The Duality by Atsu Antonio Awayevoo

You make me happy, you make me sad
You make me feel high, you make me feel low
Talking with you sends my worries into hiding
As sleep also goes into hiding

I would love to chat forever but Mr Time reminds me I can never
Rules they say are meant to be broken, though if broken, we would be broken
Broken because of an unchecked growth
Growth that could nothing but affections affect
Making affability lead to indispensabilty

Secrets are shared that act like cement, cementing the relationship
Thoughts are shared that build but break also because the naughty may sometimes cause a pondering

A pondering the naughty mind comes into conflict with the Godly mind
Who does but always wins
Though the naughty might have his time of day, the Godly will win the day making the weak strong and the heart peak with songs

As is said, all have two-sides, the bad and the good
The good must however prosper and the bad must forever loss suffer
Like the provebial "YIN & YANG",  in an endless dance they are


Atsu is a friend from university. He is a hard-working quality aspiring guy who loves his faith and having some bit of fun & ambiguity. You can check out his blog for more uplifting posts 😊 www.minemusings.simplesite.com

Gifts

I woke up immediately I heard the door bell ring. I slowly closed my eyes again when I remembered I wasn't the only one at home. Surely my little brother, Elorm would be awake. That video game playing boy was always awake. Unlike him I preferred to sleep till mid morning because I was on vacation.

When I heard him open his door I pulled my covers closer and tried to go back to sleep. I was almost successful when my brother barged into my room. "Eyram there's a package for you!" He said, excitedly. I looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he was up to any of his usual pranks. "Elorm, if I go downstairs and it's not true I'm putting your X box, Y box or whatever it is called in a bucket of water." I threatened. He just giggled and asked me to hurry up. I got out of bed and made my way to the living room. Our parents had left for work.

Elorm was not joking. There was a delivery man on a bike with a box. I walked over to him. He asked me to sign in a notebook and handed over the box to me. Then he left. I wasn't sure what to say because I was not expecting anything from anyone. I looked around the box to see if there was a sender's address but I saw nothing. "Open the thing la." Elorm said. I giggled and opened it. My eyes gleamed when I saw what it was. It was a tablet pc. It wasn't brand new but it was an awesome tablet I had been wanting about for some time. I was very eager to find out who gave me this amazing gift.

There was a little note that read "hi Eyram, a friend of mine was selling this at a really good price. Immediately I saw it I thought of you. I hope you like it. Anna." I held the note staring at it for a few more minutes. I knew the handwriting, there was no mistake it was from my cousin. "What did the note say?" Elorm asked when he noticed my change in mood. The truth is that I felt very bad. Just a year ago she left the country because she got a scholarship to study abroad. I promised to keep in contact with her but I didn't. I remember her calling me often but I rarely returned her calls. Even after such a long silence she still thought about me. I smiled and realised I had a lot of calling to do.

Doesn't this feel like something we all go through? Well not all of us get tablets from our cousins, for sure! But just like Anna God showers us with gifts in many forms even though we  sometimes ignore him. Like Eyram we give ourselves so many excuses; calling abroad is too expensive, I will text her tomorrow, she's probably busy with her new friends but the truth is that Anna still loved her and that love brought her to the right place. It's time for all of us to be at the right place with God. If nothing at all we should pray to say thank you :)

The bed next to mine

The sound of talking woke me up. It came from the bed next to mine. The girl there was called Aku. She got more visitors than anyone else in our ward. Maybe it was because her case was the worst. I heard some nurses discuss her condition while she was asleep before. They said it couldn't be helped. Her cancer was detected pretty late. Someway somehow I preferred her situation, not the dying part obviously but the fact that they knew exactly what was wrong with her. Me on the other hand it seemed the doctors were not sure what I had. Several tests had proved negative. I didn't want to die but my hope of surviving seemed slimmer every single day.

"Let's pray. Fafa would you join us? "Aku's mother said looking at me." No thank you." I said. I noticed the disappointment in her face but I didn't care. She just nodded and turned to her daughter. Aku's older brother held her hand and they begun to pray. They did this everytime they visited her. I wondered why they even bothered. after that they showed her messages and presents from family and friends. Aku seemed to enjoy all of this. Even though she was in a lot of pain and other times a bit too high on morphine she managed to smile and giggle at most of them. That day for some reason she laughed more and even spoke more than she usually did. It was almost like she was getting better. Maybe the nurses gave her the perfect dose of morphine.
 
When visiting hours were over her family gave her their usual hugs and kisses and left. Then the room became normal again. I must say I preferred it like that. No one to blurb about unrealistic hope from God. Just the silence to allow a bunch of dying people count the remaining seconds they had left. That's what Aku had that night, a number of seconds left but she didn't spend it doing a countdown.

