A Surprise Guest at Valentine I was busy with my friends inside the living room putting final touches on the

tragic love drama to be enacted that afternoon at the school auditorium for that years Valentine Day celebration. Mummys distinct voice was heard as she walked through the gate and the exit door into the living room, heading for the backyard. I refused to look her way as I concentrated on my address to the attentive audience. But, somehow and suddenly everyone started to jump and scampered for safety. I still did not get the reason for all these as my back was turned to mummy. As I turned to greet her into the living room, I suddenly noticed a bent figure right behind my mother, with her face and top covered by a scarf. I also failed to control myself, and moved to safety rather than give mummy a warm embrace back home. Certainly, mummy was embarrassed and clearly disappointed in me and my friends. Never mind them Auntie, just keep following me. She whispered unto the bent lady as she led her to the living apartments at the back of the main building within our compound. After their departure, we gathered ourselves together, bewildered and disturbed as to what my mother could be doing with such a clown and bent figure of a woman. Who was she? Where did she come from? What has she got to do with my mother? Why should she come to our home out of every other place in the whole wide world? I was not impressed or proud of whatever must led my mother to this sort of a woman, and neither were any of my friends. Reminded about the shortage of time for the presentation of our drama, we all quickly went back into the rehearsal. Our drama presentation was well attended and generously applauded. My script and role were the main characters, and I received a lot of ovations from the crowd. It was a great and fun-filled Valentine presentation. Many people that knew me attended with their girl-friends or boyfriends, and highly commended my roles in the drama. Lost in the euphoria of the celebrations and the positive turn-out of our drama presentations, I headed back home in company of school-mates and neighbors, completely forgotten about the case of the bent woman. As I arrived home, mummy was waiting to get the report of how the Valentine celebration went. She was glad it all went agog, and everybody was happy. She then opened up to me about the stranger in our compound. Ms. Kuku was a pretty young woman married to a farmer in a distant village. They had three children a son and two daughters. Three and a half years ago Ms. Kuku was inflicted with a strange illness that made it difficult to stand upright and walk up straight. Her sickness defied medical treatment of all sorts, and her condition kept getting worse till she was eventually left bent, unable to stand up and walk straight any more.

Her husband ran away out of fear and lack of adequate concern, and sent the children to foster homes amongst his relatives. The poor middle-aged woman was left in the village with her fate. As her condition deteriorated, the villagers alerted her parents and siblings who arranged to apply traditional occultist means of treatment upon her. She was subsequently brought to a well-known traditional healer across the road on our street for treatment. Ms. Kuku was with this traditional healer along with other patients for about three years. There was no noticeable improvement in her condition. Nevertheless, her parents and siblings continued with her upkeep, boarding and necessary sacrificial and trado-medical treatment costs. Three weeks ago the traditional healer died, and was buried last week. Other patients were collected by their people, but there was nobody to receive Ms. Kuku. Her parents and siblings believed it was a serious taboo to allow her live with them, so they kept away from her, and stopped paying her any more visits. My great grandfather, Pa Jonathan, was a foremost Christian Yoruba gentleman in his days. Grandfather Emmanuel was a wealthy Anglican community leader and close adviser to the king. He had an encounter with the preachers of the Cherubim & Seraphim Movement of Prophet Moses Orimolade later in his life that he shared his wives and children to his trusted friends and relatives, and embarked on a missionary journey of northern Yoruba lands of Nigeria. He later died on this missionary journey and was buried in the church yard of one of the missions he helped to establish. Dad was privileged to be trained in locomotive transport management and administration by the Americans. While training abroad, he took up the Catholic faith of his mentors and became a devoted Roman Catholic, more catholic than the Pope. He would have been knighted by the Pope had he lived a bit longer than 1975, when he went to rest with The Lord in glory. Myself, and all my brothers and sisters were trained and brought up in the Catholic faith; we attended convent schools under the close tutelage of Jesuit priests and sisters. Antonia, my elder sister traveled to Northern Nigeria, and got born again into an evangelical church movement that sprang up in Nigeria in 1973. Her attempt to introduce the new-found faith into the locality upon her return was rebuffed by the priests and laities of the Catholic faith. She was grossly persecuted and denied friendship, support or employment. But for the prominent role of our late father, she was almost excommunicated from the church and the community. Nevertheless, Anthonia refused to give up her new-found faith. She set up a prayer cell in our home tagged House Caring Fellowship. This group of intra-denominational members meet regularly on Sundays, and some week-days to pray and listen to Bible teachings. While my mother would not discourage my sister from hew new found faith, she remain dedicated to her church activities and religious duties in the Catholic Church, hoping to become a Parish Woman Leader or Leader of the St. Marys Society someday. She was already a respected women leader in the community having her hands in the leading bakery, charcoal bulk sales and farm produce business activities in town. It was in this capacity that the family of the deceased trado-herbalist healer approached her to find a sanctuary for Ms. Kuku most probably she could be delivered and healed of

illness by the evangelical prayer cell meeting in our house. It was rather out of concern and support, and not out of faith, that Mummy stretched out her hand of fellowship of the good Samaritan to Ms. Kuku. Upon her acceptance into the boys quarters of our house, the prayer cells Prayer Warriors, Bible Teachers and Evangelists descended upon her and the compound at regular intervals. Over time, Ms. Kuku, who was a chronic pagan and stark illiterate began to confess her acceptance of the gospel message, openly confessed and repented of her sins and sinfulness, denounced and renounced all her pagan and idolatrous life-styles and practices, and miraculously began reading the bible in the vernacular while confessing Jesus Christ in their congregations. By and by, the radiance of her colour began to blossom and reflect. She was getting healthier by the day while most of her ailments and sicknesses started to give way and abate. Visits by her children and couple of family member became regular. About three months after her fellowship with the prayer group, Ms. Kuku was able to stand erect and walk straight up! She was able to stand up, bend down, and get up! It was a great miracle. Our compound became a Mecca of sort, with people from far and near coming around to witness the bizarre miracle. The prayer cell grew in leaps and bounds with my mother and her children as visible members. Apatch of land was provided them from the family estates leading to the set up and erection of a district church of the evangelical movement. February 14th of the following year witnessed the opening ceremony of that district church which drew prominent members from the orthodox churches, Muslims and pagans unto Christ, with Mummy following the steps of Nicodemus unto Christ without hesitations. What a surprise guest on Valentine!

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stories: They met on Valentine's Day