LOVE STORM 7 – THE FINALE (IfeWrites)

Episode 7: SHOT FIRED

Love is a beautiful thing. Several times I have seen friends and colleagues claim to fall in love. I had laughed at them, I had teased them. Little did I know I was next to be hit by this storm – the love storm. My name is Victor and the storm is over.

To start from the first episode, click LOVE STORM 1 (IfeWrites)

Flashback from Previous Episodes

“Ahh, omo tan!!” “Victor o…” “Nath oo…””Victor o…””Nath o…” Bro Nath fakes a cough then laughs…I couldn’t erase the smile I had on…As I got myself together with reality hitting me hard, I asked myself even in my confused state, “what was happening to our world?”…With joy in my heart and hope restored, I said to myself, “my dear Gift, welcome to my World.”… My Gift: I have been seeing you from afar and meaning to tell you something; Victor: What’s that? …Am I the Lord of all or the Lord of small in your life?”…I turned my back against the wall, against what I just heard…. I’m coming for you, Gift.

**

Everything felt weird, right from the dream I had. The world felt upside down, I didn’t understand how I felt. Strangely, I felt empty. I could not pin point but I was so sure my life was about to take a turn, a turn that would change my life. Whether positively or negatively, I wasn’t sure. I removed the body cover and paced round the room praying in the Holy Ghost, and after about three minutes I wasn’t still at peace. Something was definitely wrong I thought. I hurriedly carried my Bible, “Holy Spirit good morning”…but there was no reply, “Holy Spirit good morning,” yet no response. The day could not have started on a worse note or so I thought.

“Victor!” was the shout I heard from outside. Wearing a top, I quickly rushed out and answered my dad, “Sir.” “Where is my car key?” “Car key? You didn’t give me your car key.” “If it’s not with you who else will it be with?” “Anybody,” I said with my voice a little raised.  “So you want to be shouting at me now.”…” “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it.” “Better! Find my key before…” His words were cut short by my younger sister:  “Daddy, I found the key. It must have fallen inside your shoe from the tie hanger.” “Thank you, my baby girl,” he said as he dashed out. Now something was definitely wrong.

My dad is not someone who gets angry, he is the calmest person. For him to be angry because of an ordinary key, some unknown forces must be working today. I reached for my phone, opened my YouVersion Bible for my daily devotion. Exodus 33:14 was the verse for the day: “And the Lord answered, my presence will go with you and I will give you peace”. This was the direct opposite of what I felt, I had experienced a wide range of emotion in the first few hours of the day and peace wasn’t one of them. As I meditated on the verse, something struck me, “…my presence will go with you and I will give you peace…” So if his presence does not go with me, I won’t have peace? While I meditated on that another verse crossed my mind Ephesians 4: 30: “…and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto day of redemption”.

“Grieve…his presence…peace…Holy spirit,” it made no sense to me, it simply didn’t. I pushed away the thought as I ruminated over the best approach to make my intentions known to Gift. This was real life, pickup lines were invalid. I began to seek for the most suitable approach; call or by text message, maybe voice note or even WhatsApp call. The tension caused me to embark on aimless journeys to the fridge several times looking for that which wasn’t lost.

“So, you’ll call her by 8:30 this morning,” I told myself, and before I knew it, it was 8:30. My heart ran faster than my feet had every journeyed. “Let’s do this by 9,” I said, with my body vibrating. Those 30 minutes went by so quickly! “No more postponement, you can do this, I can do this, we can do this!” I declared halfheartedly.

I picked up my phone, searched for My Gift and dialed the number and a voice responded from the other side: “The number you are trying to call is currently not available please try again later thank you”. “No nau, not now, please not now,” I mumbled while redialing the number, placing the phone on my left ear. Again, the voice responded saying, “the number you’re trying to call is not reachable…” I ended the call before she finished talking. “The devil is a liar,” I said as I got myself back together. “Nothing is stopping me,” I continued, “if a call would not work, a text will!”

I went to the text box and with my hands trembling, I wrote out the most sincere words I could think about. “I have had the privilege to meet a lot of people, but within a short time you have made so much impact on my life and I would love to be part of your life. I know with you there will always be a better version of me, will you be in a relationship with me?” I read it over and over again then I hit the send button.

“Unable to send, please resend,” was the message that popped up. “What sort of nonsense is this?” I said as I clicked the send button again. Again the message bounced.

Beyond what was going on, fear gripped me, my mind began to travel. I was definitely in troubled waters. I began to think of multiple possibilities: what could be wrong, when she said she had to go where did she go, was she fine? I carefully flung my phone towards my bed, while I sank gently into the chair with my legs shaking in fear of what could be wrong. I was in complete disarray and really confused. The day wasn’t going good at all.

As I struggled to find balance, I logged on to my WhatsApp. I went straight to the status, at least to serve as a distraction. Looking through the status updates, I realized today is Bro Nath’s birthday. How did I forget? I saw many wishes, beautiful ones. He really is an amazing guy and deserves accolades.

One status caught my attention: Gift’s status.

