OPHELIA

Chapter 29: Plots and Theories!

Pastor Man may be my uncle. I blurted, my heart skipped. It can't be possible. I bit my lip. My parents were never against God and they told me we had no other relations and they were the only children of their parents...They could have lied but a picture doesn't prove anything. Pastor Man couldn't have known that I was his niece could he? If he knows, he has no reason to hide it from me.

I drowned in the flood of plots and baseless theories. I was eager to live in a fool's paradise. We obviously had no family ties-they may have been school mates, nothing more. I held my hand over my chest. My eyes steadied on their faces-they had the same straight nose and pointed ears, the same skin tone and hair line, I stroked the picture hoping to harness some type of texture that would give me clarity but its smoothness drove me cunningly nuts. I wanted answers and I wanted them now.

My heart was beating so fast it began to hurt. Calm down Ophelia. I took deep breaths that solved nothing. I placed the picture on a box and swiftly scavenged other pages of the dairy for more evidence. Another picture, a writing, a secret code or just something that added more meaning to the picture. It seemed to fine evidence I had to read the dairy thoroughly. If I could just do that in one swoop and not have to undergo the torture of suspense.

My shaky hands put the picture back in the book. For the most part of my being, it was a false alarm. I also could have asked Pastor Man but I would get into trouble for reading his diary. Heaven played a prank on me, I hoped it was true. Everyone wanted even a slice of a great man; I wasn't excluded. I imagined announcing to my friends-Pastor Man is my biological uncle. It would have been fantastic; emphasis on the biological.

"What are you still doing?" Jacob intruded. Any louder and I would have fainted. I hid the book in my blouse. "Everyone's in the car, Daddy is about leaving." He added.

"W-what... I- I thought we still had a few hours." With how giddy I was, even a blind man would notice I hid something. "I'll get my sweater." I rushed past him into the house, slot the book under my bed and joined the others in the car.

From where I sat, I could see Pastor Man's ear and yes, I couldn't take my eyes off his uncle-like ears. I drew the genogram in my head thousand times; I felt the need to constrain myself from the possibility of my thoughts but in truth I craved for them, I wanted him to be related to me or me related to him whichever way it could be.

"Open the door Ophelia; what are you waiting for?" Rachael's voice brought me to reality. I hadn't realized we were at the church already.
"Oh sorry..." I clumsily pulled the lever. For something I thought untrue, I was too optimistic. Hopefully after an hour or two in choir practice I would come back to my senses.

The choir members where chitchatting amongst themselves when we got in. But when they noticed Pastor Man; they all adjusted to their seats just as it was during services-this man commanded order everywhere. Some people gave a casual greeting as he sat down.

"Yeah...Mary..." He said.
The woman whose name I think was Mary led the choir in a prayer that lasted about twenty minutes. After which she gave a diplomatic smile accentuating her middle aged wide jaw line.
"Like we arranged in light of the upcoming concert, we shall begin with the special songs and then move on to the general songs... So, Evagreen you are first. Give it to us in ten minutes." Mary said.

I used to think I was thin but this Green girl made me realize how fat I was-not that I was so fat by the way. Her voice was amazing and she was so skilled so much that I had goose bumps. She rarely sang during services and I wondered why. I liked her; she seemed like a very nice person. Rachael sang next and she was brilliant as always. Definitely, she hid her skills when we sang at home. I was envious of her-she had a great voice, wonderful sister and formidable brother in-law.