Chapter Six

when Gerald was 4 years old, something very wonderful happened in Allen's family. It was exactly 13 years since Ella got married but she woke up one morning feeling nauseous.

 "Gerald she called, can you please call your father for me" And Gerald ran to his father and delivered his mother's message. Allen went to his wife and saw her very weak feeling feverish so he brought out a drug with a cup of water and served his wife. there after, he knelt down by her side and pleaded with God for speedy recovery of his wife. 

Just as he knelt and prayed, he went into a trance where he saw a baby boy of about the age of 4 months crawling speedily all about in the room pulling down several items and their  falling created a chaotic scene but there was nothing he could make of the trance.

He didn't consider the trance worthy of discussion with  anybody. Later during the day, he carried Ella to a clinic for treatment. and the doctor ran some tests on her including pregnancy test and when the result was out, the doctor rushed into the office, beaming with smiles and shook hands with Allen.

"Congratulations Mr. Allen" 

"On what doctor"

"Your wife is 6 weeks pregnant going by her pregnancy test result" the doctor announced.

"What did you just say Dr, do you want to just pull my legs or what Allen asked at the verge of tears

" I'm being frank with you Mr. Allen it's true.

 Ella couldn't come to terms to really appreciate what has been said about her because she had already concluded that in less than no time, she will enter her menopause so she decided never to discuss the so-called pregnancy test result with any other person. As months went by, Ella noted that indeed the handshake has actually crossed the elbow and she was uncontrollably happy. Suddenly, she remembered the good old days when people composed songs of commendation with her name and also the same people turned around later when things became rough with her and composed derogatory songs with her name. The same squad that shout hosanna when The going was good will also turn around to shout crucify him when the going is not so good.

 Ella was still finding it difficult to believe that she of all women was carrying a baby in her womb. everywhere, every time her hands will be pressing her tummy feeling the baby to be sure if it was still there.

At nine month exactly, Ella was delivered of a very good looking and healthy child whom they called Damien. Everything about the child was like he was in a hurry and within a twinkle of an eye, he started crawling and after a little while, he started walking about strongly.

Damien was just an embodiment of a precious child and meanwhile Gerald on his own was not having any unusual development but having steady and beautiful growth. 

He took Damien as his younger brother whom he loved and cherished so much while Ella on her part didn't find any reason to diminish in any measure her love and acceptance of Gerald. Both Damien and Gerald were growing together and Gerald continued to love and take good care of Damien and at any point, he will be ready to sacrifice his life for him.

As the whiz kid that Damien was, he entered the kindergarten at the age of 2 and a maid was employed to help him and when he entered primary one, Gerald was already in Primary 6. Sometimes when the both of them arrive school very late and they are to receive some strokes of cane, Gerald will not allow Damien to receive his own entitlement of the cane. Vicariously, Gerald will receive his own strokes of the lash and also turn around to receive those meant for Damien's buttocks. Other siblings who didn't have the type of love amongst themselves used to envy the Gerald-Damien fraternal love.

After his primary education, Gerald gained admission into a secondary school by the time he was in Senior secondary school, his brother Damien joined him in the same school. All along, it had been Gerald who has kept the brotherly Love aglow, showing more care and doing everything to uphold the quo. while Damien on his own part has never being resentful or in any opposition to his elder brother's love and care.

However, as soon as Damien turned 13 and was then in Jss3 while Gerald was in SS3 it seemed like Damien has earlier been programmed even before he was born to always rise in opposition to everything that would make any member of Allen's family unhappy. His first onslaught was a manifestation of hatred towards Gerald. Suddenly, He never agrees to anything said by Gerald even if was for his own conspicuous interest as he hated to hear Gerald's voice.  

Day-by-day, the situation worsened as everything began to transform in the negative manner at Allen's household because Damien spreads and exuded hatred in the atmosphere.

Once he enters a place, nothing will ever be peaceful as everywhere will be filled with confusions and misunderstanding. Before long, Damien became a syndrome for trouble and confusion in the whole neighborhood. He became very terrible that mothers began to teach their children that "the avoidance of contact with Damien, is the beginning of wisdom" every child has avoided him as if he was a leech.

One day, Damien seized up a girl of about 2 years older than him. He mercilessly beat up the girl just for a trumped-up charge that the girl crossed his way some days back but refused to greet him. All the denials that the girl put up, fell on Damien's camouflaged ears. When the girl made it categorically clear that she was feeling sick on that day in question and never crossed the gate of her compound,  Damien flew off the handle and interpreted it that the girl had simply called him a blatant liar and for that reason he brutally dealt with the girl that she sprouted horns on her head.

 The mother of the girl and her two elder Brothers were very wroth. The trio with the girl marched down angrily to Allen's home but unfortunately both Allen and his wife were not at home and the aggrieved family met only Gerald and Damien.

"Where's that fool who laid his filthy hands on my daughter" the aggrieved mother roared and when Damian saw them, he got up to flee but the wounded girls strong brothers caught up with him and overpowered him. On the instruction of their mother, they pinned Damien down and tied his legs and hands with the ropes they brought then they gave their sister a very big and strong stick and commanded her to start flogging Damien. The girl was afraid and hesitant but they urged her on and she descended on Damien. Her aggrieved people made her continue flogging Damien until his body was eventually lacerated by the cane.

 All through the flogging, Gerald was pleading and crying that they have mercy and forgive his brother but each time he moved to stop the cane or even receive the flogging himself, the aggressors always stopped him and pushed him away. Some days later, Damien went to fight another boy unfettered Damien engaged a boy in a fight and broke the boys skull and the boy's parents brought him in a blood-drenched clothes to Allen's house. 

