Lightning and Thunder

4

𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑

EPISODE 4 (JUDITH'S POV)

"I can't, Lord," I cried, banging my hand on the tiled floor until it started to hurt. "I can't. This is terrible timing. What will Nisha think?"

I had been praying that Nisha would get miraculously healed. It had become my weekly routine. Nisha was slipping more and more into despair but I wasn't going to let her go, not under my watch.

However, what God dropped like a bomb in my heart tonight, what he was asking me to do, would be interpreted as nothing short of betrayal.
I had thought that chapter was closed for good. Why was God doing this to me?

My heart clenched as I recalled all the revelations I'd received way back in the past that pointed to the fact that Austin was the ordained man that God had prepared for me.
Things almost went haywire inside me when Austin proposed to Nisha.

Of course, none of them was aware of my inner turmoil. I made sure of that, smiling and squealing with enthusiasm at the appropriate moments.
But inside, I was deflated.
Had I been wrong?
Had I been fantasizing about him because he was the picture-perfect dream man of every Christian girl within a 100-mile radius?

The decision to let him go was difficult, especially since Nisha and I live together and I had to endure their constant oppression whenever he came over, but I had to. I loved Nisha and Austin too much to break their hearts. Plus, they seemed so sure of each other and had great convictions to back up their union. So, I cancelled all my dreams about Austin and didn't let my disappointment show.

Now, what I heard the Holy Spirit telling me was ludicrous.
'Go back to get your man? '
What man?
It was like the episode of Abraham sacrificing Isaac and then God giving Abraham Isaac back. Only that, I was now scared of getting my Isaac back.

My phone rang but I ignored it. It continued incessantly until it got annoying. I should have put it in DND mode. Slightly pissed, I wiped my tears and checked my phone.

It was Austin. Oh great, perfect timing.
I frowned. Why was he calling me? And at this ungodly hour!

"Judith, where are you?" he asked, his voice very heavy with panic.

I swallowed the lump of fear that had suddenly risen in my throat.

"What is it?"

"Is Nisha with you?"

I looked at the time. 3:25 am.
"No, I left the house earlier and went to church for a vigil."

I heard him mutter something I didn't pick. He sounded like he was driving.
"Look, Judith, Nisha sent me a suicide note, on WhatsApp. I went over to your place immediately but she wasn't there, neither were you."

Oh no! I shouldn't have left her. I should have seen the signs. What kind of a friend was I?

"Oh, God, please. Nisha, no, no!" I muttered, packing my bible and shoving it into my tote bag as I hurried out of the church building.

"You're at church, right? I'm coming over right now!" Austin said.

"No, no, we might be too late. I know where she might be. You go ahead to the Roki beach. I'll meet you there."

"There's no way you'll get a cab to transport you at this hour. I'm coming to pick you up," he said in a clipped tone.

Before I could protest, he had cut off the line.

I ran out of the church gate after giving a quick explanation to the church guard that I had an emergency to attend to.

I walked on the lone street to the nearest streetlight.

"Oh, God," I prayed as I allowed tears to fall. "Don't let Nisha do anything stupid. Stop her before it's too late."
The rest of my prayers were jumbled pleadings mixed with a desperate cry in tongues.

When the headlights of Austin's sleek Accord entered my eyes a few minutes later, I almost sighed in relief.

I jumped in, buckled my belt and urged him to drive as fast as he could to the beach. Since it was night and there was no traffic, we would get there in 15 minutes max.

After a brief moment of driving, Austin gave me his phone, his grave face ever-focused on the road.

Nisha's message. Her number was saved as "Loml" on his phone. I tried not to wince.

I'm sorry. You don't deserve a nuisance like me. I'm supposed to die anyway, so what's the point in delaying any longer? Goodbye.

Why did she send a message to him but not to me? We were practically sisters joined at the hip.

"Did she say anything at all to you to hint at what she planned to do?" Austin finally broke the grave silence.

I shook my head vehemently. "She was slightly upset because her doctor called her this afternoon."

Austin tightened his grip on the steering wheel and stepped on the gas. I could see the slight working of his lips. It dawned on me that he was praying for Nisha.

This was a man who loved to the end. Other men would have abandoned a hopeless case like Nisha.
Nisha was so lucky to have him...

"Don't kill your Isaac to prove a point," I heard the soft voice of the Holy Spirit say in my mind. "I was the one who asked you to sacrifice him to me, now I'm giving him back to you."

Oh geez. Why wasn't God saying anything about Nisha? Why was he distracting me with thoughts of Austin?

I glanced at him in the dim light of the car and it was as though I was seeing him with a halo around him. My heart rate quadrupled. I gulped and looked away.

This was torturous and I just wanted to curl up in my shirt and hide.

~~~
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ:

Okay, so I never planned the twist I see already forming, but HS has once again hijacked this story from me.
Judith is in love with Austin? Oh, bother!
It's all starting to make sense. The reason why The One Who Sees the end from the beginning asked me to title this series "Thunder and Lightning."
I just pray the rest of the prompts that will usher this story to closure will all tie up.
What do you think will happen next? Do you like the story so far? Let me know in the comments section.