THE BASTARD

EPISODE 11

WRITTEN BY: LIZZY OYEBOLA YAKUBU

 

(CLICK HERE FOR EPISODE 10)

 

My husband looked into my eyes in a way he had never done before. 

 

He looked bolder- his eyes set and straight!

 

He looked angry- his eyeballs seemed to spark fierily. 

 

“My darling wife, we have been negligent enough! We have been indecisive enough! Enough is enough!” He thundered, his voice echoing sonorously in my ears. 

 

“Grace is our daughter! Our only daughter! That is right but she cannot kill us! No, she cannot!” He repeated again. I sighed, cushioning my chin with my palm. 

 

“C’mon, you didn’t kill your own parents, my wife. They died very peacefully and healthy at the ages of 90 and 95 respectively. The same thing with my own parents. My mum died at 101 and my dad died at 80. They were healthy and strong. We did not kill them!” He said again and I nodded in agreement. I was really speechless. My husband was not the one to speak the whole words in his heart. He would either keep them in or pour them out to God in prayers. 

 

Immediately I told him about my experience with Dr. Zee, he was so mad in the spirit that he went into our hospital room and went on his knees. 

 

He was on his knees for approximately three hours before standing up at me to start talking confidently. 

 

I was awed!

 

“See, my wife, enough is enough! We are children of God and the devil cannot use our child to terrorize us! Ah ah, why would we fear our own child? Why? Oh my God, my queen, you needed to see what God showed me briefly as I prayed and looked at the Scriptures. Ah! The devil has cheated us!”

 

I sat straight and looked into his eyes squarely. I needed to know what the Lord had said about our situation. I needed to!

 

“My wife, I saw a vision today, crystal clear!”

 

“Okay?” I said anxiously. 

 

“You and I were seated on a bench, holding each other and praying for each other. We were obviously happy together.”

 

“Alright?”

 

“Then, Grace walked towards us and we rushed at her and we both held her in our arms. Soon, we were three on the bench, still loving and praying for one another.”

 

“Okay sir”

 

“Just then, Grace grew up so big! Then, she started to slap you. As I tried to stop her, she was kicking me.”

 

“Oh my God!”  I exclaimed, holding my chest. 

 

“We were sad. We wept and wept but Grace wouldn’t stop beating us.” 

 

“Hmmmm…Messiah!” I exclaimed, sighing deeply. 

 

“Just then, after we had been so afraid of Grace, I looked into Grace’s eyes and I saw her weeping. She was saying ‘It isn’t me beating you dad. It isn’t me. Can’t you see?’”

 

“Whaaaaat!!!” I exclaimed, my heart thumping heavily. 

 

“Just then, my wife, I stood up to look behind the bench that we had been seated on. Lo and behold, dear, I saw an army!”

 

“Oh my goodness!” I exclaimed, covering my mouth in shock. 

 

“They were shooting arrows at our bench but none could reach me. None could reach you. All the arrows kept penetrating into Grace’s back! The pain of those penetrations made her beat us and put us in bondage!” He explained and I was alarmed. 

 

“Impossible! Impossible, sweetheart, oh my God!” I exclaimed as tears laced my eyes. 

 

“Then, Dr. Zee came, running to us. She hugged Grace and the arrows that penetrated from Grace’s back to her chest, penetrated into Dr. Zee’s chest as well. They bled together and for the first time in a long time, we saw Grace smile”

 

“Hmmm…hmmmm…Oh Lord!” I exclaimed, lacking the words to expressing my feelings. 

 

“Just then, one of those soldiers threw a small arrow. It was very small but it targeted Grace’s head. It hit her and she wailed. She jumped up and started to scream, slapping everyone in view. She looked really insane!” 

 

“Ah, no wonder! Ah, no wonder!” I wept, slapping my thighs at the realization that we had been in the dark and ignorance!

 

Oh Lord!

 

“Then, I spoke to one of them to leave my daughter in the Name of Jesus. He said he would destroy our daughter…”

 

“God forbid!”

