THE STORY 2 EP. 11

EPISODE ELEVEN

THE STORY 2

BY PRAISE UMORU

(Tony and Eli)

“OMG… if we keep bumping into each other this way, I might think we are fated for something” Vivian spoke sarcastically with a grin towards Tony giving him an expected hug

Eli was astonished both at her sentence and her action. Her facial expression screamed ‘danger’ to the eyes of Vivian

Vivian looked at Tony who felt stiff. When she understood the situation she had put herself in, she gave no hesitation in making things right

“Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. Is she…” Vivian drew her last phrase hoping Tony could give her a hint which he nodded in affirmation

“I am so sorry again” she quickly apologized to Eli again who had now released her stern face but wasn’t still smiling “he is just a friend. I met him with Quinn, who is also my friend, we met at the last theater art event.” Vivian was still acting paranoid as her explanation didn’t seem good enough for Eli’s silence “and… I just hugged him, it doesn’t mean anything, I literally hug my friends whenever I get to see them again and I didn’t know you were with him or he was with you, I just…”

Eli decided to calm her nerves as Vivian’s blabbing was beginning to annoy her “it’s okay” Eli gave her a fake smile

“Phew. Thank God” Vivian inhaled a bit of air “at a moment there I thought you were going to snap at me or something” she returned a bright smile that Eli caught with another fake smile

Tony couldn’t help his inner laughter. Inside, he was rolling on the floor laughing hysterically at the scenario but outside, he stood calmly with a smile at Eli who returned a stern to him.

Tony quickly thought of a way to break the awkward silence

“So Vivian, what are you doing here, this is my first time of seeing you here”

“Oh…I worship here”

“Really, since when, this is where I worship also and this is my first time of seeing your face” Tony knew he worshipped with a large congregation but one way or the other, he felt he would have come across Vivian if she was truly a member

“Well that’s to you, because for two weeks now, I have been coming here”

While the two chattered, Eli didn’t seem to like the young lady that stood in front of her talking to Tony in such an informal way. She didn’t appreciate Tony even listening to her but she had to act matured about things. Tony is a well-built man who was not only responsible, but smart, his level of speech surprised most people as it didn’t match his family status. If people where to talk about his physique, it was to die for, he had the body of that of a model that wasn’t thin like some, but just perfect. His complexion and height blended well and his voice… takes the breath away. Knowing her man had caught the eyes of so many other ladies, even during the thanksgiving, she saw several eyes of young hawks that preyed on Tony at each giving moment. Even when the anchor of the thanksgiving programme ushered the congregation to shake seven members of the church in order to welcome them, twice the number came towards Tony, exempting the aged and elderly that shook him, most of the young hawks shook hands with him smiling sheepishly while about three were bold enough to hug him. Eli knew more numbers were scouting forward which was making her go haywire but thankfully, the duration of the welcoming gesture came to an end. She remembered Tony intertwining fingers with hers to suppress her anger, assuring her there was nothing to it, but little did he know that her lack of trust wasn’t with him but with the young hawks

“Lil…? Lil…?”

Tony’s call jerked her away from her thoughts

“Hmm” she looked at him bewildered. She took her gaze from him noticing his mother was before them without her even noticing when she arrived

Tony’s mum beamed a smile to her “oh my darling you must be really tired, she drifted off while standing” 

A soft chuckle came from the trio except Eli that seemed embarrassed

“Sorry I kept you waiting, but no worries, you will have lunch and then you can take a nap… alright?”

Eli got the Message Mrs. Amare sent to her. She would be eating lunch at her place and also taking a nap there. Eli couldn’t dare to protest, apart from being tired, spending time with Mrs. Amare, were they could both pick off their gist from where they left off, Tony’s mum detested Eli saying ‘no’ to any of her requests. 

“Alright ma” Eli beamed a comfortable smile

“I guess you have met my tutor…” Mrs. Amare said as they all walked out of the church together

(Quinn and Tim)

Tim finally found Quinn after a long search. She was sitting on a rock under a tree with broad branches that gave her shade from the sun. Her sitting position gave her a beautiful view at the stream.

The Sanji stream was a bit close to the hanger. Quinn was able to trace her way with the goggle map on her phone. Tim had called her multiple times but she wouldn’t pick. After about an hour or more, she sent Tim a text on where he could see her.

“It’s a nice view”

He said as he took a seat beside Quinn but she didn’t give a response as she fixed her gaze on the broad stream that seemed more like a large river to her. It had beautiful flowers everywhere. It was a beautiful sight to behold. It reminded her about the Garden of Eden she read in the bible. The descriptive beauty that was illustrated in the Bible was something she tried to compare with her environment. There were fruit trees around them, different flowers of different sizes and height. The stream looked like it had diamonds inside of it. The water glittered beautifully as the sun gave it its touch. She sighed with a smile as how the scorching sun that people ran from because of its burn to the skin made the stream glitter like a million diamonds was in it. She remembered a passage in the bible that spoke of God’s thoughts and ways being far greater than that of humans. She imagined the beauty of this garden and tried comparing it to what heaven would look like. But she stopped in her tracks because she knew no matter how much she imagined and tried to compare, the bible recorded that what Jesus Christ has in store for his children, “eyes have not seen and ears have not heard”. Her imagination wouldn’t compare no matter how big she aimed

“I’m sorry about earlier” Tim tried to break the silence again

“You don’t have to be sorry about anything” Quinn spoke calmly resting her head on the tree partially beside her “I was the one that messed up. I should have been proud of my name… tell them the meaning. I should have spoken like a queen just as my name demands, I should have addressed them with the pride of royalty just like my surname name commands, but instead I chicken out…”

Tim sought for a way to calm her down. Although she spoke calmly, but he wasn’t comfortable with her behavior. He hated the health workers and mostly Tayo for his childish and ungrateful attitude, but he hated himself more for not being able to stand up for her. He knew Quinn as a lady that spoke boldly with fierceness and that was one of the things that attracted him to her, but with the way she acted after the laughs and scorns, he knew, this one went down her spine

“It’s not your fault” he said gently trying to brighten her mood but it only did the opposite

“It’s funny how people get embarrassed of being called a child of God. Just like I was. Chaka is a priceless name and being a daughter of Chaka is something I am happy about just like so many people that claim to be Christians. But just like the way I was ashamed because of a little laugh, I missed the opportunity of telling them how beautiful and powerful my name is and unfortunately, I act that way most times even after calling myself a Christian. Quinn wiped lines of her tears away from her cheek, while Tim took the time to ground the words Quinn spoke.

Timothy couldn’t classify himself as much of a believer. Even if his name is biblical, he knew he didn’t have a good relationship with God. Just like the case of the biblical Timothy, his grandmother was a strong believer who ended up giving Timothy the name he now bares. Timothy’s parent lived for each day and for nothing else and he grew with that ideology. He was neither a Muslim nor Christian, a pagan nor atheist, he was just Timothy Fayola, the guy who grew up in a convenient life, lived for the day as his parents had taught him. Never judged any religion as he didn’t support any neither did any other beliefs trigger him. But after listening to Quinn, he felt his adrenaline rush within him. He couldn’t understand why he gave a thought to her words in the first place but it somehow got into him. He wasn’t ready to think of her words right now. 

Timothy shook his head removing her words from his heart “I’m sorry I couldn’t stand for you back there, I really am. I was such a coward…” Tim hesitated giving Quinn a space of time to stare at him trying to read a reason for his persistent apology and concern before he continued “I know if your crew where here, they wouldn’t have laughed but stood up for you…”

Tim hissed inwardly at his own words, he really didn’t like what the health workers did to her and the truth in his words pained him deeply. 

Tim was taken aback when he heard Quinn’s short and soft laugh. He turned his gaze towards her from the thin air.

Quinn could feel his intent stare at her even without her turning her gaze to him. “Tony laughed the day he got to know my full name” Quinn had a disappointed look on her face. Tim didn’t appreciate Tony’s response but he couldn’t get angry at Tony because he was also a victim “Tony laughed it out so hard… it was just amusing to him, we didn’t know each other so much then apart from being course mates. Others around him started laughing along and they included mockery and painful insults, but when Tony noticed they had started making fun of me, surprisingly, he reacted and lashed out on them” Tim was surprised to hear Quinn giggle at that moment “he even forced them to apologize. Then he apologized for being rude and complimented my name. I was pissed off at first but… I don’t know, I couldn’t stay mad at him… I mean he defended me after all. Even if we started of the wrong foot, weirdly, we became friends, he acted like my guard who always stood by me, encouraged me about the strength of my name and revenge anyone that mocked it” Quinn had a smile on her face before she continued “that was how we became best friends as we spent so much time together, we then created the center, it brought us more close and…”

Tim could feel Quinn’s hesitation or rather her end of speech. She took her gaze to the stream and remained silent like she never said anything before. Tim could sense a reason for her stoppage. He had suspected her feelings for Tony with the way she laughed or smiled at the things he did, or with the way she always gazed at him intently. He knew how she felt but it hurt him to see her in pain

“Do you have feelings for Tony?”

Quinn jerked at Tim’s question. She didn’t expect such a question as that. Although she wondered if some of her actions made him think so. Alex said it once and now Tim was asking same question. It made her feel uncomfortable and her hesitation and silence to his question was also giving her away at that moment

“No…no” she stammered. She hissed quietly with her eyes closed cursing herself for stammering

As much as Tim wanted to accept the response she gave, he knew she was lying because she felt embarrassed

Silence danced between them as the stream’s soothing voice was all they could hear

Tim decided to tear the silence again “My grandmother was fond of telling me stories before she died. Wanna hear one?” He said with his eyes still fixated on the flowing stream

Quinn didn’t turn her gaze to him either but she was interested in what he had to say “shoot”

“She told me the story about five friends… they were very close and they were fond of doing things together all the time. They would eat together, sleep together, and even read together… they practically did everything together like they were brothers from a single mother or something. One day, one of them did something bad, like really really bad. He was supposed to die, that was the penalty for his action but instead of dying, his health got affected. He got a stroke and it seemed permanent.” He hesitated, taking a look at Quinn who has shifted her whole body towards him giving him full attention. He smiled inwardly leaving a straight face outside and continued “his friends where devastated. They had gone to doctors in every part of the country but no one could help, and by doctors, I mean every kind of doctor you can fathom, they called but they gave up hope that their friend could ever be better again as none of the physicians were of any help. But just then, they heard of a powerful man, whose stories of his many deeds have widened the eyes of many. Many stories about him on how he has raised the dead, healed the sick, any miracle you can think of, even with just a word, but they had never seen him but surprising, the powerful man was in their town.”