"Fafa, are you asleep?" Aku asked. I turned to look at her and told her I was awake. She smiled at me. She was one of the few people in our ward that actually smiled. For some reason I couldn't help but smile back. "What is it?" I asked her. She had a question for me. She wanted to know why I refused to pray with her family anytime they asked me to join them. I shrugged. It had happened 2 times. The first time I pretended to be asleep but today I didn't think there was a point pretending. "God doesn't listen to us." I said. I wasn't really in the mood to talk but then again I was curious as to where she was going with her questions. "Oh but he does." Abu said sharply. She went on further to talk about how God loved everyone. I stopped her by asking her why God would leave us here to die. She was silent for a moment and then said something I will never forget. "You know micro organisms right?" She asked. I nodded with the most confused look on my face. "Do you think bacteria understands algebra? That's how we are with God. There is no way we can understand him but if we trust him we will see his love for us." she said with the warmest smile. She was right. I never thought about it that way before but she was right.

Aku passed away that night in her sleep. Tears rolled down my cheeks when the nurses came for her body. She was such a lovely person and just when my hard heart was softening she left me. Her mother came to collect her things and walked over to my bed when she had packed everything. I had no idea why she would come to me. She stretched her hand and gave me an envelope. "Aku asked me to give this to you." She said. Her eyes were red from either lack of sleep or constant crying. It was probably both. She formed a weak smile and turned to leave. I called her back and said "Don't worry, we will see her again." She nodded and smiled again but this time with less pain in her eyes. I saw where Aku got her warm smile from.

When I opened the envelope with my wobbly hands I saw a little note in it that said, "God does everything for a good reason." It's like she read my mind. After her parting words the night before I had been asking God why he put us in such a situation. My eyes watered again. I closed my eyes and for the first time in a long while I prayed to God. If I was going to die I wanted to go peaceful like Aku did. Her mother said goodbye to me and immediately she left a bunch of doctors walked into the ward. They walked to Aku's bed and called a nurse when they say it was empty. There was one foreign doctor among them. A skinny white man. The Ghanaian doctor expressed some amount of anger towards one of the nurses. I heard him whisper "you should have told us that she had passed away. We've brought him all the way from the conference room for nothing" in Twi. Just before they turned to leave the Ghanaian doctor turned to me and to his fellows. "Doctor Bainbridge I'm sorry, the patient with Leukemia passed away last night, unfortunately. Perhaps you can take a look at this case we have been battling with?  I know this type of cancer is not your speilciality but how about we look at it?" He said. The white doctor nodded and they all turned to look at me.

After a brief inspection, a few tests just like magic Doctor Bainbridge knew how to save me. It wasn't cheap but he gave my family contacts to a few NGOs in his country that he thought could help us. He was right and after 2 surgeries and some physiotherapy I was back to normal. The whole thing seemed completely surreal. Aku was right. God did listen to my prayer. I decided to set up and NGO in Ghana that would help the sick build their faith in God. Just like how God turned my life around, I wanted to share this with others too.There was just one name I had in my head and that's why I named it, The Aku Foundation.

Just like Adel 12 (finale)

I could tell he had been keeping what he was about to say for a long time. His hesitation was intense. "If you aren't comfortable talking about it you can always tell me another time." I said to break the silence. He turned his back to me. "I think we should stop seeing each other." He finally said. I couldn't say I was expecting this. "What, why?!" I screamed. I talking over to face him. He avoided eye contact. " When Obeng showed me the test results it seemed my condition isn't as good as it was when I just got back from Denmark. I have been a selfish person. I should not have asked you out. I'm not going to waste your time anymore." He said. I wasn't sure how to wrap my head around what he was saying. I asked him to explain himself and he finally looked into my eyes and said, "Doris I'm going to die. You deserve to be with someone who actually has a future." I don't know why but I slapped him. "I don't know if the medication they gave you at the hospital is making you talk like this. The Henry I know doesn't give up!" I said and walked out of his apartment.

I didn't hear from Henry the next day. He wouldn't answer my calls either. I was a bit angry with him in the morning but when I calmed down I decided to call him and got nothing. Dean told me he was avoiding everyone. I decided to allow him to have some space. After two days he sent me a text that read, "you are right. Giving up is a dull move. I just don't want to see you get hurt. You are too nice for someone like me. I'm going to Denmark again. " My heart went warm and my eyes watered. This was a bit too much for me. I grabbed my bag and took a taxi to Henry's apartment. When I got there I saw Adel's car parked outside. I walked to the door and noticed it was open. My heart missed a beat when I saw Adel in the living room looking around. "Have you seen Henry?" She asked me. I shook my head and she went into his bedroom. "Goodness his travel bag is gone." She said. I breathed a sigh of relief. I showed Adel his text. She relaxed a bit herself.