 

“He said we cannot win on all sides! He said we have sponsored so many missionaries all over the world, liberating their captives. He said that our radio and TV ministries have smote and hindered their operations. He said they wouldn’t back down till our own operations and ministries are destroyed”

 

“Oh no! Lord Jesus, no way!” I exclaimed, tying my scarf around my waist and jumping up. 

 

“He said Grace is our only eye and that he would destroy the eyes!”

 

“No, in the Name of Jesus, no way!” 

 

“Then, a man in white came to me. He smiled at my sad and weary face and he hugged me. As he did, I fainted flat on the floor.”

 

“Ah, Oluwa o” I exclaimed, pacing to and fro the room in apprehension. 

 

“Then, he touched my hands. He ran his finger all over my body. From my head to my toes. Then, I woke up and I was strong!”

 

“Halleluyah! Hallelujah oooo, Baba mi loke! Ah!” 

 

“Then, he said, ‘Touch your wife too so you can deliver your daughter. Throw the arrows back at the sender’ He said.”

 

“Ah, the man in white! The Holy Spirit! Thank You! Thank You!”

 

“Then, he said ‘Ephesians 6:10-13’ and I woke up.”

 

“Ah, you didn’t touch me in the vision? We didn’t deliver our daughter and throw the arrows at the enemies in the vision?” I asked, quite agitated. 

 

“That is actually what we have to do now! That is what we have to do now!”

 

I walked to him and knelt down. 

 

“Oya, touch me, my husband. Don’t allow it to be cold, please” I said hastily, my heart thumping. 

 

My husband held my shoulder and smiled into my face. He looked so bright and radiant as if he had become younger than he was the last time I saw him. 

 

“I will still do that, dear. But now, let me tell you what I saw in Ephesians 6” He said and I nodded, still on my knees. He brought his large Bible close and started to read. 

 

“I am reading the Goodnews Translation”

 

“Okay, hon!” I replied, finally standing up to sit beside him. 

 

Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks. 

 

For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God’s armor now! 

 

Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.

 

“Hmmmmmm…..deep words! Wow, oh my God!” I exclaimed and he looked into my face. 

 

“What do you see in those verses?” 

 

“Ah, many things o, my husband. I saw that we cannot do anything by our own might! That we need the strength of God to do whatever we are to do and we need to get the armour of God, His weapons so that we….” I was saying when he cut in. 

 

“My dear, sorry to cut in. Please, let me read verse 10 and 11 in the Message translation version for you to see” He said, drawing a small Bible close to himself.

 

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and He wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way.

 

“Oh my goodness! Oh my Saviour!” I exclaimed, holding my chest in exasperation. I had never seen that verse that way before. 

 

“My wife, God is strong and He wants us to be strong! He is ready to pour out His strength into us! But how do we get that strength? By taking everything He has provided for us! He is a Man of War and he has provided us with weapons, the best ones to fight with!”

 

“Hmmmmmm, Jesus, my Lord!”

 

“If we are strong like that every time, He is saying that when the enemy comes with his own fight, he would be met squarely by the ones who bear the strength of the Lord in them!” He exclaimed and I picked his hand and squeezed it. 

 

“Ah! Ah! Ah! Hmmmmm…!”

 

“Now, look at the next verse in this Goodness Translation.”

 

For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God’s armor now! 

 

“The Lord is telling you and I that we have enemies indeed but our enemy is not Grace, our dear daughter. It is not Loopside Medicals, our biggest medical competitor! No! Those are not our enemies. Those are not even the ones who want to pull us down. The devil hides behind them and makes them act! Then, we think we know who our enemies are. Then, we keep asking God to change Grace and to make our enemies love us when in reality, the one who are our enemies indeed are in hiding!” 

 

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” I exclaimed, placing my hands on my head. 

 

“My dear, we will look at the weapons during our devotion but let me show you something we just must do to make the strength of God visible in our lives so much that the enemies in hiding will be defeated!” 

 

“Okay, sir. Show me, please” I said, the adrenaline rush in me becoming more intense. 

 

“I will read the last end of Ephesians 6:17 and then 18. I will read the MSG version”

 

God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

 

“Hmmmmm….the solution is before us, oko mi! Hmmm, God of mercy!”

