Sex on the Altar

She sat at the back seat, in the very last row of the new-generation church. It was one of those churches that had started to gain rave and momentum due to the incredible testimonies it recorded in its many crusades organized in several states across the country. It was a very large auditorium that could probably contain all the Aba market women, if they decided to attend a service for whatever reason. The crest of the church was boldly sculpted on the standing wall behind the altar; it was visible, even from the entrance door. It was the focal point and somewhat, a spiritual monument of the very beautiful and majestic cream-coloured auditorium. Pastor Dash preached that Sunday, having been given a rare opportunity by the Senior Pastor. He was among the teeming ministers cum pastors in the church, all under the auspices of the Senior Pastor. Among them all, he was the most loved. His very jovial character made him a favourite of the aged and the youths loved his jocular demonstrations which were anticking at times, but nobody saw a rough ball of hair in them.

Elizabeth could barely look up, let alone look at him as he spoke on the pulpit. He dished out the sermon with so much passion, aplomb and character, which had a few ‘admitted’ members on their feet, clapping and hailing him from within the congregation. She held on to her already bulged belly; she was 7 months pregnant. Dressed in an uncharacteristic manner that provoked rebuke from familiar faces that saw her but couldn’t recognize her. All they saw was a 19 year old girl who had committed immorality and had gotten pregnant in the process. It was really disheartening for her to see that she was already being judged by people who barely knew her and even more by people who did, before she could even get a seat in the last row. No one cared to listen to her part of the story; for all they knew, she had spoilt her life and was about to spoil something even greater.

About a year ago, Elizabeth was a white sheep, perhaps the whitest in the band of choristers who led the church in song ministrations. She was a very important member of the choir and was easily the joker card and ace in the Choir Master’s pack of cards, especially when he needed something special, something different in the praise and worship session of the service. She easily became an Abel in a den of Cains, who accused her of using her beauty to charm and her body to seduce the coordinator to favour her above the rest choristers, but in this was a truthful lie; she was beautiful and charming but never seduced him or anyone, she didn’t have to. Her voice was the best by a mile and she always found a way of stirring up the spirits of worshippers through her deep songs. 

"Sister Lizzy, you did very well today. You must keep working on your voice and the manuscript I gave you for next week Sunday. It is a classical Sunday, so I need you to be at the top of your game, ehhn?” 

“Yes, Choir master”, Elizabeth replied, after being briefed by the coordinator after the service as was the norm. 

“Come on Lizzy, you know you can call me Kola. Please, I prefer that. And stop the sir… sir, everywhere sir, just be free with me.” He said in an attempt to dissemble the bricks of formality that stood between his position as the choir coordinator and expressing his feelings for her. 

“Okay Kola, I’ll be taking my leave now, see you on Friday for the rehearsal.”

“Wait… please… wuuu… wait. I need to tell you something. See, Lizzy, I have always watched you since the very first day you came into this church. I know you’re 18 and I’m 27, age is just a number, see, I like you, I really like you a lot and I wish to date you.” Kola said, in-between coherent words and incongruous mumblings, after being able to get the words out, even though he spat them out like hot yam in the mouth. She replied with a salient smile, one which in all tenderness weaved hope in his quest. 

“I know, I know. I see how you look at me. I like you too and yes, I will like to date you but I need time. Wait for me for another two years and I’ll be ready by then. Let’s just be friends for now.” The words she spoke were like falling snow flakes in summer – difficult to believe. He wondered where such maturity came from but he was ready to wait for her and from that moment on, he had a new hobby; counting days.

Evening services weren’t the most exciting for Elizabeth. They held on Wednesdays and the stress of going to church almost immediately after returning from school to attend the service was really stressful and sometimes overbearing but she had the encouragement of her Father, who was an elder in the church, telling her to give her youthful days in service to the church – she didn’t want to disappoint him. It was on one of such evening she met with the devil she never knew. 

                                      ***********

The vibration of her phone in her brown leather bag which was strapped to her left side, tickled her and she reached for it. It was Dad, “Hello Sir, I’m on my way home already, the service was quite long, I’ll be home in few minutes time, please.” she spoke very audibly, doing all she could to topple the surrounding noise of blaring horns and lousy conductors, while walking as fast as her legs could take her. She didn’t have transport fare that day, so she decided to go with the natural ferry. She was yet on her heels when a male voice called out to her, “Sister Elizabeth… Heey.. Sister Lizzy!” She could hear the voice clearly and noticed it was from a car which parked few distance from her. While she waited to make a decision on whether to approach the car, a hand signalled to her from the driver’s door-window, bidding her to come. She approached the car, though cautiously but her fears were allayed when she saw who it was. “Pastor, good evening Sir,” she greeted on seeing it was Pastor Dash in the driver’s seat. “Good evening, hop in, let me take you home” “Okay sir”. She got into the car and somehow thanked her stars for being lucky enough to save her legs from covering more grounds of the muddy road. 