That night I tried calling Henry several times but couldn't get through to him. It seemed he wasn't using the Danish number he used the other time. A text at 3am from him finally put me to sleep. When Henry's father called me the next morning I was really prepared for his plan. I told him I got the note and would love to do it. He informed me about the arrangements he had made and asked when I would be ready to leave. Honestly I couldn't wait to go. I wasn't looking forward to the weather in Denmark but Henry was worth it. When I told Dean everything he said he was jealous. I rolled my eyes. If only he knew how it felt like to fall for Henry Brock. "Really? You wish you were dating an Orgosis patient in Denmark?" I asked sarcastically. His goofy smile faded. My highest concern was how Henry would take it. I hadn't told him I was coming and I didn't intend to. Since he left the texts and calls had reduced. He was really trying to distance himself but I wouldn't let him. Not in a time like this!

In our chats I found out the hotel Henry was in so finding him when I arrived wasn't hard at all. I booked a nights stay in that same hotel. After the valet got me settled I waited till he had left then I rushed to Henry's room. It was just one floor below mine. I knocked on his door and waited patiently. "Hold on." He said and opened the door.

The look on his face was priceless. He was completely surprised. "Doris?! My goodness". When he took a stop forward and hugged me I could feel his appreciation. "If this is a hallucination from my medication I don't want it to wear out." He said still holding me. "When I said I will help you through this, I meant it Henry." I said. He stared straight at me and smiled. "I would love that. I've never felt more alive in my life Doris." He said and kissed me. The truth was very clear, Henry had a 50/50 chance of surviving or even less but my feelings for him never reduced. I guess I loved him. He dragged me into his room and we spent the whole evening talking like old times. He didn't even ask how I got there. It was like, he couldn't be bothered.

The next morning when I woke up I saw Henry at his desk reading through some files. I walked over to him and hugged him from behind. He smiled and showed me what he was doing. "I'm trying to see if there is some kind of pattern in the Dr. Olsen's test patients." He said. I realised this was something I could help with. I was pretty good at finding patterns and problem, it was something we did at work all the time. "Do you have information about all his test patients?" I asked. Henry gave me a file. I looked through and saw nothing. The exact dose was given to each of them. I couldn't establish a difference in the ones the drug failed on but I didn't give up. The whole week we went through everything until I noticed something missing late in the evening one night. "We are looking at everything from a medical, chemical point of view. What if that's not it?" I said. I stood up and looked at all the files spread out on the floor. Henry stared at me. I rearranged the papers of each patient and found the link. "Henry, I think I found something. This has to be it!" I exclaimed.

The next morning we run my theory by Dr. Olsen and he said it was something he hadn't considered but worth testing anyway. That afternoon we waited at his office for the test results. If I was right this would be golden. We held hands as we sat in the cold office. "Have you told your dad about my theory?" I asked but before I could get an answer the door flung open and Doctor Olsen walked through. He was a slim old man with very pale white skin. It didn't look like he went out much. His smile said it all. He gave us a sheet of paper. "You are right. The key was in the climate. The patients who died were all living in an countries with higher temperatures. I have no idea why I never thought of this. Good job!" He said. I couldn't believe it. "This calls for celebration!" Henry said and we all cheered.

Henry and I decided to go dancing to celebrate. There was a very nice salsa pub not far from our hotel. The old Henry was back!  He was funny, witty, a bit arrogant and completely attractive. As we danced I knew I had made a good decision. This was the man for me and now he wasn't leaving me anytime soon. "You saved my life Doris." Henry whispered into my ears. "No, your fighting spirit saved your life." I replied also whispering. "Can you do me one favour?" He asked with a serious tone. I nodded and asked what is was. "When we get married can you please not have a girl?" He asked. "Huh? Why?" I asked, excited at the word married but confused anyway. "Well I don't want to see another person who looks just like Adel." He joked and we both laughed.



The End. 

Sunday morning anchor

This morning I tossed and turned in bed as ECG turned my lights on and off. I didn't care much because the weather was nice and cool. I looked at my phone when my alarm went off and contemplated missing church to have some extra sleep. "You read the mass readings the night before remember?" My brain whispered to me.

After a few more snoozes I slapped myself and got off my bed. Getting ready for church didn't take very long because as I mentioned earlier I didn't really have power so I looked for the most decent outfit that had been already ironed, an orange dress. I got into my car when I was all set and drove off. I seemed a bit late, 15 minutes to be exact but when I entered the church I heard the first reading. I smiled to myself as I sat down.

The sermon was about the sacrifice we are to make for God during Lent. The priest mentioned fasting and said there were so many other things we could sacrifice besides food. So I drifted off thinking about what I was going to sacrifice. A lot of things flew into my head. Some were really pointless and others made a lot of sense. So I decided.

