CHAPTER 1

Family morning prayer commenced with the normal routine section of praises from the last of the five children of Mr Moss, who is a well-known and devout follower of God. The morning prayer was quite different from other days as the day was the birthday of the first fruit of the family. Shola was born eleven (11) months after the union of Mr Moss and his soulmate Mrs Josephine. Faces were glowing, smiles were evidence of the Joy in the hearts of the members of the Family. No sooner than later the praise section ended when Mr Moss, a pious man opens the scriptures to dish out as usual the words of God to the Family. 

His message was that of prodigal son, nailing on the need for the whole family to stay put on the path of God. Most importantly the need to avoid joining bad gangs. 

Immediately he finished his words, Mrs. Josephine laid support emphasis to the already dished out words of the husband.

“My children, the world has been ruined, and our location has never helped the situation on ground, the wind of cultism is blowing like the river of Lebanon corroding the hearts of innocent youths who have not been resilient to the tricky luring power of the Satan we know”.

(Keystone street is well known to be a peaceful location for families who loves calm environments but over the months the rustling sounds of cultism has risen as siren to the danger of the street). 

The devotion ended with birthday songs for the celebrant who never showed glimpse of being happy, but since it’s his day, he forces off smiles from his round face. 

Shola went back to his room, already filled with thoughts, he uttered words to himself…

“Why on earth did they send me to such a school, what exactly were in their minds when they sent me to such a school, were they also deceived by such an unscrupulous name “seminary”?” He shrieked….

He never knew he made a loud cry. He thought it was all to himself.

The loud cry of his voice raised ruckus in the three bedroom flat. It was like the cry of a female fox trying to tell a male fox that she is ready to mate.

“What can make this individual to cry loud like this?".Whispers Daniel.

 (Daniel is Shola’s immediate younger brother, quite different from Shola in character and in relationship with people. On the streets of keystone, he is fondly called government mouth due to his ability to put smile on faces and joy to hearts filled with sorrow)

Daniel entered the room and was bowled over by what he saw….

DANIEL AND SHOLA……

“One of the worst things that can happen to you is that you join me in this seminary”.  Shola started pouring his words… 

(trying to distract Daniel to hide the big black book belonging to the fraternity he recently showed interest to join). 

Daniel's attention was drawn to the headline of Shola’s words, being inquisitive in nature began to ask series of questions on what life in seminary looks like, how they cope without being able to see girls around and how they stay the whole weeks doing same normal routine of activities till break or holiday. 

Shola having succeeded in hiding the book continued answering the questions but to his astonishment, Daniel paused his words and threw in a question that pushed him off balance, putting him in a quagmire.

Daniel asked; “Was it at seminary you bought that scary black book?”

“Which book?” Shola asks back with a concerned face under consternation. 

“The black book I just saw you reciting words from before I fully opened your door. You were even beating your chest with a scrawled face.” Daniel responds now with a more serious look.  

Shola smiles… “Oh! That was our social club book, as the entertainment team, we do participate in our red night events in seminary, of course this year we put up series of duets to grace the occasion and I was selected to do with Edams, Mrs Molly´s son”.  

“Is he also in seminary?”  Daniel asks surprisingly….

Mrs Josephine walked in..

Mrs Josephine is no nonsense woman, she doesn’t tolerate much, due to her banking work, she hardly stays long time period with the children. At nights after work, she prefers eating and giving most of her time to her reading because she is also an MSc student in accounting. 

She called out Daniel in the room to enquire of him the details of the loud cry held by all about 30 minutes ago. 

“Daniel, hope there is no serious issue?”. Asked  the MOM. 

“No Mom, not at all”. He answered with hands on his head and with a capturing smile.

“Ok then see you guys later”.  MOM muttered leaving the room with Daniel.

Daniel muttered to himself as he entered the kitchen, he began to consider how to find out the truth behind the so-called social book that could make someone scream and refer to it as duet. Is it one of these laws of power books or spiritual books we were told of at Sunday school that we should avoid?. After many thoughts and considerations, he decided not to reveal the scenes to the parents. Day by day he kept looking for space to get into the book on his own and then he can make out what to discuss with the parents rather than voicing out a fallacy capable of causing issues in the family.

**** 

It took Daniel weeks to start relieving his attention from the book, much easier now that Shola have gone back to the seminary. Meanwhile Daniel continued with his study in the nearby school, he had concluded that time will reveal the true nature of the defence thrown by his brother regarding the book.

