SHADOW OF THE PAST

26 Olanrewaju's Disappearance

---

The hefty man gave Tomisin the greatest beating of her life. He was wiping her with the strong thick cane at any part of her body, and the last stroke, he hit her on her head and it caused her to collapse. Once he was done with the beating, he fled.

••• ••• ••• ••• 
Tomisin opened her eyes slowly and the bright morning sun coming from a window shone on her face. She squinted and noticed she was in a different environment. She was hoping to wake up in the bush where she was been beaten by the hefty man, but here she was, somewhere that looked like a hospital.

The door to the ward she was flung opened, and an elderly woman of fifty-something years stepped in smiling.

Tomisin weakly managed to sit up and greeted the woman who was heading in her direction. The woman responded to her greetings with a smile.

The woman had rescued Tomisin from the lonely path the following day. She was heading for a church program she was invited to when her car suddenly broke down by the road that leads to the lonely path, she had called her mechanic who had promised to come over as soon as possible. While she was waiting for her mechanic's arrival, she was pressed, so she had to leave the road and head straight towards where Tomisin lay lifeless on the floor. At first, she was shocked to see a body on the floor and wanted to flee. But, she stopped and was pushed in her spirit to help the poor lady. She saw bruises all over her body and house flies were perching on the wounds over her body. She checked for her breathing and noticed she was still breathing. So, she felt the urge in her spirit to rescue her. She took her down to the hospital where she received treatment. She didn't wake up that day, but the next after receiving treatment.

“How are you feeling now?” the woman asked and Tomisin replied that she was now feeling fine. “Glory be to God in the highest. I was so shocked when I saw you in that state. I thought you were dead and wanted to flee, but something stopped me from moving away from you and leaving you there. But, how come you had bruises on your body? How did you end up in that state and on that lonely path? Were you tortured and attacked by kidnappers?” she asked

Tomisin gave a bitter smile as she remembered how she had signed the divorce papers years back, and how her car was hit by a fast-moving truck which made her have a car crash and resulted in her losing her memory. Zoe's plan of torturing her helped her regain her memory. It was the last stroke of the strong thick cane that brought back the memories she had lost.

She explained to the woman that it was her husband's crush, that brought her to that place and asked a hefty man to treat her fuck up, which resulted in the beating and how she had fainted by the last stroke of the cane that had hit her head.

“The so-called lady is such a heartless person. She did this to you just because of a man? She needs to be arrested for abuse.”

“Ma, I don't need to arrest her. I will teach her a lesson by dealing with her the hard way. I will make life so miserable for her. I will let her know that the old Tomisin is back and alive.” she said determinedly. Her words sounded just like that of the old Tomisin who had come back to reality after so many years of suffering from amnesia.

The woman was shocked at Tomisin's response. She shook her head for some seconds.

“What's your name?” she finally asked after keeping mute for seconds.

“My name is Oluwatomisin Odetola,” she replied bluntly without knowing the woman's intention for asking her name.

“Such a beautiful name for a beautiful soul.” the woman praised and Tomisin smiled. The woman reached for a chair and sat next to Tomisin's bed. “I can see through your name that you are from a Christian home. I don't need to ask if you are Christian or not. Because how you responded pushed me to ask what your name was. The Bible says in Matthew 5 verses 38 to 39, ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite there on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.’ Even though you may feel justified in taking revenge, doing so goes against the Bible's counsel:” Tomisin shook her head in dismissal concerning that Bible verse. It was obvious it doesn't go well with her. The woman noticed and she smiled as she continued... “‘Do not say: ‘I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will get even with him.’ Proverbs 24 verse 29. You see my dear sister, the Bible contains advice that has helped many overcome a desire for revenge. If someone offends you or harms you, it is natural to feel angry and to want the other person to be punished for what he or she did. However, taking personal revenge is not in harmony with the Bible's message. When humans seek their revenge, it displeases God. In the Bible, God says: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ The Bible encourages those who have been wronged to seek peaceful ways to resolve matters when possible instead of pursuing revenge….”