I listened to more of the sermon and was really glad I came. Sure I had missed out on some sleep but it was nothing compared to what I received at church. After mass I set off to find myself a cold  drink because it was a hot Sunday (SUNday lol). On my way I saw a couple of people I always wanted to talk to. To invite them to a group that wanted to expand. For some reason I never talked to them (probably thought they won't be interested) but today I was like 'eh let me just go'. So I went and spoke to them and they liked the idea. Just like that. I smiled to myself after and went home, after my cold drink of cause.

Moral of the story? Sometimes a little effort to do the thing you believe is right or best can bring you more joy than doing something else. Today's first reading was about Abraham and his son Isaac who was almost sacrificed. Abraham had a big thing to do so I guess we can do ours too :)

These are my confessions

My blog has been so dry for so long. It's not easy oh. I will be honest I haven't put anything up in a while because I haven't been able to finish a single story. I start and I just can't or would I say don't finish. To tell you the truth I don't know why but it's probably because work has been a bit overwhelming for me.

I'm glad to say things are changing. How am I getting out of my writers block? Simple, I'm not giving up. I'm just going to keep writing till I'm back to my normal self. I have grown to realise that repetition is very effective. If at first you don't succeed....  Yea, try, try, try again :)

My writing resolution for 2015 is to have at least one book available on Kindle so I need to make it count!

Oh and merry Christmas

Being Francis

Francis saw his older brother packing his bags. "Hey Dan, where are you off to?" He asked curiously. Dan looked at him and continued packing. "I don't know how you manage to be happy here." Dan finally replied. He picked up a T-shirt and threw it into his small suitcase. Francis did not see that answer coming. He enquired further and Dan made it clear he was leaving their new home. His brother was even more surprised.

 Just then their sister walked into the room. "What's going on here?" She asked. Francis turned to her and explained Dan's intentions. She shook her head and turned to walk out like nothing was happening. "Pat, won't you tell him to stop this and stay?" Francis called out. Without turning Pat said, "He's not a child. He can do as he pleases." Then she left.

Francis asked his brother why he wanted to leave one more time. "Why should I stay? Father doesn't love me, he expects me to follow so many rules and what do I get in return? Constant disappointment. He says “ask me for anything and you'll have it” but he doesn't honour his words. My friends in the South are living very happy lives free from strict parents. That's where I'm headed." Dan let out. It looked like he had given this a lot of thought.

"Daddy loves us so much. Don't you see that? He gives us a lot of food and everything we need and his rules are just meant to protect us." Francis said. "I'm 25 years old, I need more than food. I have asked him for so many things and he just did nothing." Dan said, beginning to get angry. His little brother tried to calm him down but it was useless. He picked his suitcase and walked out with Francis running behind him. "I have one last thing to say. Count all the things Dad has gotten for you and see if they are worth more than the things you are asking for. I will tell Dad you'll be coming back because I know you will." Francis said almost in tears. "Good luck with that." He said and left the house.

If Pat, Dan and Francis’ father was God and they were normal Christians like you and me, can you relate to their actions? Pat is the Christian who believes but does not spread the word nor help others out. She prefers to be a Christian on an island. Dan is the Christian who loses his faith because he thinks God is asleep or maybe just picky because his prayers are not being answered. He feels all he is doing for God is in vain.

 Francis is the Christian we all want to be. The one who believes in God with all his heart and wants everyone to do same so he calls people to God and encourages them. We have probably been all these people at one point or the other in our journey with Christ. It's time to be Francis in our own little way. If you are not sure how, just pray and an idea will pop into your head, completely unique to you. God bless you :-)

Monday morning surprise

As Samira walked to work she remembered the sermon that was preached at church the day before. The topic was about loving your neighbour. Even those that didn't love you. She knew one person like that at work. Sarah Brown. Sarah just didn't like her and the feeling was very mutual. From her first day at work Samira never got along with her. Maybe Sarah felt insecure around her because she was younger, she just couldn't tell. "I'll love my neighbour." Samira said with a long sigh. Just before she entered her office building she saw something interesting. There was a car having boot sales not very far away. She looked at her watch. She had enough time to do some window shopping. She saw a nice necklace. It looked like something Sarah would love. She thought for minute and bought it for her at a very good price.

When Samira got to work Sarah was not at her desk but she saw her favourite red bag and knew she was around. She picked up a sticky note from her desk and wrote a little note. She stuck the note to the present she had just bought, put it on Sarah's desk and walked away. When she got to hers Elikem walked by with a smile. "Is that a bomb you put on Miss Horror's desk?" She asked. Samira giggled and shook her head. Elikem always had names for everyone. Then it hit her that she wasn't the only one who didn't like Sarah. "Love your neighbour." She whispered to herself as she turned on her computer.

