Chapter 5
It was 2:30 a.m., Thursday, July 20, 2011.
Steve finally gave up trying to sleep. Turning his head to the east and looking through the window adjacent to his bed, he saw the day already dawning, announcing the beginning of another day. He had been awake most of the night, trying to fight off the other side of him which was painting a gloomy future ahead of him and the one who will be officially his wife that very day at the registry. I’m glad to be in this. He said to himself. I can’t wait for it to be over today. I can’t wait for Serena to be my wife finally. I’m not going to give in to any negative thought. I’m not getting married to a prostitute. I’m getting married to the inner beauty I saw in Serena. I believe this will work out fine. I’m casting off and suspending all doubts, all disbelief and all hopelessness.
But he was frightened and terrified. He was filled with deep concern about the past life Serena had lived. He was apprehensive of what a prostitute will bring on the table as a married woman. He was glad the medicals cleared her but he was scared of a scenario where Serena would return to her vomit despite her many promises not to do that. His thought also travelled along the direction of Bobby and wondered what Bobby’s reaction would be if eventually, Serena returns to her vomit. He thought about the shame and the regret that would follow such an occurrence. He shivered from his fright and his cold and from his inability to permanently put a stop to this negative side of his mind.
It was now 5:30 am and it was his alarm bell that cut short his short sleep. He rose from the bed, picked up his devotional booklet, read the message portion for the day, said his prayer and found his way to the bathroom.
“Are you getting tired of the journey before it started?” his other mind said to him as he turned on the shower and as fresh, cold water dropped on his head flowing down his body.
‘No, I’m not,” he answered his mind.
“Then why the long negative thought all through the night?”
“Huh.” Steve shuddered. He found it difficult to answer the last question from his thought.
‘You said you saw the inner beauty of Serena.”
“Yes, I did.”
“And you’ve told her and Bobby about this severally.”
“Yes, I’ve done that.”
“Then, is that inner beauty no longer there?”
“Huh.’ Steve again struggled to find an answer to another question.
“What makes a man is his ability to go for and stick to what he had seen and which nobody has seen.”
That last wisdom chunk from his thought brought him back to reality. He stopped the shower, picked his towel, dried his body and wrapped it around his waist. He headed to the wall mirror in the bathroom, picked up his brush and toothpaste and gave a thorough wash to his teeth and mouth.
12:10 p.m., Thursday, July 15, 2011, the city’s main marriage registry already had people seated waiting for the arrival of the two lovebirds.
Steve and Serena had planned for their wedding to be low-keyed but members of the two families disagreed and wanted an elaborate wedding. Even with that, Serena took a decision not to inform any member of her “night gangs” about her decision to get married. So none of them were present at the marriage registry. She had also secretly disengaged herself from her harlot profession several months before the wedding day after she agreed to get married to Steve. Steve’s parents and Serena’s mum were already seated and a few friends and relatives of the soon-to-be wedded couples. Photographers have also taken their positions. There were also some staff members of the marriage registry present.
After they arrived at the registry, Steve and Serena sat in front and Bobby and Serena’s niece sat behind them as the groom’s man and bride’s maid. The setting was fantastic and awesomely wonderful. The protocol officers of the registry professionally directed the motions of the vehicles while the ushers’ smiles welcomed the guests who were gorgeously dressed to the wedding program.
The registry’s Choir’s angelic voices and the inspired hymnal song also did much to make the guest feel the joy of the moment with the couple. It was indeed a colorful wedding.
“The next item,” announced the registry officiating minister. “On the program is the joining of the intending couple together. “
The couple rose from their seats and walked towards the center of the stage and turned to face the people. Steve’s eyes caught that of Bobby, his groom’s man and he felt a strange knock in his heart. Bobby’s smiles and excitement seem like a stage-managed drama which is not always palatable to watch.
The official continued, “Hebrew 13:4: Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. God instituted marriage between a man and a woman from the beginning in the Garden of Eden in Genesis Chapter 2 verse 18. And Jesus, our Savior was present in a marriage at Cana of Galilee in John Chapter 2 verses 1 and 2. For this cause, shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.”
He asked the intending couple to move closer to the people. “Mr. Steve, please kindly uncover your bride?” Steve joyfully and quietly did as instructed and Serena expressed her happiness with a lovely smile erupting from her face.
“Is,” the minister continued. “There anyone in this gathering who is against this union? If we have such, the person should kindly signify now or keep quiet forever. The whole place was in complete quietness such that one could hear a drop of a needle. “If there’s none, then I believe we have the legal right to proceed and join this couple together as husband and wife under the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.”
That last submission from the official minster further knocked Steve’s heart. So, he said to himself while holding tightly to Serena’s hand. It’s finally done. It’s legal. I’m joined to Serena forever. I’m married finally to …, he could not muster enough strength to finish that statement from his mind.
Read Chapter 6 here
Thorns of Rose
A true-life story of a Christian man and husband who endured and fought off violent and horrible spiritual battles with a wife who was a principal-agent from the pit of hell. This story, told in a fictional form, is actually a true-life story and it reveals how principal agents of the devil are finding their ways into the bedrooms, home and marriages of unsuspecting Christian men. It is a must-read.
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