In The Perils Of Darkness – Episode 1
In The Perils Of Darkness Episode 1
© Lewis Dampson
The morning was cold with clear skies. The wind blew gently making waking up very difficult. Gabriel was still lying in bed wrapped in his blanket. He had completely forgotten that it was a Sunday and church would start in less than two hours.
“Get up!! You Lazy boy!” Exclaimed Mrs. