If The World Was Different Read online



  If The World Was Different

  By Sanni-Kamal Aminat

  Copyright 2016 Sanni-kamal Aminat

   

   

 

  Mummy, daddy, Ridwan and Arikiki baby, you guys are the best. Thank you!

 

 

 

  CHAPTER ONE

  Christiana waited a few minutes before she knocked, she should have told her parents where she was going after church service. But, she had not thought that it would take so long to see the pastor. By the time she was through, they had already left. She would have called them, but, at sixteen years old; her parents didn’t think she was old enough to own a cell phone. It was the twenty-first century but her parents lived in the past. She finally gathered the courage to knock, it took a few seconds for her mother to open the door, but, it felt like hours.

  “So you have decided to grace us with your presence in this house?” Janet asked when she opened the door.

  Her father sat calmly on one of the worn out cushion chairs, shaking his legs. Christiana knew from experience that his calm expression meant nothing, he was worse than her mother when he was angry. She had scars on her back to prove it.

  Janet hissed. She couldn’t believe that the child she carried in her womb for nine months had become wayward. She had no one to blame but her husband. If he had not gotten himself demoted, they wouldn’t have left Lagos and moved to the North. Now, they were poorer that church rats and the first person to disregard them was their own daughter. But, she would not allow it.

  “Where do you think you are coming from enh?” Janet barked. “You think you have become a big girl abi, boys have started deceiving you.” She continued without giving Christiana a chance to answer the first question. “You will not become a prostitute in my own house, do you hear me? I will not raise a prostitute!” Janet voice came in short breaths.

  Christiana, who had fallen to her knees immediately she entered the house, cried softly. Her tears were not because her mother yelled at her, but because her parents had little faith in her. It had always been like that, even before they moved out of Lagos. They did not let her make friends, they did not even let her own a cell phone. If she came home from school a minute past four, she was dead; all because they didn’t trust her. As usual, they did not let her explain before they made their conclusion. Maybe she was indeed cursed, like the Pastor had said.

  “Why are you crying? You think those tears will save you from punishment? You are only crying because you are guilty and you know it.” Janet accused her daughter, breathing heavily as if she ran a hundred meters race.

  “Are just going to sit there, shaking your legs? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Janet turned her anger to her husband. Christiana prepared herself for her father’s punishment, which was usually a tight slap before any questions were asked. With the number of slaps Christiana had received from her father, its wonder she still had the use of her ears. But, the words that came out of her father’s mouth surprised both Christiana and her mother.

  “I was waiting for you to finish shouting, so the girl can have a chance to tell us why she did not return home with us.” Daniel answered his wife, his voice was thick and gruffly. That shut Janet up and she finally sat down and slowed her breathing.

  “Now, tell us where you went. And do not try to lie; you know I will eventually find out the truth.” Daniel said to his daughter. Christiana almost scoffed, as if she had ever told them a lie. But, they chose to believe what they wanted.

  “I went to see the Pastor David” she answered

  “Why?” Daniel asked. His voice had taken up a sceptical tone, the one he used every time he interrogated his daughter.

  “He sent the choir mistress to me that he wanted to see me immediately after the service. I wanted to tell you before I left, but you were both engaged in a conversation with Mummy Bisi. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I went to see the pastor. By the time I came out, you both had left.”

  “So what did the Pastor say?” Janet asked in more relaxed tone.

  “He said he saw a dark cloud over my head and that I need deliverance. He also said that the recent misfortune in our family is because of the dark cloud. He gave me an address of where to meet him and the prayer warriors for the deliverance, tomorrow evening. He told me to tell you that if you have any questions, you should come and see him before tomorrow evening, delay is dangerous. He added that other girls like me who need deliverance will also be there.”

  “I knew it!” Janet exclaimed, and almost jumped out of her seat. “I knew all this misfortune was not natural. Although we were not rich, we were comfortable, now we are as poor as church rats, living in a place with unbearable heat.”

  “Stop shouting Woman!” Daniel cautioned his wife, he would not have her blame their daughter for his own mistakes.

  “So you are the cause of our misfortune, you have to go for that deliverance. So that we can leave this place, maybe if you go we will even be richer than we were before. Don’t you want to brag to your friends, enh?” Janet continued, ignoring her husband’s warning.

  She did not know the friends her mother spoke of; it was common knowledge that she did not have any friends. All the same, she nodded in agreement. She hated where they lived and wanted to go back to Lagos. But, she doubted if deliverance was the solution to their problem. It was not that she did not believe in miracles; something was just not right with the pastor. But as usual, her opinion never mattered. So, she kept quiet.

  Daniel cleared his throat and gained everyone’s attention. “Nobody is going anywhere for any deliverance. I want you to come home directly from school, like you always do. If you go anywhere else, you’ll have yourself to blame. And next time, tell me or your mother before you go anywhere. Now get up and go to your room.”

  “Yes sir, thank you sir” Christiana said as she got up from her knees, she could not wait to graduate from secondary school and enter the university. Only then, will she be free from their over- protectiveness.

  “What do you mean by ‘no one’ is going for deliverance?” Janet asked her husband as soon as Christiana left the sitting room.

  “It means exactly what you think it means. I’m hungry please get me something to eat.” He replied, dismissing her.

  Janet shook her head as she got up “I wonder what made me marry you” she said, as she made her way to the kitchen. “Christiana, come and help me in the kitchen.” She called, just before she entered the kitchen.

  Daniel shook his head. If only they knew that it was his greed that had led them into the mess they were in. If he had revealed the discrepancies he saw instead of trying to exploit it, he would have been promoted and not demoted. He was lucky they did not fire him. If anyone needed deliverance, it was him. It was time to change his church; he didn’t like the Pastor in the first place.

  ********

  Yusuf jumped on his mother’s back; she almost fell into the fire she was blowing. “Walahi, this child will not kill me. Can’t you see I’m trying to make dinner?” She scolded him, when she regained her posture.

  “Just look at how dirty you are, you have gone to play ball again.” She said and Yusuf nodded cheerfully. He wanted to be a footballer, but his mother will not hear of it. She wanted him to be a medical doctor, lawyer or even an engineer; but, not a footballer. She never understood the game and it irritated her that full grown men ran aimlessly after a ball. Yusuf was he
r only child and she would not let him take up an aimless profession.

  “Instead of you to stay indoors and practice your English lessons or even your Arabic lessons, you were out playing football.” She continued.

  “I’m sorry mom” Yusuf apologised, still smiling. He never took his mother’s scolding seriously.

  “Don’t speak English to me; you know I don’t understand it.” Aisha scolded her son again.

  Yusuf did not understand how he was supposed to practice English when there was no one to speak it with. His mother was a complete illiterate, who thought that anyone who was not a lawyer or a doctor was a nobody. And his father who at least attended primary school and spoke little English was rarely at home. Although he was only ten, he knew what he wanted, and it was not to become a lawyer or doctor. He wanted to travel the world and see other places and he knew football would help him achieve that and also bring a lot of money. He would take his mother along with him when he travelled and she would be proud of him.

  “Where is father?” he asked in Hausa, his father was never late, and it was almost time for ‘mahgrib’, the evening prayer.

  “Your father will be coming home late as from today, he has gotten a job as a security guard in one of those new companies. Now go and shower, you stink. Don’t ruin the aroma of my food.”

  Yusuf nodded and smiled before he ran off to do as his mother asked.

 

  CHAPTER TWO

  Christiana must have fallen asleep when she came back from school, because when she opened her eyes her mother was glaring down at her.

  “What do you think you are doing?”

  Christiana sat up, her mother was definitely angry; she could hear it in her voice. But, why she was angry, Christiana did not know. She seemed fine few minutes ago when she came back from school.

  “I’m sorry I fell asleep,” Christiana apologised as she got up from the bed, even though she did not know if that was the reason for her mother’s annoyance.

  “Have you forgotten you have somewhere to go?” Her mother asked, her tone still implied anger. Christiana was confused for few seconds before she remembered what her mother was talking about. “But daddy said I should not go, he…”

  “Your father is not home now, I want you to go and meet the pastor at the place for the deliverance. Do you still have the address?”

  “Yes ma, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. Daddy said I should not go anywhere.” Christiana protested.

  “What does your father know, did he carry you for nine months or did he go through ten hours of labour to have you? No he didn’t. So, he cannot understand what a child means to a mother. The Pastor said there is a dark cloud over your head and I don’t want you to be in danger, I want you to be delivered so you can live long and have a peaceful life. Your father is too proud to understand all these, only a mother can understand.” Her mother tried to convince, more like blackmail her to go for the damned deliverance. Christiana agreed to go and see the pastor, not because of the passionate lecture she had just received, but because if she refused she would never hear the end of it. She had one more year in secondary school; she had already started going through the lists of universities that would take her far away from home. Until then, she would try her best not to be on her mother’s bad side.

