him forever. She went ahead and showed me his pictures when he was still little and the fabricated birth certificate she had made.
No matter how I tried to convince her that this could be considered kidnapping, and it could probably lead to jail, she wouldn’t listen to me.
One day, as I was coming back from an event I attended, I saw Mr. Leo standing by his gate. A certain lady stood there with him, begging and crying, but he seemed not to pay much attention to her. He simply shut the gate behind him and left her kneeling and crying.
As nosy and pushy as I was, I decided I must get to the bottom of this. I made a delicious okra soup one evening and served it with garri. I took some to Linda and another plate to Mr. Leo.
I met him in good condition. He wasn’t yet drunk, so I presumed it was time for me to get some serious information out of him.
While he was gulping down the lumps of garri, I asked, “Why are you living alone?”
“Hahahaha, because I want to live alone.”
“Don’t you have family or people? A wife? Sister? I mean relatives? You’ve made lots of money, but bro, it’s lonely at the top. You might not feel it now, but when old age catches up, it’s going to be difficult to cope.”
His zeal to swallow disappeared, and the little excitement he had dwindled to zero. He said, “You gave me sweet and delicious food and have decided to ruin my appetite for it.”
I quickly apologized, “I’m so, so sorry, I wasn’t even thinking, gosh!” I exclaimed.
He said in a calm voice, “It’s okay.” He joked, “You’re lucky my hunger outweighed my appetite.”
When he was done eating, he gestured with his mouth, “Look up there, that’s a picture of my mum.”
“Wow, she was still very young and beautiful.”
He answered in a defeated tone, “Yeah.”
Words just seemed to pour out of my mouth like a tap. “I’m sure she must be so proud of you now.”
Still with the heavy look, he said, “Proud of me, indeed. I’m sure she’ll be cursing me from up there.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry, I didn’t know she’s dead.”
“Yeah, a long time ago…”
TO BE CONTINUED.