The car was a latest of its brand, with alloyed wheel and fully air-conditioned. Elizabeth sat on the edge of the leather cushion with care, not wanting to further stain any part of the interior, with the foot rug already plastered with mud from her shoes. Things started to look wrong when the car took an unexpected turn; she thought he’d forgotten the road to her house but how could he? “Sir, this road doesn’t lead to my house, my street is still about three junctions away.” She said, with her voice cracking between every word, her throat had suddenly gone dry. “Yes, I know, please, I need to deliver some documents to your father and I need you to help me with it. Let’s get to my house first to pick it up, and then I will drop you at home.” His words sounded innocuous and she saw reasons to dispel any form of sceptic, after all, he was a pastor, her pastor. She leaned her back and rested it well on the chair. She became more relaxed and cared less about the neatness of the car’s interiors. On getting to the front of the gate, he parked the car and alighted from it. “Aren’t you going to come down?” he asked her, after noticing her reluctance to go with him into the house. “It’s not safe here, come in at least, it wouldn’t take long, and we’d be on our way before you even know it”. It took a while before the door knob turned and she alighted. 

“What can I offer you?” 

“Nothing sir, I am okay, thank you” she said, with both her palms closed together between her knees. She wondered how a bachelor would live alone in such a huge house, decorated with beautiful lights. He went upstairs and was there for a while, at this time she was beginning to feel unease and her phone had gone off after the battery got exhausted. She stood up and paced around the large living-room.  There was a large picture frame on the wall, it was of a woman. It must be his mother, she thought. She was still looking at the picture when she felt a hand on her back, it was Pastor Dash, he was half naked, putting on only a white singlet with a red shorts which revealed his hairy thighs. She turned to look at him, her eyes were reddened and wide open, it was like she stood face to face with a deadly mamba, her legs shook vigorously and her heart paced just as fast. “Sir, what are you doing? Please let me go… please” she begged, as she ran behind the chair, begging and evading, it bought her some time but there was no escaping, the shape of his erected manhood was seen through his shorts, she knew what was coming and not even her shouting could help her. She got home very late that night to worried parents who thanked the pastor for bringing her safely, if only they knew. She bled through the night and soaked her bed sheets red and in tears. Her parents saw nothing wrong with her behaviour that night, even her silence didn’t mean anything to them.

Eight weeks after, she was found to be pregnant by the doctor her mother made her visit when she noticed some unusual health issues she suffered from – symptoms of pregnancy. Her parents were left devastated by the news of her pregnancy and when she pointed out Pastor Dash as the man responsible for the pregnancy, they rebuked her with great ferocity, saying she was possessed and wanted to bring down the ' '‘man of God'’, while dragging the church’s name to the muddy waters. No one believed her claim of being raped by him, not even her parents. From being the most sought-after young lady in the church, she became a scorn, rejected by all that esteemed her; she lost favour in all eyes. 

Now sitting among the congregation, watching the man that defiled her act up all godly on the sacred pulpit, deceiving the congregation with his sweet words wrapped in serpentine venom. Her blood boiled, her bile erupted. Had it not been for Kola who stood by her, she would have probably committed suicide, killing herself and the bastard inside her. It was not easy convincing Kola of her innocence, it took tears, pain and rain. His feelings for her had suddenly turned to hate and he could barely stand her presence. He eventually allowed his heart to learn to forgive her, claimed responsibility for the pregnancy which inadvertently prompted his suspension from the church. He took all the bullets and stones thrown at her, alleviated her of all blames and heaped them upon himself. He still loved her. They had gone through four months of intense period of pressure and insults and there they sat, together, at the back seat of the church, to see it for the last time before they both travelled out of the country to start a new life. Kola had won a visa lottery to Canada and he was taking her with him. 

She bowed her head and drops of tears from her eyes fell to the church’s marbled ground. “Sweetheart, let’s take our leave now, please.” Kola said, holding her by the left hand. He’d gone to tell her parents about their plans to get married once they get to Canada and they gave them their blessings. On getting to the door of the church, she turned back to see the sharp wave that rocked the boat of her life. Pastor Dash’s eyes also met hers and for half a minute they stared at each other, he stopped preaching and the congregation also turned to see what could’ve held him in pause, they were surprised to see Elizabeth and Kola standing at the entrance. The service took a dramatic turn when Dash had hot tears flowing out of his reddened eyes as he bowed his knees and sobbed like a baby. He cried so bitterly and right on the altar, he begged Elizabeth to forgive him and confessed his wrong to the church. He’d been searching for her after she left home and the church to stay with Kola’s widowed mother, which was after she was disowned by her parents. Now she had reconciled with her parent and forgiven them, it was now time to do the same for Dash. His confession erupted members of the congregation from their seats as they took their turns to leave the auditorium, mid-way into the Sunday service. Still in that position, she listened to every word he had to say, he waited with bated breath to hear her say that he’d be forgiven. She simply turned her back on him and went further out of the church with Kola.

AUTHOR: Gideon Odiase