  “Good girl! Now take off your uniform and change into appropriate clothes. When you are done, come and meet in the kitchen to collect transport fare. But, make sure you are back before your father returns.” With that, her mother left her standing alone in her room, wondering what kind of deliverance takes place at 4PM, Monday evening without your parents.

 

  ******

  Christiana looked at her wristwatch, it was almost 7PM and she was yet to locate the big house the pastor had described. But, the description on the paper in her hands and the guard at the new leather factory told her she was on the right path. Why couldn’t they do the deliverance on the church premises, why did she had to come this far? But then, she had heard that demons sometimes entered the bodies of other people around after they have been driven out. It was all a waste of time, because there was no demon living in her. She was only doing it to avoid her mother’s wrath, but if she did not find the place soon, she would turn back; mother’s wrath or not.

 

  ******

  David paced restlessly in the large sitting room, he'd been waiting for her since 4PM it was almost 7PM and she had not arrived yet. Maybe she would not come; maybe she had seen through his scheme, she seemed like a very smart girl. He did not like smart girls, they always gave him trouble. But, there was something about this girl, he had to have her and deal with the consequences later. She was not his first and she definitely won’t be his last. If she doesn't show up, he would go over to her house and spew some more lies; members of his congregation were gullible people. He got up to get his car keys and make the journey to her house, when the bell rang.

 

  ******

  She had walked for another five minutes before she found the giant white mansion just standing by the street. The feeling that it was all wrong came again, as she stood in front of the large gate about to press the bell. Why did she have to come this far for the deliverance, why were her parents not invited? She wanted to turn back, but she remembered her mother’s silent warning. She could tell her she did not find the place or that no one was there. But, she was a terrible liar and would be found out immediately. She took a deep breath and pressed the bell, she waited a few seconds and when there was no answer, she was relieved. She would tell her mother there was no one there, although, her mother would still find a way to blame her. She had just turned back, when the big gate opened.

  “Were you leaving?” David asked, with the hope that he won’t have to drag her inside.

  “Yes sir, I thought there was no one here.” Christiana answered as she slowly turned to face the very petite pastor, all hopes of avoiding the deliverance drowned. David smiled and got into character. “The devil has different ways of stopping our destiny. Come inside it’s already dark.”

  Christiana nodded and smiled even though she did not understand the connection between the devil and her. She entered the compound and it was larger than she thought and well illuminated. She wondered just how big the generator that powered such a mansion was. Then it hit her that everywhere was too quiet. “Where are the prayer warriors and the other girls?” She asked.

  “They are waiting for you inside. They have been waiting for you since; you know we cannot start the deliverance if the girls are not complete.

  The doubt in Christiana’s mind was stronger than ever now, and it took all her strength not to turn and run. Besides, she was already there and it was dark. Her father might be home already, whether she stayed or left, she would be punished. When they entered the mansion, she was not surprised about how large the sitting room was or the beautiful staircase that led to a series of rooms was either. But, what surprised her was that the house was as quiet and empty as it had been outside, there were no prayer warriors! Now she had to turn and run, but it was too late. She heard the click sound of the door being locked.

  “What are you doing?” She asked as she stared into the pastor’s very yellow and devious face. She did not know what he intended to do with her, but whatever it was it was not good. Her whole body shook and she looked around for somewhere to hide but there was nowhere to run to. She should have turned back when she had the chance.

 


  ******

  Janet paced their small sitting room, it was almost 10PM and Christiana was not back. Had she done the right thing in letting her go? Now that she thought about it, what kind of deliverance took outside the church premises? Christiana did not even own a cell phone; there was no way to reach her. She did not even know the place her daughter went to. She would teach the girl a lesson if her husband came home before her. She sat for a minute and stood up again, deliverance takes sometimes takes days or months. Maybe that’s why she wasn’t home yet. She should have asked for the address, what kind of mother was she?

  A knock on the door brought her back from her thoughts and she heaved a sigh of relief. She had been wrong after all, she took a deep breath and strode to door and opened it, ready to see the newly delivered Christiana. But to her dismay, her tired husband in his oversized shirt and loosened tie was the one at the door.

  “What took you so long to open the door?” he asked as he brushed past her into the house.

  “Why didn’t you open it with your key?” Janet asked instead of answering his question.

  Daniel sunk into one of the chairs had pulled out the already loose tie around his neck.

  “I left my keys at home” he answered. “What’s with all these questions? The important thing is that I’m home and I’m hungry.” Daniel added, oblivious to his wife’s nervousness.