Chapter One

She screamed out from the pains of labor.

It had been three days and the baby was not yet out.

She cursed the heavens for putting this pain on her.

"Get it out of me!" She screamed, "just get it out of me. I cannot take it anymore".

"No one prepared me for this kind of pain".

"Oh Samuel, look what you're putting me through. I swear, I will never allow you to touch me ever again"!

"Just get out of me!" she said to the doctor.

"Mrs. Bridget, you are too weak to push this baby out on your own. We will have to perform a Cesarean section".

"

"That is the only chance we have got to save your life and that of your baby".The doctor said to her calmly

"If we do not conduct a Cesarean section now, we will likely lose you and the baby". The doctor further explained to her.

"Whatever it takes Doctor, just get this baby out of me!"

Bridget cried from the pains.

"I cannot take this pain anymore. None of the nurses warned me during my ante-natal that the pain will be this terrible or that the labor will be this long".

The doctor was puzzled, as he could not tell why the baby was yet to be birthed.

He carried out a cervix check and noted that she was fully dilated.

He also carried out another ultrasound examination and confirmed that the baby was not bridged.

"What might be the reason why for the reason for delay"? He said out loud.

Her husband, Samuel, was getting really worried; he had been pacing up and down the waiting room of the hospital.

He had also just returned from running to and fro the city to get supplies.

"This may be the work of the underworld, I feel the hand of the wicked one in the predicament of this poor woman".

"How else can you explain why the baby is yet to come out of her when all conditions needed for a woman to deliver safely are normal"?

"I suggest we get spiritual help". One of the nurses suggested.

"Nurse Gloria, I am disappointed that you would even suggest such nonsense"!

"We are medical professionals and we do not believe in fetish and diabolical manipulations". The doctor retorted

To make matters worse power went off while the doctor was assembling his team to perform the Cesarean section on Bridget.

"Could things get worse?" The doctor sighed in frustration.

While they were all venting in frustration, the backup generator came on.

"Thank God for backups," the doctor said in relief.

"Bridget, we will have to perform this Cesarean section right now".

"You have labored for a long time and are already weak.

"The baby's heartbeat is also getting faint" The doctor informed her.

"Please save my baby, do not allow him to die. I am ready to even give up my life for him", Bridget pleaded with the doctor.

"That is motherly of you Bridget, but I want you to calm down".

" No one is going to die here today. You will both be fine" The doctor assured her.

The nurses and other theatre attendants wheeled her to the theatre to commence the operation.

The anesthetic doctor had already injected the epidural into her spine and Bridget began to lose any sensation from her waist downward.

While this was going on, they heard a loud blast and suddenly and backup generator went off.

"What in the name of whatever name it is is this?" The doctor shouted.

"Can somebody get down there and find out what is going on"?

A few minutes later, one of the orderlies returned with a worried look on his face.

"It is the plugs, the plugs are gone, sir. We need new plugs"! He said

"Don't we have a spare plug anywhere?" The doctor asked

"No sir, we do not have any spare plug in the technical room and there is no way we can buy a new plug by this time of the night".

"We would have to wait till morning" The orderly replied.

Suddenly a little light bulb in the corridor leading to the theatre came on.

However, the other parts of the hospital remained in darkness.

"What a weird occurrence!" The doctor said looking perplexed.

"Snap out of it people! we have to carry out this Cesarean section now using this makeshift mysterious light"

Bridget was wheeled into the corridor and the doctor performed the Cesarean section there and then.

Thirty minutes later a big bouncing baby boy was pulled out of her womb.

The attending nurse slapped the baby on the buttocks so he could cry and take in air.

The baby let out a weak cry. The stress of the three days of labor was telling on the child, so he was too weak to cry strongly.

The doctor was relieved that the baby came out ok and as he stitched up Bridget.

He could not but wonder if the nurse was right when she said some evil power was behind all the mysterious things that happened in the course of this delivery.

Samuel drove back home jubilantly. He drove into his compound, turned up the volume of his car stereo, and started dancing without a care in the world.

This attracted the attention of his neighbors, as well as his mother, who all came out running.

Samuel shouted in excitement, "It is a boy!! It is a boy!!".

All his neighbors hugged him and congratulated him on the arrival of his son.

Some of the male neighbors teased him saying "You can now confidently call yourself a man! Welcome to the League of men".

Samuels' mother had arrived at her sons' home a few days before Bridget went into labor.

She even came with a baby walker as a gift for her soon-to-be-born grandson.

However, the neighbors were surprised and confused that, she never went to the hospital to check on Bridget or assist in any of the errands throughout the three days her daughter-in-law was in labor.

She was also acting strange as she seemed more surprised than happy on hearing the news of the birth of her grandson.

Samuel noticed his mothers' countenance and asked her

"Mama, are you not happy for me? Are you not excited about the birth of your grandson?"