After a few hours there was a general meeting for everyone. Samira took a seat at the back of the board room next to Elikem. "Pay raise time, woop woop." Elikem whispered and did a little dance in her chair. Samira laughed. "You are such a child." She said to her. The CEO of the company walked in with some sheets of paper. He said he had bad news. The company was not doing as good as it used to and they had decided to do a downsizing exercise. Samira's heart missed a beat as he mentioned the names of the people who were being laid off. Her heart sunk when she heard Elikem's name. Fortunately for her that was the last name. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to comfort her friend.

When she got back to her desk she saw a red sticky note and instantly knew who it was from. It said, 'thanks for the necklace. It's so lovely. Yes you are right we started off on a bad note. So your apologies have been accepted.' Samira smiled. She turned around and spotted Sarah at the entrance of the board room. She walked to her but the CEO was quicker. Samira just stood aside and waited for him to finish talking to her. "Sarah I thought we decided on 12 people? This list is short of one." He said. "Sir that's true but I found out recently that she has potential as compared to the others." Sarah replied and smiled at Samira. "Alright, I trust your judgement, have a nice day." The CEO said and walked away...... 

Love your neighbour!

A piece of Julz

It's funny how little we care about things till they happen to us. For a decent number of years before I was diagnosed I used to make jokes about scoliosis. I called and I still call chairs with curved back rests Scoliosis chairs. Back then I had no idea what was going on in my own back. All through high school and Senior high school I had some pains in my back but it was for short periods of time and not severe so I never paid attention to it. You see I was a very sporty person. I played basketball and swam a lot so the muscles in my back were pretty strong.

Having a swimming pool in my hostel during university and joining the basketball team there kept me on a relatively good path. The problem started when I graduated from University and joined the working class. No one ever prepares you enough for that. When I think about how 'stressed' I felt in school as compared to working a 9 to 5, I just laugh. Goodness I sometimes even wish I was back in school.

Moving on, I wasn't exactly carrying bags of cement or bending over to pick cotton, I was doing the usual office administration work but a lot had changed.

l  I was sitting for long hours.

l  I was standing a lot waiting for the bus to and from work

l  I wasn't getting enough time to play basketball

l  I rarely went for a swim because of proximity to the pool

l  I spent hours sitting at my desk on my computer even when I was working from home

Things had clearly changed. The pain in my back got worse until I went to the hospital. I had an x-ray done. Isn't it funny how the person doing the x-ray always hides when he's about to take your x-ray? Lol. A week later the results came and it said there was nothing wrong. I thought “hey, maybe it's my chair at work so I spoke with my boss and we had it changed. The pain also changed, it got worse. My neck also joined in. My mother who is a retired nurse told me to go and see a specialist, an orthopedic doctor so I did with recommendation from my brother-in-law.

I took my X-rays with me. The doctor studied them for a while, examined me and asked if I had certain pains. He was 100% spot on. You know how excited you get when someone describes an exact feeling? I was almost smiling. He diagnosed me with a mild case of thoracolumbular scoliosis. This simply means that between the thoracic and lumber portions of my spine it is curved slightly, in my case, to the left. He further went on to tell me that I didn't need surgery (woohoo!) but I would have to wear a brace :-( , a lumber support to be specific. He also advised regular swimming to strengthen my back muscles. “Why swimming?” I asked and he told me that because of the water it would put less strain on my spine itself while still strengthening my back muscles. Plus it was a cool (low temperature) way of getting a serious workout.

After that day I have had a completely new lifestyle. I wear a lumber support (which makes me a size bigger), I sleep on an orthopedic mattress, I take a decent amount of pain killers, I don't wear heels and try to swim as often as I can. So many things have changed. Scoliosis does that. There are times when the pain gets so overbearing it disturbs my mood and all my plans go out the window.

Rather than feel sorry for myself, I looked for ways to make my life cool and fun again. So I

l  Got a swimming partner :-)

l  Got a tablet to do all my computing needs while I lie down in bed

l  Altered my clothes so my lumber support doesn't look odd

l  Stopped my 9-5 and ran my own business. Check out zedighana.com 

l  Found a number of swimming pools close to me

Living with scoliosis is hard but the honest truth is that when you plan your lifestyle well, the pain will reduce drastically. I haven't gotten to the point where I go weeks/months without aches and pains but I'm constantly working hard to get there. God doesn't give us anything we can't handle :) 

Scoliosis :  a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side. 

Changes

Angela looked at her watch. Her brother was 20 minutes late. She played around with her drink uncomfortably. She didn't like where she was. She didn't like shabby public places like this. She just had to give her brother some money and he suggested they meet there. She was contemplating leaving when she saw an old friend of hers. He was called Henry. He walked straight up to her and sat down. "Wow, Angela how are you? It's been so long." He said. Angela nodded boldly. She told him why she was there and they did a little catching up. She enjoyed his company even after all those years. "Where is your Rosary ring? You always used to wear it." Henry asked. Angela looked at her empty finger. “I don’t believe in those things anymore. I’m now an atheist. Henry was surprised so he asked why. "I don't think God exists. If he did he wont let evil things happen to good people." She said and sipped on her drink.