“For all you do, for making me a better person, thank you for been my go to person, for been a shoulder to lean on, you’re one in a million. Happy birthday my Love…” My heart skipped a beat; what was I seeing? I refused to add meaning to it, as even I call people my love. I moved to the next picture…it was a picture of them eating in a cafeteria with the caption: “Every moment I spend with you has been a blessing. Thank you for yielding to God and for being my better half, I love you so much”.

I became numb, my body temperature increased, my eyes suddenly became blurry, I just wanted this to be a lie. “Let this be a dream, pinch me, someone wake me!!” I screamed so loud only my heart could hear me. But seven other pictures, including those from a photo shoot made it obvious, this wasn’t a dream, this was reality! Even with clear evidence, I refused to accept. “It’s just an ordinary picture,” I told myself as I looked for a hope that was nowhere close. One more thing I said, as I swiped up and replied her status:  “Is he the one we have been waiting for or should we wait for another?” I type with a big grin emoji…and almost immediately she replied with laughter.

Victor: Lol, shey you will answer?

My Gift: Are you serious?

Victor: Yes na.

My Gift: You didn’t know?

Victor: That?

My Gift: We are in a relationship.

Like a lorry crushing anything on its path, I was crushed; my heart was shattered and ripped apart.

My Gift: We have been in a relationship since second semester of last year.

Victor: Wow!! I really didn’t know o.

My Gift: Where have you been? Almost everyone knows.

I could not bring myself to continue the conversation, as tears began to enjoy a free flow I was suddenly jerked alive. The message!!

I rushed to the message box with my hands shaking, I highlighted the message and hit delete. “Message sent and delivered”. In my state of panic, I had clicked resend instead of delete. The day could only get worse!! How on earth am I supposed to withdraw a text message? I was in for it!

Almost immediately my phone rang, it was Gift. I could not pick the call. How was I going to survive this? Again it rang and once again I could not bring myself to pick up. I didn’t know what to do, so I switched off my phone. It was the scariest moment of my life.

My mind set itself on a journey of self-destruct, it began to wander in search of answers, for someone to tell me it will soon be over…to tell me it is well…to take me back in time and correct my errors. What reasonable explanation would suffice at this moment? My world came crashing down.

I could not hide forever, with trembling hands I switched on my phone, and I met a message from her:

“Bro Victor, I got your text but the answer would be no. As I earlier told you, I am in a relationship, not just one to waste my time but one with a divine purpose and in case you were not sure, I’m very happy. But I must confess I’m really disappointed in you. How can a brother like you ask out a lady you know is in a relationship? Not just any relationship but with someone you claim to be friends with, immediately after she told you! You didn’t do well sir. No, no, no. I expected more, much more from you. Sir, for next time sake, courtesy demands that you wait no matter the conviction you claim to have. It is believed that the Holy Spirit will teach a tongue-speaking brother like you how to act and behave but it is obvious that you either lack him or you refused to obey him. I do hope this does not affect our friendship and does not make things awkward between us. Do have a wonderful day Bro Victor”.

I stared blankly at the phone, till water gathered and blurred me from seeing the message.

The beeping of my phone brought me back, I wiped my eyes and lo, it was a text from Nath:

“Bro Victor of God, so I heard about what happened; I just wanted you to know that I know. Enjoy the rest of the day…”

Crushed, destroyed, shattered, and completely ripped apart, I had no one to run to; I could only go back to the one I turned my back against.

The bed offered no comfort, forcing me to crash on the floor with tears in my eyes. I was brought to the lowest possible point of myself. My mouth was too heavy, so my heart did the talking: “I’m sorry…I’m sorry for turning my back against you, I am sorry for neglecting your voice… I’m sorry…I’m…speak to me…say something…help me…this is too much for me to bear…Fatherrr…” “I tried warning you; I told you my ways were not your ways. I didn’t want you to be hurt; it is not the joy of any father to see the child hurt…” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” “While I tried so much to keep the fire from burning you, the only thing you wanted to do was get burnt, even as you made wrong choices I kept sending waves, storms to bring you back to the right part because of my love.” “I’m sorry for disobeying you, I’m sorry for been so engrossed in my desires that I didn’t see you stopping me from harming myself…” “I kept foiling your plans, yet you kept fighting for your will to be done….”

Victor, in the day my love comes as a storm, will you be sensitive enough to know I am preventing you from colossal damage? In the day my love comes in warring waves will you be able to know I’m preventing you from danger and embarrassment? You were so focused on what you wanted that you ignored all warning signs, you led yourself into the lion’s den and you expected me to deliver you? Anyone I don’t back up, packs up.” “I’m sorry, I was consumed by what I wanted; I was consumed by the goal I wanted to achieve and didn’t subject it to you.” “My love isn’t just in form of a cozy arm around you, it is also in form of the rod cautioning you from wrong decisions, sending turbulence to bring you back unto the right path, and it was….a love storm.”

The END

LOVE STORM!

IfeWrites

Author: Ifeoluwa James is a lover of God, a writer, an actor, and a lover of drama and movie production. He is a student of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management at Bowen University.

You can connect with him on Facebook and LinkedIn

Thank you so much for reading and following the series! What lessons have you have learnt from the Love Storm?