STING

CHAPTER 11 [LAMB OF GOD]

FRIDAY, 6 DAYS AFTER THE ASSASSINATION

"He shot three times, of which one bullet penetrated my unbuilt arm. There was no mercy, no grace... I knelt alone in the pool of my own blood reciting the apostle's creed and not even begging for my own life. He did not care that I was a reverend minister, that I had a church, family and the city of Tema that directly and indirectly depended on me. Auntie Mercy, a very good friend I had never seen until that fateful day lay on the terrazzo tiles crying and pleading for my life, yet this short dark man did not flinch. My sight began to get blurry and all I could see were Angels walking before me playing the accordion in a sweet tone. Was I hallucinating? Well I have no idea... but in a split second the music seized and..."

17 HOURS AGO

It was a very solemn dawn. The morning dew kissed the surface of the garden petals, the rays of the sun were peeping through the clouds and the city of Tema slowly began preparation for the rising sun. Most Reverend Denu was a charismatic church minister and also preacher at SUN UP RADIO in Tema and had just parked his new Mercedes Benz under a tree, making his final notes before moving into the studio. Everyone was happy to see him except the "morning show crew" who were also preparing to get on air right after his morning devotion show had ended. Paa Kwesi, the radio show anchor always says his presence reminded them that they had almost no time before their presentation. Reverend could only care less. He was happy that at least he did not have to go through strenuous means to get prepped for his show, he only needed to hear from the Lord.

He started the show and after 45 minutes he had to begin rounding up. He opened the phone lines and allowed callers share testimonies. The producer of the show aided him in handling it until as usual and he enjoyed the way the people of Tema and its environs woke up just to give thanks to God. It was not until his regular caller, Auntie Mercy called to share a very strange testimony. She had just found a hundred thousand cedis in her living room after returning from a prayer retreat at The Atwea Mountains, so she called to tell the people of Tema of how good God had been to her.

"His heart skipped a beat. No wait! A hundred thousand beats."

Ayitey his producer was stunned; he could not move another inch, and Rev Denu had to quickly unfreeze him to end the show.

Rev Denu was taken aback. Not that He did not believe in miracles, but his mind was not comprehending that story. He sat in his car, strapped on his seat belt and drove straight to his cathedral. He sat on one pew, one with side adjacent to a pillar and he began to pray. He had this feeling that all was not well.

By noon, his wife brought him lunch as usual, but did not share with her what was on his mind. Nana always brings his wife with a taxi to come deliver lunch. She is the most beautiful creature he have ever seen in my life; thanks to her his daughter was as charming.

"His eyes dilated anytime he sets eyes on her especially when she leaves her beautiful black hair down to flow over her shoulders like one fountain described in the New Testament."

Unfortunately, she could not see his eyes, but he could see hers. Pokuaa was blind, blind from birth. The colour she expresses through her mind through to her hands was incredible. Except his complexion, her ability to describe him physically was impeccable. It seemed as if she had seen him and sometimes for a second, he began to doubt her blindness. She was a gift from God himself. Her inability to see gives her the extraordinary gift of hearing sounds as low as whispers and her ability to read emotions through sounds is amazing. He loved her. He really did.

He married Pokuaa when she was 25 and He was about 40. The connection they had was a special one. They always looked forward to seeing each other, I mean meeting each other. Even after 27 years of marriage, it seems as if they had just met. They talked about everything, I mean everything. She held his hand tightly and laid her head on his chest during every conversation. She did it affectionately to give the impression that she was so in love, but he knew that was her mechanism to read him; his aura, his countenance.