Cultivate habit of prayer

I returned from church that evening and was seriously hungry. The remaining soup I thought I left in the kitchen was no more, it appeared that either my junior sister ate it, or my mum because they were the only ones that were present in the house during the morning when I went to church.

I packed some garri from the kitchen and began to soák, luckily, there were some dried fish(okporoko) and sugar too.

Time was almost 3:30pm and Becky and mum were not back from church yet. So I decided to stroll out.

I mounted one of my friend, Angela with a long stick of sugar cane, so I requested to join her and she happily divided it into two. We sat down and began discussing and munching.

Just then,a pretty that should be around 31 to 33yrs old quickly approached us, with both hands gripped against her skirt like someone that was pressed.

U”Umm. Please sorry for invading your privacy. Good evening.”

“No no problem it’s okay. Anything?” Angela questioned her as we both fixed our gazes on her.

“Please I’m pressed. Do you know where I can ease myself.”

“Sure. Just keep going. There’s an uncompleted building that you’d find by your left. It’s fenced you can use one of the rooms..”

“Okay okay. Thank you.” She said and began leaving. As she moved about five steps from us, some thousand naira notes folded together quickly fell down from her. Luckily I sighted the mónèy.

“Hi, hey. Your mónèy. Your money fell down.” I called her and she acted like someone that wasn’t hearing me. I tried again but she kept paying deaf ears.

“Angela. I dey suspect this girl o” I told her. “Even me too o. She heard you but she wasn’t responding why?” Angela and I both mumbled nervously, observing her movement towards the building, raising concerns about her peculiar behavior. Fearing the consequences of taking the money, Angela and I cautiously used a piece of wood to nudge it aside, towards the corner of the road. It was three thousand naira notes that were folded together, looking so fresh.

Setting aside our sugarcane, we quietly followed her, making sure not to appear as if we were attempting to spy on her, as Angela and I caught sight of her entering the uncompleted building. Hence, we paused, careful not to arouse suspicion.

We stood there waiting for this woman to come out. We waited and waited for approximately an hour before we decided to enter inside the building to see for ourselves.

I told Angela to wait outside while I go inside to check so that Incase she sees her coming out, she should Inform me.

We searched and searched, did everything we could but this woman was no where to be found. She just varnished into thin air.

The house was the solitary structure distinguishing the area and it was fenced, thereby preventing any other route from the back that led elsewhere. This implies that anyone who enters the building would have undoubtedly used the same path we took while entering. Hope you get?

While we turned about to leave, we sighted Mrs Okiemute she was stark nàked, running to and fro like a young boy giggling and rolling on the sand. Shame quickly made Angela and I to cover our faces. One woman that sighted her (Mrs Jane) quickly lose one of her wrapper and knotted it across her waist trying to restrain her, shouting for help and covering her nákedness.

Angela, overcome with distress, had
already begun to cry. The woman was married, with a spouse and children. Mrs. Okiemute, my neighbor and fellow church member, was also a close friend of my mother. Witnessing her in such disheveled state immediately reminded us of the money we had left there earlier. Upon reaching the spot, we discovered that the piece of wood we had used to secure it was gone, and the money was nowhere to be found.

My parents, along with several other individuals, including Becky, my younger sister, hurried over as we began to explain everything to them. They diligently searched every nook and cranny for the woman, but she was nowhere to be found. The money too we had no idea where she dropped it. The entire area became a bustling crowd, filled with concerned onlookers. Meanwhile, our pastor was informed about the situation and took it upon themselves to offer spiritual support.

They spent five days praying and restraining Mrs Okiemute, until she finally jolted back to her sanity. However, her recovery was not with its challenges. She became fell seriously ill and is currently confined in the hospital with all manner of medications, currently, she’s unable to move her face, legs and some other part of her body. She was very slim, losing a lot of weight due to her illness. Her devoted husband and children frequently visit her in the hospital, offering support and care.

Interview : Bilisa Negash