Moreover, in the life of Daniel too, the father Mr Moss have also started noticing some changes. He had seen him with three girls along the roadside while returning from school, when Mr Moss asked him, he said they were given assignments to do group by group. Days later, the father also caught him hanging around downstairs with one of those girls, this time around in a darker place using same earpiece. This made Mr Moss never to stop acknowledging the wife to put a special eye on the boy Daniel, that he has noticed a lot of deviation in line with his collisions and relationships with girls. Aside that, Daniel have developed many bad habits, but he has never lost his pursuit of godly living, most of his bad habits are on basis of influence and not too visibly spotted out by many except the parents.

The eyes of the parents have years past being on the first born, they had long time ago agreed that if the first born is trained well, the younger ones will learn from him. Shola was rough handled in the early years of his life, both with wire-flogging and hand beating all in the name of making the first to be good. This was how the boy became more stiff-necked, one of the days in his primary school, he was brought back home because the teachers said he has been flogged to the point that cane doesn’t enter his body again, the teachers also encouraged the parents not to beat him much due to this new development. 

Not so long after days the father made those statements about Daniel to the wife did Daniel fall sick. 

“I cannot tell how my body is now” Daniel tells the mom lying down on the wooden bed.

 “What and how exactly?”. Asked the mom with anticipating face, expecting him to describe a case relating to sexually transmitted diseases. 

“It is just a running stomach, I guess I have eaten a contaminated food or taken much carbonylated drinks” Daniel responds holding firmly his lower abdomen. 

“Then, we may have to see the doctor”. The mom said sheepishly 

**** 

As it is the family's routine to eat together, they gathered to have their night meal but Mr. Moss  noticed the absence of Daniel.

“Daniel doesn’t eat together with the family again?” The father asked opening wide his ironic eyes. 

“The young man is sick and lying down”. Replied the mom who shrugged off the concern on the father´s face. 

“Who knows if he has contacted a disease since he started following the bad gangs upon all our gospel messages in this house”. The father responded.

“The enemy will not put me to shame, instead I will send Daniel to seminary to join his brother whom we have not seen any dot of interest in these naked girls of this time, maybe Daniel will lose interest if sent there”. 

“At least, it is better to just be disobedient like his brother than to contact deadly disease, since he can’t be seen with only boys anymore. The father continued. 

“So, we will be left just three here Dad?” the first daughter Gift cuts in, with a pitiable facial outlook. 

“Close your mouth, you will soon be alone, or don’t you want them to be great in life?” 

“Don’t you know that through these trainings they will be where they ought to be in future? If you also decide to be stubborn, we will find a strict convent and send you too, so that they will handle you and grow you in the right path, since I and my wife are not always around”. The father hits back at the innocent girl. 

Mr Moss works with an oil fame.

*******

Issues got worst on that faithful day when group of girls visited him in the cool of the evening, to know how far he has gone with his recovering from the sickness, earlier in the daytime, the boys had left the school during break period to visit him. Not so good unto the girls that the parents were around upon their entrance into the house. There were mumblings among the girls, trepidation have already started its work already in their lives and it is obvious to them that they must get their acts together and step on the plate else they would understand that ignorance is a bliss. From the greetings, one can easily notice that the fire on the mountain is better not seen. 

“Good day Sir, good day Ma” the young girls chorused together, with few of them holding the hands of another.

“If actually there is anything good about the afternoon”.

 Mr Moss responded sitting up well on his personal seat that none dares to sit on. 

Mrs Josephine clears throat… only to notice that Mr Moss had already given the girls uuthe look of Pharoah to Moses. 

“We are actually Danny´s classmates and we have come to see him, having noticed he has missed schools for a week due to sickness”. One of the girls Faith responds…

Faith is the favourite of them all for Daniel. There is this perfection of friendship with good understanding existing between them. Though can be said to be childish since they are still in senior secondary school one, but these two knows that their hearts are together. 

“You have done well darling friends; he will be better in few days and hopefully he will be in school on Monday”. Mrs Josephine responds to the girls, hoping that she will cover for the messy face of the husband who has refused to throw up an atom of smile for the girls. 

“Thanks a lot, they all exclaimed with relieve of smiles on their faces as they dropped the polyethene filled with fruits”. 

  Each of the girls started going close to hold Daniel’s hand to mutter and whisper words of prayer and encouragement to him. Closer each girl goes, the clearer Mr Moss' watermelon eyes become. Mr Moss didn’t look away with all his gaze placed on the son to see every event that takes place so as to gather more points for his change of school. He never got a point to hold on not until the moment Glory said very boldly and jovially to Daniel; 

 “Return quick our husband, we miss you”.

Immediately  Mr Moss stood up and entered the room. His countenance indicated his annoyance in line with the last words from the young girl.