Henry was even more surprised. He remembered Angela was one of the most dedicated Christians in school. "Well I can't say I understand all God does but..." Henry started but Angela cut him short. "I watched my dad lose everything. First his job, then his wife and finally his life. I had to wait tables just to pay for his funeral. There is no God, just luck." She said. Henry could feel the bitterness in her voice. "I'm sorry about your father. He was a good man. All I can say is things happen for a reason." He said. Angela was about to reply when she felt the floor underneath her shake. She looked down immediately and saw that the building was collapsing. There were screams all over the place.

People rushed to the exit but the stairs were the first to cave in. The screams got louder as one pillar underneath them fell causing the whole floor to tilt. The people on that side fell to their doom as others held on to anything they could find. Henry grabbed a table leg and pulled Angela to it. As they hung there they could see another pillar about to give away. Angela looked down. They were 3 stories up. Her heart beat hard. Was she going to join her father wherever he was? "Angela we might not make it. Please accept Christ now before it's too late. Just pray." Henry yelled. She was surprised he was thinking about her at this moment. She looked up and saw that the table leg was about to break.

Just as it broke and they slid down to the edge of the floor she closed her eyes to pray. "We are glad to have you back. You will join us in heaven but not today." She heard a voice say. She opened her eyes. She was inches away from the edge when she grabbed on to a decorative light pole. Henry got a hold of it too. She looked around and saw a roll of water hose attached to the wall. She turned and saw 7 people holding on in fear. She turned to Henry. "We can use the water hose to climb down!" She yelled. He looked at it and understood exactly what she meant. She stretched her hand and dragged it towards her. "Ok, go down before the pillar gives away! " He screamed as she gave the hose to him. She smiled and said, "not today, I won’t die today." She gave him the hose and unrolled enough for Henry to climb down. Everyone cheered when he got down safely. Angela turned around and gave the hose to a child.  Henry and a few people downstairs helped the little boy as he came down. One after the other Angela helped all 7 people down. She climbed down as fast as she could herself and met a host of cheers.

Minutes after the area was cleared the second pillar collapsed. Angela was safely out of the building looking for Henry. She didn't find him. Wherever he was she wanted to say thank you for those few words that gave her back the life she lost: a life in Christ.

My demons

I sit alone in the corner of my room

Through the window I can see the moon

When it gets darkest they all come, one by one

I'm in a dark room waiting for my demons to come

I always get startled, never see them arrive

Then again they don't knock or ask to join me

They just come, sit with me and we talk about me

I'm in a dark room and my first demon just came

"We should be drinking our head off so we dont have to think"

My first demon said. It's all about pleasure for him

Sometimes he makes sense so I grab a bottle

I'm in a dark room drinking with my demon

  Another came making noise so I told him to hush

"Oh come on, don't worry about other people"

That's what the selfish demon said. He had a point so I didn't

I'm in a dark room having fun with my demons

My demon of lies came when I was exhausted

"You guys I have work tomorrow", I said

"Call in sick. You worked hard last week", my demon said

I'm in a dark room listening to all 3 demons

When sunlight comes my demons will be gone

My head aches from the drinking.

My neighbour comes to warn me about my night noise

I was in a dark room but now I'm not so my demons are gone

I'm at work with a headache. I couldn't call in sick

Why do I entertain my demons? They hurt me

Maybe I should get rid of them...with the Light

No more dark rooms. I'm sending my demons away for good

Never again

"This is stupid." I said to myself as I tied my shoe lace. I yawned loudly and turned to look at my bed. It was so inviting. I looked away almost immediately and stood up. I stretched like a cat that had been sleeping all day and picked up my ipod. "Time for some motivation." I said to myself as I walked to the door. I found my Sarkodie album and plugged my earphones in. I locked the door behind me. I stepped outside and inhaled the fresh early morning air. It was still fairly dark. Yes, I was going jogging and no it wasn't my idea. My doctor recommended it. It felt stupid but it was either this or the gym and I wasn't ready to pay 200 cedis a month!

I started off with a brisk walk. It wasn't bad at all. I guess the music helped too. Before I knew it I was jogging. It was actually fun, well at least for a while. I looked around and saw a suit shop. The suits looked really good and it looked like the shop was having a sale. "Wow! How come I have never seen this before?" I asked myself as I passed it by. I always drove fast to work. Never checking my surroundings out. There was also a bookshop across the street. I stopped and looked through the glass. I saw tons of novels. The type my wife liked. I decided to come to the shop on my way to work when they would be open. I could get her some books as a present when she got back. I smiled faintly and started jogging again.