 

“Honey, we have to marry the Scriptures more than ever before and then,  we have to soak ourselves and our brothers and sisters in prayers so that none of us will fall behind or drop out!” 

 

“Ameeeeen, my husband oooo. Amen!”

 

“So now, shall we pray?” 

 

“Ah, more than ever before”

 

“I will lay my hands upon you now as the Spirit of the Lord instructed me. Thereafter, we will launch out in war for the soul, spirit and body of our daughter. Then, we will pray for Dr. Zee as well. Shall we?”

 

“Yes o!” I said, going right on my knees before him. He joined me on his knees also and we had the most fiery prayer session of our lives! 

 

We prayed for hours to the extent that we didn’t know when we slept on each other on the polished floor, totally exhausted. 

 

It was the doorbell that woke me up. I opened my eyes to see us over each other. My husband was sleeping beautifully like a child. I pecked him and jumped up to move to the door. 

 

I checked the monitor on the door and realized it was Grace’s personal Indian doctor that was at the door. I quickly pressed the door phone and held the receiver to my ears. 

 

“Dr. Yash, good evening!”

 

“Good evening, professor!” He replied. He was one of the best students our medical college had ever produced. I was one of his lecturers and since I was a consultant, many of them called me professor, including him. 

 

“Yes. How can I help you? Is Grace alright?” 

 

“In actual fact, prof, her heart rate is becoming normalized. And she is now calmer, asking for folic acid. She even asked to see the recent scan of her baby” He said and I smiled at my husband who had woken up and had walked to my side. 

 

“Thank You Lord Jesus! Wow!” I said, quite dumbfounded. I didn’t know that prayers could walk that fast. 

 

“And finally prof, she’s been clamouring for you and Doc. She says she wants to see you” 

 

My eyes widened as my husband pulled me into an embrace. 

 

 

“Grace wants to see us?” I asked to be sure. 

 

“Yes ma. In actual fact, she’s been clamouring for it. She said she had called you severally but that you didn’t pick up.”

 

“Oh my goodness! Dr. Yash, thank you so dearly. We will freshen up quickly and be in her unit almost immediately”

 

“Alright, my prof!” He said. 

 

I hung the receiver and hugged my husband tightly. 

 

“For this God, is our God, forever and ever, He will be, our Guide, from now, even unto the end” I sang all through the time we spent in the bathroom. 

 

After having a warm, romantic, song-filled bath, we changed into our evening outfits and took some hot coffee. 

 

“You said Dr. Zee gave you a flash disk, right?” My husband asked as we were about setting out. 

 

“Yes, she did. I should bring it along?” I asked and he nodded. 

 

The door opened just then and our Jamaican driver, Edward walked in with a big paper bag. 

 

“Oh my, do you know that I almost forgot that I sent you to get some things?” My husband said with a smile. 

 

“Good evening sir. Good evening mama” He greeted. My husband and I answered in unison.

 

Immediately Edward left, I picked up the paper bag and started to check. 

 

There was a small flower vase containing well arranged daffodils, sunflowers and gerbera daisies. I looked up at my husband and smiled 

 

“You are so romantic. This would even heal her faster” I said and he laughed loudly. 

 

“I know. That was why I chose healing fresh flowers for her. I would put it on her bedside so that the scent will chase away every pain” He said and I pecked his cheek. 

 

There was also a bowl of ice-cream and an electric lavender oil diffuser. 

 

“Wow, this is huge. She will love them.” I said and dropped the flash disk in the bag as well. “Will this flash disk, the whole package is complete. Shall we go now?” I asked, carrying the bag in one hand. 

 

My husband held my other hand and prayed for another minute before we finally set out. 

 

—————————————————

Grace gave us a very wide smile as we entered. My heart melt for joy as I squeezed my husband’s hand excitedly. 

 

“See who we have here” She said, her beautiful smile lightening up the whole room. I dropped the paper bag on the table and ran to her side. I hugged her tightly. 

 

“Dad, come hug me. Aren’t you happy to see me alive? I am alive for you” She said and my husband smiled largely as she drew him into a large embrace.

 

I brought out the flower vase and placed it on the small desk beside her. 