"Of course I am happy! She has finally given birth after three days in labor".

"I thought you would lose the child and it's good that you guys would soon be home," she said with a blank look on her face.

"You meant to say you hoped we would not lose the child mama"? Samuel asked her with a look of suspicion on his face.

He walked past her and went into the room to get all that Bridget would need.

On his way there, he ran into Rita the housemaid.

Rita was a teenager who Bridget brought to her house to assist her in the house chores after her wedding.

Rita considered Bridget to be her mother, as she has always treated her very well.

She could not wait for the weekend to come so that her madam could return home.

She was so happy at the prospect of taking care of the newborn baby who she already considered to be her brother.

"Do not worry little brother, I vow to protect you with everything I have and love you as your mother loves me" Rita thought to herself.

A few days later, Bridget was discharged from the hospital and Samuel brought her home.

"Hey, Mama come see your grandson!" Bridget said as she joyfully walked into the house.

Rita came out all smiling and embraced her madam with Joy. However, her expression changed and she said

"Grandma is not around. She left early this morning and when I tried to remind her you were coming back home today and needed all the help she could offer, she brushed me off"

"What do you mean by Grandma is not around". Bridget asked with surprise.

"Honey, are you aware that, your mother left this morning"?

"Did she tell you she was leaving and you failed to tell me"?

"What is so important that she cannot wait to see her grandson"?

"Did you inform her we were coming home today"? Bridget said with a look of disappointment in her eyes.

"Of course I did. What is the matter?' Richard asked.

"Rita tells me that your mum just packed up and left this morning without waiting to see how I and her grandson are doing".

"Does she hate me that much? I thought we had gone past that when she came to witness the birth of her grandson". Bridget asked.

"What do you mean she left?" Samuel asked in surprise. "She was at home when I left to come to pick you guys from the hospital".

Samuel could not believe his mother would just live without telling him.

More worrying was the fact that mobile phones were not available at the time, so he could not find out the reason for his mums' unusual behavior.

"Never mind. I believe that she would have a good reason as to why she left" Richard said to pacify his wife as he ushered her into their bedroom.

"Ok dear," Bridget said.

Bridget pondered on all these things in her mind as she walked into her room with the baby in her hand.

She noticed that the baby walker that her mother-in-law brought as a gift for the baby was gone.

"She also took her gift. Wow! How can a grandmother with nine children be this petty"?

Bridget always knew that she had married into a diabolical family.

There is something about the family that had always kept her on her guard and never made her feel safe.

That was why she had always kept her in-laws at arm's length.

That was also the reason she had tried to keep Samuel very far from them.

It was not that she prevented him from carrying out his financial responsibilities and obligations to his family; she only made sure his contact with his family is limited.

She knew that was one of the reasons his family hated her so much.

However, she was convinced in her heart that she needed to do that, to save her husband.

Samuel was the third of nine children and was the most successful of all the children and there was no hiding the reason that she was his backbone and the reason for this success.

Bridget had done everything in her power to protect him and now that she had a son, she had one more person to protect.

Looking at her son, she felt a strong protective instinct come upon her.

She thought that she would never love anyone as she loved Samuel, but the love she felt looking at her son, proved that her earlier assumption was wrong.

Looking at her son as she held her son in her hands, Bridget proclaimed positively into the life of her son

"You are born a king and a king you will always be. You will be called "Udiel".

"Your fire shall burn; your fire shall burn so bright for the whole world to see. You shall be ahead of your peers" she said as she continued to pray for him.

The baby looked into his mother's loving eyes of his mother and cued with contentment like he could understand what his mum was saying and was trying to respond.

Bridget watched her son's reaction with a certain wonder.

"Thank God I listened to the doctor's advice during the ante-natal classes when he advised us to talk to our baby while in the womb", she thought to herself.

"My son can actually recognize my voice" Bridget noted with excitement.

"I thank God that he blessed me with a wonderful son barely one year after wedding".

"Thank you, God, despite the challenges I am facing from my in-laws, I am happier than I have ever been because at least I now had my source of joy". She said with gratefulness in her heart.

Udiel grew up to become a very smart and resourceful young boy.

All through his childhood he always showed this uncanny mind and was so logical and critical in thinking, although, he was not the best academically;

Everyone knew that there was something special about him.

Even young Udiel knew that there was something special about him.

He could not tell why he always had such feelings, but he just knew that he was special.

He knew he was more than where he was, his peers he hung out with, or his present circumstances.

He never seemed to fit in with his peers. He was always the odd one out.

They always thought him unfit for their cliques, just because his reasoning was more futuristic.

Whilst sitting in a park watching Udiel play a man walked up to Bridget and said "May I have a word with you please?"

"Who are you and what do you have to tell me?" Bridget asked.

