There was after a terrible old man living with his young children in a compact property. So undesirable was he that he could only handle to care for them when undergoing strenuous operate. Inspite of their father's struggle to satisfy them, the young children had been unappreciative. Even although he kept ceaselessly sweating days with no finish on his farm to earn the income to feed and clothe them, they had been not happy ... After offered meals, the greedy kids would shout for far more... Out of worry, the father would give them much more. Anytime he did not, they dashed for the pot and helped themselves to a lot of what he kept for the subsequent day...
As for garments, they only cared for the most trendy ones. Anytime he returned with ordinary and low-priced ones, the young children would get in touch with them 'filthy rags', grab and throw them away. They would then demand additional cash from him to invest in the trendy ones of their personal decision.
The father's overall health with time broke down and he could not operate as really hard as ahead of to earn his living. The boys could no longer eat as substantially as they would like to. They could not purchase adequate even to retain them in very good wellness. No longer have been they capable to buy superior garments to put on. Have been now The fanciful clothing of their previous wants had now gone far off from their minds.
One day, the brothers have been all herded collectively on a mat, hungry and sad after the youngest of them stood up abruptly and announced, "I have an notion." "Come on out with it, idiot!" the others implored. 'We could go to town and invest in a job," the young chap mentioned triumphantly, grinning as if he had just found the remedy for aids.
'Come on now, stupid,' the eldest mentioned. "Is that the brightest notion you can come up with? Can not you see that the way this nation has come to be it's the final thing one should really hope for?'
'Well, there is no harm in attempting,' he retorted. 'Perhaps we'll strike it fortunate.'
'Well,' stated the other brother, "we could attempt a thing else. People today are having extremely frustrated those days... So we could conveniently touch their hearts with some thing that has appeal and we would not just reside, we'd reside incredibly well.'
'Excellent man!' shouted the others excitedly, 'Let's hear it, man. Let's hear it!'
'We'll move out to the farthest element of the nation,' he mentioned, 'and set up ourselves in the church organization. We would win a lot of souls who would contribute generously to construct our mission'
'Excellent concept,' they all shouted in very good excitement. Very good, man! We are going to have several dollars. Quickly we will all be millionaires! Oh what a superior day that will be for all of us!'
They set out the subsequent day aboard a minibus. They traveled over long stretches of provincial highways. Once about 5 hours' of a tiring journey over rough roads, they arrived at a sparsely populated town. They got out and continued the rest of their journey on foot. Once trekking a long way by means of dense forests, they arrived at a remote Fakai. It was night in this remote village and Individuals have been gathered in the village square.
'Great night, great Persons,' they chorused, 'We are men who had been traveling round the nation spreading the 'Fantastic News' in an work to strengthen your lives and develop you satisfied::' The Individuals embraced them with delight and gave them a joyous welcome.
The subsequent day they began conducting church solutions in a compact clearing in the center of the village. As this continued every day, a lot of extra Men and women in the village got attracted.
Inside a couple of months, a church was constructed and furnished. The brothers took all the crucial positions for themselves. The eldest was the Vicar, the subsequent in line was the Curate and the third the Lay reader. The youngest, becoming under age, was produced cleaner. The church now was totally established in the neighborhood, with additional and additional Individuals flocking to it. The brothers, who had come to the town seeking lean and worn out, had been now plump and dignified-searching. The village was at that time left at the mercy of a well-organized band of thieves. Attempts to curb their activities brought no final results. No one felt secure sufficient to sleep at evening. People today stayed awake as if on watch. The slightest sound gave rise to a sense of worry and helplessness.
A meeting was named at the village square. Lots of of the villagers gathered in no time for the reason that of the urgency and seriousness of the matter. They discussed the terrible points going on in the village. The high issue of the assembly was an address by an old lady.
'Factors have gone down the gutter. The excellent points of the previous are no a lot more. Folks are now behaving like jungle beasts. Long gone are the days once the elders had been respected. Persons are selfish now, without consideration for others... Evil carrying out has turn out to be a sport; every person is playing it with the utmost glee. Folks, to destroy each and every other they use all sorts of suggests. Absolutely everyone desires energy and riches, and they are not afraid to do a thing in their rush to buy them."
"Stealing is no longer the serious crime it after was. . .Huge thieves prosper and fatten on us, although we go on suffering. But let them not really feel that they are obtaining their way, for they are undoubtedly not! For God is watching us from above and taking note of all our evil ways. Yes, he is taking stock of all your sinful acts. As God is counting, so will Satan be COUNTING. In addition, on the DAY OF JUDGMENT, each of them, standing on opposite sides will be selecting out these who have produced themselves match to go with either of them. Satan will set his group on one side and God will have his on the other. Now is your time to repent and take sides with God just before events overtake you...'
The brothers flashed recognizing glances at every single other. The meeting then continued. Once each and every operation, the thieves reassembled at the backyard of the church to share out their loot. On Saturday morning, they returned there with a bulky booty. Towards dawn, the cleaner came out to throw away some dirty water. He threw it into the gutter and was retracing his methods indoors after he was struck by voices emanating from the quite backyard he was retreating from. He stopped and listened meticulously. He heard it only too clearly .now:
"You one, you one, you one, me one, . You one, you one, you one, me one ... " As he turned to go, the voices erupted once again.
"You one, you one, you one, me one .
You one, you one, you one, me one ... "
His mind went back to the words of the old lady at the meeting: He knew at as soon as that it was Satan and God speaking.
'Eeeehhh! , .. Luud a' mercy oh!' he exclaimed as the realization dawned on him. 'So Quickly? She knew it was coming so Quickly; however she did not warn us to prepare? What ought to I do now? Oh ya, it is too late! The DAY of JUDGMENT is now here! ... Oh Father! ... Oh Father-God help me! Help me, God!" he cried, throwing his head up and down in deep supplication.
Meanwhile, the thieves continued sharing out their loot in the corner. Remembering some points dropped on the path, one asked, 'What about the ones on the path? Who's going to have them?'
.
The cleaner was shocked. His head was whirling. and spinning in discomfort. His heart kept beating tough and insistently against his chest, as if struggling to burst free of charge from there. He was particular his time had come.
.
'Exactly where are the ones on the path? I've not noticed them but!' The voices struck him closer than prior to. His entire frame was now set in violent vibrations. His heart was palpitating at a death-inducing rate. His brain was spinning Inside his head. Nothing at all seemed to belong to him any a lot more. It was as if he was floating in mid-air. His feet involuntarily began operating away with him, although he kept pleading loudly, 'Oh God, have mercy, I beg I beg you please have mercy, oh God, I beg you!' His loud cries brought his brothers out to see what was taking place. They had been shocked once they saw their brother in such a state. They ran towards him, asking him what the matter was.
"The day of Judgment has come! I saw God and Satan selecting who really should go with them."
They could not wait for much more. They followed their younger brother till they arrived at a distant forest exactly where they camped and started praying fervently. For the reason that then they have remained there praying and waiting for God to come for them. They are nevertheless waiting.
Arthur Smith was born and was schooled in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He has taught English due to the fact 1977 at Prince of Wales School and, Milton Margai School of Education. He is now a Senior Lecturer at Fourah Bay School exactly where he has been lecturing English language and Literature for the previous eight years.
Mr Smith's writings had been appearing in regional newspapers also as in many international media like West Africa Magazine, Index on Censorship, Concentrate on Library and Information and facts Function. He was one of 17 international guests who participated in a seminar on modern American Literature sponsored by the U.S.State Division in 2006. His expanding mind and reflections on this trip which took him to several US sights and sounds could be read at lisnews.org
His other publications contain: Folktales from Freetown, Langston Hughes: Life and Functions Celebrating Black Dignity, and 'The Struggle of the Book' He holds a PhD and a professorship in English from the National Open University, Republic of Benin.
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