I was so carried away by the things I was seeing around that I run much further than I intended to. This was my first day so I planned to take it slow. I got to the bridge and almost screamed when I imagined how long the journey back was. I stopped and learned against a tree. I was breathing so hard. "Ah this doctor has worried me. Now I am going to be dozing at work." I said to myself. Just then I heard a sound. It was coming from the side of the bridge. It sounded like someone crying. I could see a figure. It looked like a girl. She had long black hair in a pony tail. It was still pretty dark and I wondered if this was a trick to have me robbed. I didn't know her anyways. It was none of my business. I turned around but still heard her. Her cry just sounded so genuine and then all of a sudden it stopped.

 I turned around and looked at her. She was standing up now. She put one leg over the rails. I run towards her and yelled, "stop!". She heard me and stopped she looked at me with fear in her eyes. "Don't come near me! No one is supposed to know!" She cried. I wasn't sure what to do so I stopped. "Why are you doing this?" I asked to buy me some time to think. "Why should I tell you? You don't care." She shot at me. Hmmm I wasn't sure what to say. "I just want to know why you are going this far?" I said. It seemed to work. She was silent for a while. "God took him away from me. I loved him so much." She said with tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry but this isn't the best thing to do." I added. "Why not? This was where I saw him. I knew he was perfect. He was cute you...it has to be here." She said, getting really emotional. She had a black bag around her hand. Probably some weight so her body won't float. I had thought long and hard enough. I had a plan.

 "My goodness what is that?!" I yelled, pointing behind her. This was the decoy. I run fast and pulled her away from the edge of the bridge. We both fell and I held her back. "You may not want me to but I will save your life. I can't let a young girl like you kill herself." I said. "What? What are you talking about?!" She said trying to break free. "Weren't you trying to jump off the bridge?" I asked, rather uncomfortable. "No you dimwit! I just wanted to throw my dead dog into the river." She replied pointing to the black bag. I turned and saw the tail of the dead dog sticking out. How embarrassing  I stood up and she managed to do that too. "You are strange." She said. I screamed, "I am strange?!" inside my head. "Sorry." I said and turned around and left. I was too shocked to tell her my piece of mind.

The next day I bought a treadmill and never went out jogging again. Forget the gym, I was going to stay home and workout. This world is full of strange people!

My knight in shining amour

He used to run around the car just to open my door.
He would stare at me and say I'm the prettiest thing he ever saw.
He always held me close and was so excited when we hit the dance floor.
I really miss my knight in shining amour.  


It's not like he is gone away into war.
He is still here but things are just not the same any more.
My friends said it's normal, I'm still the one he will die for Please go back in time, go and look in places I never looked before and bring back my knight in shining amour!

The brave 10

Once there was a king. He ruled his people so well his kingdom was the happiest. Everyone loved him and would be nowhere else than in his Kingdom. One day an enemy attacked and fought them. They fought hard. The enemy wasn't strong enough to defeat them so they took as many people as they could captive and run away into the forest. The king was not happy. He loved every one of his people and wanted them back. He sent a message to the village. He told them that he wanted his people back. He was sending his army to go get them but since some had died in the battle he needed more hands. Some of the people yelled "We are not soldiers! Let the army go and do what they can!" Others said. "The forest is scary with all sorts of wild animals. They will tear us apart. We won't go!" Some also said, "We are busy fixing our homes from the war. We don't have time."

The king was sad. These were their fellow wives, sisters, sons and friends who were taken away. He didn't give up. He kept asking till he got a few people interested. They were just ten. The day came for them to leave. The king thanked them. They marched into the forest with the army knowing not what they would face. They walked for hours, following the trail of footprints left behind. "This isn't as frightening as I imagined. There are no monsters and goons at all." one of the ten said. At last, they caught up with them. They had made a camp in the forest. The army looked left and right but the enemy was nowhere to be found. They approached their people and told them they were here to save them. The captives laughed. "We like it here. Our leaders give us free food and we eat as much as we want." some said. The ten that came with the army were amazed. "You are in chains. How can you be happy?" one asked. They got her point but shrugged. "Don't you miss your daughter?" the army commander asked also to a woman he knew. After more questions they realized they were prisoners, real prisoners. The army released them from their shackles.

Just as they started to leave the enemy came back with their swords and spears. The army faught them and the ten protected the people. In no time at all the battle was over. The enemy was defeated and the people returned home. when they got back to the kingdom the ten told the stories to everyone. The captives jumped in joy and reunited with their families. The king was so happy. He was proud of his people and glad they were home but most of all he was proud of the brave ten.

Doesn't this story sound familiar? Can you relate? Imagine the King is God and we are his people. When he sends us out to bring his children back to Him, who are the very people we love don't we give excuses? Don't we depend on Pastors, Priests, Bishops and Popes to do God's work? Well it's not late. In our own little way we can be one of the ten :)

His muse 7

‎"Chale if I were you I would go to her hostel and act as if I met her by chance." Moses said. Edem and Moses had become good friends. He felt more comfortable talking to Moses about Sandra than Dean. Dean had a girlfriend, he didn't understand. "Chale she get boy oh." Edem said, throwing his backpack on the bed. "Well if she loves him she won't be so nice to you." Moses added. He was playing with a football. Edem thought for a while. The more Moses spoke, the more confident he got. He was almost sure he could win her over. He thought about ways he could approach her. She was so cute. He was going to make his move the next day.

