ℂ𝕃𝕆𝕊𝔼ℝ 𝕋ℍ𝔸ℕ 𝕐𝕆𝕌 𝕋ℍ𝕀ℕ𝕂

║TWENTY～ SEVEN║

'WHO ARE YOU?' is the absurd name Nicole used to save Ryan's contact. She picked his call after it rang for the second time.
"Good afternoon, Mr Stanfield."
"Good afternoon, Miss Harper. Are you home?"
"Yes?" she was wondering why he would ask her such a question at this time of the day. Being a detective, Nicole read meaning to every word. She was too cautious.
"Um...I am going for bible study this evening and I'd like you to come along with me."
She hum pensively, before answering."Sure."
"I'll be leaving by 4:00pm." he told her.
"Okay. Bye, thanks." she said and hung up.
She looked at the huge purple wall clock hanged on the wall and gaped in surprise.
"Did he say 4:00pm?! This is just 3:45pm!"
She hurried into her closet to change into something pleasant before leaving her house. Ryan was already waiting for her before she came out of her house. She greeted him with a smile and they trekked to church.
"What's the name of your church?" Nicole asked him while they trekked.
"Devar youth fellowship." he responded with a glance at her.
"Oh, only for youth. That means couple, the elderly and children can't attend?"
"They can if they want to. It's a new church."
"I hope I like your church, because I have been to two churches already and I am disappointed."
Ryan chuckled, "Why don't you wait and see."

☬ ☬ ☬

"Good evening, Royal priesthood!" the youth pastor shouted excitedly. He was standing in the middle of the congregation who were seated. The seating arrangement, formed a whorl as the pastor stood in the middle.
"Good evening, Pastor Bassey!" The congregation chorused.
"I welcome you all to today's bible study. God bless you!" he paused for a while to open his bible then proceeded. "I will be talking about God, today. Can somebody shout hallelujah!"
"Hallelujah!" congregation chorused.
"Who is God? How does he look like? Who created him? These are the questions we ask ourselves, isn't it? I want us to open our bible to John 1:1(KJV)-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1(NLT)-In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God." he close his bible and sighed. "You see, God is not an author of confusion, this particular verse of the bible talks about the trinity. First and foremost, what does 'the Word' mean? Jesus is referred to as 'The Word'. That is, Jesus already existed from the beginning and that's the reason we call him the alpha and..."
"Omega!" the congregation chorused.
"This same Jesus was with God and Jesus was God. Don't forget we gave the holy spirit (Holy ghost) Matthew 28:19 says, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. So God the father, Jesus Christ who died for our sins and the holy spirit also known as the comforter who's present here in our midst, make up the trinity. They are three different personalities but they bear the same name- which makes them one, they do things in harmony although they carry out different tasks. I'll talk on their responsibilities in our next bible study. Dearly beloved, don't be deceived..." he sighed. "These three personalities were not created by anyone they have been in existence and are still existing. They do not have life span unlike we humans. How does God look like? Most of us think God is an old man with very big hands and feet." There was an uproar of laughter followed by indistinct chatter.
"Well, that's what I imagined God to look like when I thought and understood as a child." he chuckled and then, opened his bible again and read aloud.
"Revelation 1:12-And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.
1:13-And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14- His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. This was the revelation of John, one of Jesus' disciples. I'll round off now because of our time is far spent though I'd have loved to continue. Well, I urge you to read your bible to know God for who he is. In our next meeting, I'll be answering your questions." he prayed with them and ended the service.

☬ ☬ ☬

Even though it was a Thursday night, the street was dead silent, vehicles sped past them at interval and few pedestrian were found walking on the street and they were walking hurriedly. Both public and private businesses had closed earlier than normal.
"Are you seeing what am seeing?" Ryan said after some minutes of trekking from church.
"I am worried too. I hope the street is safe." Nicole held her shoulder bag tighter than before. She was ready to run incase of impending danger.
"Hello," Ryan called the attention of a young man that had just walked pass them.
"Hey," the man turned around.
"So sorry to bother you but, I noticed the street is unusually calm tonight."
"That's right. There was a bloodbath."
"Bloodbath?" Nicole asked, curious.
"Yes, the female youth in this community came out to protest about the reoccurrence of rape in this community. Unfortunately, there was indiscriminate shooting. We don't know who carried out the shooting, that's why the government imposed curfew. I have to get going. Do you lovebirds live around here? if not, you have to start running." he started jogging "Curfew is from 9pm today till 6am in the morning!" he yelled over his shoulder as he ran off.
Nicole immediately unzipped her bag, rummaging for her phone. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed.
"Is everything alright?" He said, concerned.
"Yeah,... I mean no. I forgot to come with my phone. Oh lord have mercy. I never knew this was going to happen." she panicked.
Ryan gently held her trembling hand, "We will get home safely, do not afraid. God is with us. Imagine what Jesus would have done if he was in our situation. What do you think he will say?" he looked into her eyes longer than he ever had. Nicole vision blurred with tears. She didn't want to cry but she just couldn't help it.
She sniffled, wiping her tears with the back of her palm. "Jesus would have said peace be still."
"That's the spirit!" he exclaimed as he threw his fist in air. "Are you ready for a marathon tonight?" he said stroking his chin.
"Marathon, like seriously?!"
She giggled.
"On your marks,..."
When Nicole saw he was serious about doing a marathon, she had no choice but to play along.
"Set, go!"
For the first time in so many years, Nicole ran and laughed like a child. She thought it was going to be difficult to do but, she enjoyed it as she ran alongside with him. She realised she wasn't bad in road race after all.
As a matter of fact, Nicole believes God works in mysterious ways, especially the strange call from Ryan, inviting her for bible study which eventually provided answers to some of the questions bothering her mind.