A week  later, again Damien went to fight with another guy but that day was an unfortunate one for him because the younger sister of the boy he was fighting with was carrying a bottle of palm oil with her and when it appeared to the girl that her brother was on the losing side in the fight, she rushed at Damien and broke the bottle of palm oil on his head that resulted into a deep cut which made him run home soaked in his blood and palm oil.

Damien was a complete ruffian a hippie and a free everything about him was bizzare. Though he was a male, but almost every bit of his dressings were feminine. In the culture of his nativity, it was women who wore earrings, plait their hair, use head scarves and men don't, but as for Damien, the one-man riot squad, he always wear dangling earrings on both ears, his hair was always plaited like those of women and he always wore head scarf.

In the whole of Allen's home, the only person that Damien could give just little attention was his father. One day, his father thought he could make one more effort to talk some sense into him. 

"Damien my son, just give me a little audience and sit down "Dad, you know I'm about to jump out" 

" jump out to where Damien? talk to me, I'm your father. Why do you always like to swim against the tide?

"Listen Dad, I know you're my father but please let's not start this ok. Fine I'll sit down 

" My son, just take a look at your appearance and you're telling me that you want to jump out are you jumping out to hell? if ever you'll accept to open the Bible, you'll discover where God your maker said in 1st Corinthians 6:9 that fornicators, adulterers, idolaters and the effeminate shall not inherit his kingdom.

"Daddy, now I want to go please I've heard enough of your sermon already" Damien said getting up to walk out of his father until a thunderous voice made him halt.

"Stop there" Allen commanded

Damien was almost frozen because he was very surprised at the strength of his father's command. For the very first time in his whole life, the fear for his father engulfed him. He became transfixed and couldn't move out and then his father continued with what he was saying earlier

"You can tell me that you're not a fornicator or idolater but even though you're like them but the fact that you are  effeminate is crystal clear and any man who behaves like women in character and dressing is the effeminate the Bible talked about" Allen said

"Daddy, do you blame just me? what about my mother who use to dress up in men's wear

"Well Damien, your question is intelligent enough but don't you notice that I always quarrel with her on that? Now that's by the way whatsoever any individual does, the reward or punishment is for him/her. God also spoke in the book of Deuteronomy 22:5 that "A woman should not wear that which pertaineth to a man and neither should a man put on a woman's garment. For all that do so is abominable unto the Lord" You can see that God notes that some wears belong to men while some pertains to women. 

In this part of the world, we have as in our culture the wears that God had long noted as belonging to men and those for women. It is only men and situations that can change but God doesn't change. So my son....."

"Please dad excuse me, we'll continue this conversation when I come back later but as for now, I'm off to somewhere because I'm a man of mission. 

"Man of mission?" Allen asked Damien

" Dad, you may not understand because I don't even understand myself. Most times dad, I do not understand my actions but please let me run alone" Damien said as he quickly dashed out before his father could hold him any further. 

The life of Damien became a nightmare in Allen's and the heat was becoming unbearable for Allen as he watched helplessly his solid home gradually translating into a home built with the gossamer wings of a dragonfly. One day after having fasted for 3 days in he knelt down to conclude the fasting with prayers 

"God, how can I your child beget a child who is married to the devil? a devil's associates who goes about propagating the gospel of the devil, defending devil's dogma and ideas how could I have become an in-law to the devil? Oh my God! my lord of mercy, power and wisdom arise and deliver me from this mess" after praying for sometime, he entered into a trance and saw a man whose feet and head was not visible enough and the man spoke to his hearing in a reverberating guttural voice, "My son, you're coming home. I'll take you to safety as a can of whirlwind is opened in your home and you can't stand it. Your son is a missionary, a painful cross for your wife to bear." The last phrase echoed and re-echoed but Allen did not fully understand it and five days time, he kicked the bucket.

Allen's death dealt devastating blows on Ella. It transformed her into a woman of sorrow as a better part of her went with Allen.  As for Damien, he loved his father and sincerely misses him. He nicknamed him Lamb of God due to his propensity to godliness. People therefore believed that the death of Allen would transform Damien and make him turn around but the case became worse although the death of his father dealt with him, but he was still his old self.

After Allen's death, Ella's worry and fear about Damien increased and members of their church kept visiting her and the children to see if any of them would fill up their late father's  place in their church and also tread on his path, but none of them was willing to hearken to the church.

Damien once again put on his garb of delinquency and on one of the days, without even having any driving tutorials neither has he ever driven before he just picked his mother's car key and dashed out. Just within a twinkle of an eye, he jumped into the car switched on the ignition and before his mother could say anything he zoomed off. In his hurry and maddening recklessness, he was driving the car intermittently to the right, left, back and center which made him loose control and for whatever reason, he lost sight of his break panel and all of a sudden he opened the door of The speeding vehicle, brought out his left leg and was marching the ground with it with the intention of using that foot to prevent the car from speeding as if it was a speeding bicycle. in that confusion he knocked down and squashed an old woman who was standing by the roadside. Of course the old woman's corpse will not serve as a stopper to the mad car being driven by a mad fellow therefore, the car then run into a wooden electric pole and stopped . The pole broke and live electric cables littered the whole place.

 In the ensuing commotion as people ran helter-skelter to save their lives, Damien fortunately came out unscathed and ran away into safety and went into the bush for refuge.