 

I hung the lavender oil diffuser on the wall and plugged the flash drive to the TV. 

 

Afterwards, I walked to her bedside with the bowl of ice-cream. 

 

“Wow, I am sure it was daddy that got me all of these” She said as she took the ice-cream bowl from me. 

 

“What do you mean?” I teased at her with a knowing smile. 

 

“My momma, bringing a diffuser and a flower vase and ice-cream? Hahaha…You would rather bring a shawl and a book and a cardigan. I know you well, momma. You need to be more romantic” She joked and we laughed. 

 

“If my husband is romantic, that means I am romantic too. And if I am not romantic, it means my husband is not romantic as well. That is marriage o” I explained and she burst out laughing. 

 

“Must you always use your brain on me? We know you are a first class medicine graduate, mum. Thank you for reminding us” Grace said and my husband and I burst out laughing. 

 

“You just reminded me sef. I don forget” I said and we laughed again. She was almost opening the bowl of her ice-cream when she looked up at me. 

 

“That reminds me. I had a terrible dream today about my mentor” She said and I nodded. 

 

“Who is that?”

 

“Dr. Zee” She said and my husband and I exchanged a knowing look. 

 

“What dream?” My husband asked. 

 

“That she came all the way to Los Angeles to see me and I disrespected her. I even threw my pillow at her and called her so many names” She said and I sighed. 

 

“Hmmm…that was not a dream, baby girl” My husband said, calmly. 

 

“What!” She looked so shocked. “I knew it! I knew it looked too real to be a dream! Oh my goodness! I really treated her that bad? What should I do? She really came over to California to see me?” She asked, tears rushing to her eyes. 

 

“Yes and she has left for Nigeria.” I said. 

 

“She was so hurt” My husband added. 

 

“Oh my goodness! Oh my Saviour! What do I do? How do I reach her? Can we go to Nigeria now?” She asked, pushing the bowl of ice-cream apart. 

 

“You still need to stay here for a few weeks. You might not be able to see her now” I said.

 

“Oh my goodness, mum! I need to see her. I need to call her. I am so sorry. I was probably off my senses when it all happened. I am so sorry” She said, starting to cry. 

 

“Don’t beat yourself too much, my princess” My husband started, holding her hand. “Dr. Zee is a woman of God. We will call her and you will beg her for forgiveness” 

 

“Okay, dad. I will” She said, wiping her tears. 

 

“And she dropped a flash disk containing Blossom’s story here with us. I have plugged it to the TV so that you can use the remote control to play it, pause it or stop it as the case may be” I said and she looked so excited. 

 

“Seriously? Wow! That is so beautiful of her! Wow!” She exclaimed, smiling amidst her tears. “I will miss her companionship though. We always listened to the recording together” She added.

 

“Thank God she had to leave. If she didn’t leave, what happened to our family today wouldn’t have happened” I said and she looked shocked, her jaws suspended. 

 

“What happened?”

 

“Revival!” My husband echoed sonorously again and started laughing. 

 

“Seriously?” She asked. “Tell me about it”

 

“We will, but first of all, let us put a call through to Dr. Zee so that you can talk to her” I said as I dialled her number on my phone. 

 

“Now, I am scared. I did so many mean things to her” She said and my husband squeezed her hand. 

 

 

“She loves you, so, do not worry. She even said that when you arrive, you can go see Blossom together” My husband announced and my baby covered her mouth in shock, her eyes widened. 

 

“Daddy, it is a lie!” She exclaimed. 

 

Then, I stretched the phone to her and as she looked into the phone, she burst out weeping. 

 

“My mentor, I am so sorry. My mentor, I was crazy! My mentor, I was sick. Forgive me, forgive me” She wept on and on. 

 

“Hmmmmm….Gracey, you won’t kill me!” We heard Dr. Zee’s voice. 

 

“I am so sorry ma” Grace replied again. 

 

“Hmmmm….Gracey! Ah, is this really you?” Dr. Zee exclaimed again, sniffing as she did. 

 

Grace broke down in tears as she stared steadfastly at the phone she was holding. 

 

CLICK HERE FOR EPISODE 12

 

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