“And what happened?” Quinn asked intrigued and curious

“They heard news of where he was gonna be, and then his friends thought among themselves that although the doctors had written their friend off but with the miracles they have heard the powerful man has done before, their faith grew back. And then they carried their friend to the house they have heard rumors the powerful man was staying and when they got there, they were astonished at the large crowd. They couldn’t even see the door of the house of which the powerful man was in because the crowd was just overwhelming and the friends knew this could be their only chance of having their friend back wholly and with the way they saw things they…”

“Don’t tell me they were discouraged” Quinn cut in panicking. “They could shout or something so that the people would know there is an emergency or something…”

Tim couldn’t help but chuckle at her paranoia over the story he told. He was amused by her sense of concern. Everything about the lady before him seemed to intrigue him, her fierceness which caught his attention at their first meeting, it made him act stupidly as he tried to impress her with his ambiguous words not knowing she felt frustrated. He reminisced his second meeting with her after their first, at the airport. They were surprisingly heading the same destination. He remembered laughing at ease at the way she confronted him boldly about not understanding the words he said at their first meeting. They both laughed at each other’s deception. He was off to see his uncle, Dr, Badmus and she was off to the Ambrose. She confessed of being shy and scared to go into the Ambrose edifice alone. He was moved and amused by her pleading which made him accompany her at the end of the day…

“Do you think they were the only ones that wanted to see the powerful man? They were a lot of people with also different diseases and need for help. Every man was for himself. It didn’t seem like they could do anything”

Tim’s words hit Quinn. Of course she wouldn’t blame the friends to give up and just support their sick friend. They must have tried several ways to help him just like she had tried several ways to make Tony notice her feelings for him even before Eli came into the picture but he never noticed and after Eli came into the picture, she had to surrender and succumb to the outcome of things. But when she had already concluded the story, Tim smiled and continued

“Even with the present situation, they did something outstanding and flabbergasting…” Quinn’s eyes lit up “when they saw there was no way in, they made a way and went through the roof.”

“What?!”

“To cut the long story short, the powerful man was flabbergasted at the love the four friends have for their sick friend and was astonished at their level of faith, believing in his powers to heal regardless of what others said about his condition. When he witness their love, he had compassion on the paralyzed man and he healed their sick friend”

“Awwwwnnn” Quinn melted into a warm smile 

Tim chuckled at her innocence and cluelessness. The story he had told was one of the many bible stories his grandmother would tell him to fit his understanding. She had device a way to get him interested in the bible by telling him the stories in a comprehensive way. He knew if his grandmother was still alive, he would have followed in her footsteps, but after her death, when he was ten, his parents couldn’t continue with the foundation his grandmother had laid for him and with each passing season he forgot her foundation until Quinn’s words awoke a part of it. 

“Why did your grandmother tell you stories like that?”

“It was her own way of teaching me about basic things in life and… this particular story was to remind me never to give up”

Quinn looked at him curious and confused. She wondered why Tim was trying to teach her about persistent. Maybe he didn’t believe her words about her feelings for Tony and wanted her to strive on. But that would mean betrayal in the side of Eli and that wouldn’t be fair

And as if Tim could read her thoughts, he spoke up “I am not telling you to do anything drastic…” Tim hated himself for what he was about to say, but he wanted Quinn to free herself from the persistent hurt and pain of keeping things in her heart “sometimes it helps if you let your feelings out, holding them up for too long could be unhealthy. If the four friends weren’t bold enough to make such a bold step for their friend, he may never have been healed, same thing if you don’t open up your feelings, you may never know what is in store…”

“What is in store?” Quinn blurted out irritated “Tony is in love with another lady. What would I, confessing my feelings do!? Do you know the hurt I have been through and still going through because he chose someone else instead of me and do you know how much more it would hurt if I get rejected officially?! Have you ever been rejected before?!”

A loud and awkward silence broke out between the two. Quinn closed her eyes and bit her lips harshly with embarrassment. She had just blurted out her feelings for Tony without her thinking. Timothy on the other hand, had mixed feelings which he couldn’t probably explain. He felt something when he felt the hurt in her voice, he felt something else when she admitted her feelings for Tony and he also felt something heavy in his heart that he strongly couldn’t identify.

The silence grew thicker for minutes. Tim’s buzzing phone finally interrupted the silence.

 It was time to head back.

To be continued…

You can also follow this series on Facebook @ Umoru Praise

On Instagram @ P.E.E.B.E.E 

On my blog @ PEEBEEHEART.BLOGSPOT.COM

Feel free to comment, like, follow and share this series, but with no act of plagiar