"I just want to tell you something and there is no need to come closer if you are scared. You are not safe where you are", The mysterious man said.

His words sent a chill down her spine.

"You and your son are not safe; you need to fight for his life for he is born a king!"

"Forces will stand against him, but he is destined to prevail".

"Only you can protect him and help him stand against those that plot against him and are willing to do him harm", the strange man said.

Bridget was perplexed at what the man had said.

She looked at Udiel who was busy playing football with some other kids he met at the park.

"But how do you know this?" She asked as she returned her gaze to the mysterious man.

But to her greatest shock, the man was nowhere to be found.

He seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"What do I call this encounter?" She asked herself as she sat there in the park while keeping a more watchful eye on Udiel.

She did not mention any of this to her husband Samuel, as he was never really interested in such matters.

He never even bothered to confront his mother on her unacceptable behavior during the birth of his child, so she knew that bringing such important news to him will just do more harm than good.

Udiel never really felt the love of his father.

His mother, in a bid to protect him and her husband, engrossed herself in several spiritual activities and paid less attention to him.

Despite the fact that he was the only child of his parents he was never really spoilt or pampered like similar children in the same position as him.

He had needs like other children, but most times, his parents particularly his father always turned down his requests.

Udiel was seriously scared of his father and could never look at him in the face when talking to him.

Even though his father was well to do, he usually looked wretched because his father was a serial womanizer, who neglected his needs and that of this mother.

Samuel went as far as having an affair with Rita the housemaid, which led to Bridget sending Rita out of the house.

Samuel then rented a small apartment for Rita where they would meet to continue their evil act.

When Bridget found out she went to confront Rita that the rented apartment.

"I can't believe you would do this to me"! Bridget said to Rita as she cried

"I took you out from, poverty! Brought you into my home, treated you like my daughter"!

"I clothe you and feed you. What else could I have done for my child that I didn't for you"?

"And this is how you pay me back?" Bridget asked her.

"Please leave my husband"! Bridget pleaded.

"Please let him be!" She said.

Rita felt so much guilt for the pain she had caused her madam.

She begged Bridget for forgiveness and immediately packed her things and left the house.

Later that same day Samuel came to see Rita and found out she had left.

He made inquiries with the neighbors and was told about the encounter between his wife and Rita.

He was furious and returned home to confront Bridget.

"Who gave you the right to do what you did?" He asked her in anger.

"What effrontery!" He exclaimed!

"Today I will teach you a lesson you will never forget!" He said and then he pounced on Bridget and began to beat her up.

Udiel was in the room, scared as hell, but he still tried to save his mum but was flung away by his dad.

He was only 5 years old at the time.

Several times Udiel would witness his father beat up his mother.

It was so disheartening that he could not save his mother, all he could do was watch and cry as he saw his father brutalize the only woman who ever cared and love him.

Samuel continued in his womanizing also.

When he was transferred to another state, he refused his family coming over so as for him to be free to do whatever he liked

As Udiel grew older, he resolved to put an end to the domestic violence against his mother.

When Udiel was seventeen, his grandmother died and they all went for her burial.

When they arrived, Udiel was treated like royalty by his extended family because they hadn't seen him for years.

His mother knew that their intentions were evil and they were only pretending.

She made sure to keep Udiel by her side all through the program.

On the last day of the program, they held a thanksgiving party for the grandmother.

Udiel had a natural likeness for babies, so when he saw a cousin of his carrying one he offered to carry the baby and play with her.

Unknown to him, he was carrying his supposed step-sister.

Bridget, as usual, had her eyes on him and when the program was over he returned the baby to his cousin.

Suddenly out of nowhere a strange appeared and angrily collected the baby from Udiels' cousins' arms.

"See how they left a newborn baby under the scorching sun"! She said in anger as she walked away.

This act stirred up an inquisitiveness in Bridget, as she felt the woman's reaction was over the top.

She then walked up to Grace who was the cousin who initially carried the baby and asked;

"Who is that woman"? She said pointing at the woman who was walking away.

Grace was one of the very few inlaws who Bridget could trust and she had been itching for this moment.

"Oh! That's the babies Aunty". She replied Bridget.

"And where is the baby's mother"? Bridget asked.

"Oh! Didn't you know?" Grace asked as she faked surprise.

"I thought you were aware and just didn't want to say anything about it". Grace said.

"Aware about what"? Bridget asked looking confused.

"That is Udiels' newborn baby sister". Grace replied.

Bridget let out a burst of hysterical laughter.

"Baby sister? Is it the one I gave birth to? Or the one that fell from heaven?" She asked sarcastically.

"No, not the one you gave birth to, nor did she fall from heaven". Grace replied.

"Then where did she come from? And who is her mother?" Bridget asked as she was becoming impatient.

"Rita"! Grace suddenly said

"Rita is the mother of the baby!"