CWRC Anthology

UNSHCKLED

© 2022 by Joseph eke Chibueze.

Brought to you by Christian Writers and Readers Club.

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Break time at work.

I was outside the company, eating in one of the restaurants in front of the JB clothing factory with my colleagues, while they were talking and dutifully chatting like the loyal fans they were to their respective clubs. The game that was majorly talked about was the last match between Chelsea and Manchester United that ended 1 nil.

The discussion intensified and was on the verge of turning into a full-blown fight between Will and Matt.

The banter between the duo wasn't unusual though. It seemed as though they couldn't do without arguing about soccer. If I didn't know better, I would have thought and possibly bet my two months' salary that it was their life preserver.

Will and Matt could be very aggressive when it came to matters that concerned football. My problem with them is that they couldn't even play the game.
Matt is a Chelsea fan and Will is a man u fan. Though I'm not a fan of any club, I love listening to football gist. Although if push ever came to shove, I guess I'll be pitching my tent with Chelsea FC. I would rather become a fan of the royal blue than become a red devil with a pitchfork.

The crescendo of their voices and banter was already irritating me and I was trying to ask them to turn it down when a man unceremoniously walked into the restaurant.

No one in the restaurant acknowledged his presence, we were all engrossed with my two colleagues that were making a public spectacle of themselves.

We finally noticed him when he spoke up with a heavily accented baritone voice. "Excuse me, beautiful ladies and gentlemen."

We all looked at ourselves before turning our gazes towards the entrance to see the owner of the baritone voice that had commanded our attention.

I kinda disagree with the way he addressed us though. I admit that there were beautiful ladies but judging from the aggressive banter from the guys in the restaurant, we were anything but gentlemen.

At 5 ft 11, the man was properly dressed with his white long sleeve that was properly talked into his plain trouser. In the three seconds of silence that followed, I also noticed that his belt was new and his shoe was well polished. He was clean-shaven and had low-cut hair. With my sharp eyes of observations that made me notice even the littlest details, I saw the book he carried in his right hand that would have gone unnoticed to any ordinary eye.

"My name is Emmanuel Chigozie, can I talk to you about Jesus?" The man announced out of the blue, taking everyone aback. That is, everyone apart from me suspected his purpose for calling out our attention after seeing the book in his right hand.

It didn't take long for the others to recover and begin pouring out their reactions.

Will. "Sighed!"
Matt. "Chuckle!"
i. "Sniffed!"

"people laughing"
uncontrollably!

But the man continued unabashedly, giving no indication whatsoever that he was hurt by our atrocious behavior.

"I want to tell you about the one who died for your sins, who was nailed on the Cross of carvery for our sin. He is the only way to God, He is the truth and the life you live."

The man paused for a while to take a breath and continued.

"He has promised to give those who believe and accept Him eternal life, that is to say, He'll give you life even if you die you'll still live. What a precious and undying love!"