"You should have been there. The designer took my measurements and asked me to try on some clothes." Edem said walking next to Dean. "Oh that's nice. Abi you are a star now." Dean replied. Edem smiled. "Don't get too excited oh. We still need to make enough money for your school fees and...goodness! Hostel fees too." Dean added, scratching his head. Edem nodded. They got to the shop and Dean looked around. "At least now that you have a new muse we are good to go." Dean said. Edem froze. "What new muse?" He asked confused. "Dela. I'm talking about Dela. I watched how you lit up the last time she came to watch you. It looks like she likes you too oh. You should look sharp." Dean explained and made his payment. Edem felt a bit offended. "I beg Dela is not my muse." He finally said. Dean looked at him funny. 

"Oh but before she came you were a mess. Then all of a sudden your jokes were super funny." He said trying to understand Edem's anger. "That day I had lunch with Sandra." He spilled out. Dean giggled. "The girl you are afraid of or which Sandra?" He teased. "Look Dean, I know you don't like the idea of me thinking about her but chale I dey like am waa. I may not get her because I don't have much to offer and she has a boyfriend who buys her stuff and all but it doesn't change..." Edem started but Dean cut him short. "Yo, can you hear yourself? She has a boyfriend. Let her go! If you date a girl like that she will just make you feel bad about yourself and boss you around." Dean was getting angry now. "You have a show tomorrow. Focus on that and leave that girl alone! You need to put yourself together and realize that you make all these jokes yourself and this muse business is just a distraction. I have to go prepare for my class so later." Dean added sternly and walked off. Edem just stood there soaking it all in.

On his way back to his hall Edem decided to walk. He felt like thinking. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the dark clouds forming. He kept walking on the wide walk, thinking about what Dean said. It was when it started drizzling that he realized he should have taken a taxi. He stood by the road and signaled for a taxi to stop. They were all full. Edem was getting soaked now. He shook his head and decided to walk to the bus stop ahead. He turned around and started walking, insulting himself as he went. He was interrupted by some screeching noice. He turned around and saw a blue van heading right at him. Edem tried to dive into the bush but the van was just too fast. It hit him and he fell down unconscious.






To be continued...

He fell asleep on my shoulder

I wasn’t exactly late for church this Sunday. I made it just in time to hear the first reading. I sat outside as usual on a plastic chair. It wasn’t really because I was late oh, the plastic chairs are just more comfortable to me. The sermon was nice and long and Father was talking mostly about marriage. I smiled and giggled. Was I ready? Clearly not. As the mass went on, kids would run to their mothers every now and then and whisper into their ears. Their mums will give them money or whisper back to them and they would run back. It was really cute. I smiled and wondered when I would be doing same for my kids. Would I have a son or a daughter? Maybe both. Thoughts I usually keep to myself so I don’t scare my boyfriend (lol). 

It was prayer time and I closed my eyes and said a silent personal prayer. When I opened my eyes something hit me. I keep asking God for so many things. He definitely gives me majority and I guess the rest will come in His time but seriously what do I do for Him? I sat up and said to myself. “From now on I’m going to pay my dues. Well at least do the little I can.” I smiled and felt really good about myself. When it was time to shake hands I’m sure everyone noticed how genuine my smile was. There was this cute little boy (about 1 and a half years old) who was walking all over the place. His family was sitting right next to me. I didn’t notice him standing in front of me till something touched my feet and I looked down. He had his hand stretched out so I giggled and shook his hand. He made a little sound and raised both of his hands. For those of you who know nothing about kids, this is a way of saying “carry me”. I smiled immediately and lifted him up. He held my blouse tightly and put his little head on my shoulder. 

My heart felt warm. He didn’t know who I was and vice versa but he put his trust in me to carry him. I sang along with the choir and swayed slowly to rock this angel in my arms. I could see a number of people staring. Well of course they would, I almost always came to church alone and went back same. Me carrying a child was definitely news. Then I felt his grip loosen. Was he falling asleep? I could feel his tiny weight more. I was right, I was humbled, I was melting. For no other reason than that the little boy fell asleep on my shoulder. His older brother came for him from me. He woke up in the transfer and started crying. His father carried him and he fell asleep again.  

When the mass ended I went home with a big smile. I had a flat tyre and had to change it, my trip to the swimming pool had to be rescheduled, my friend was leaving town for a very long time but none of these could take away that feeling. That amazing feeling I got when he fell asleep on my shoulder.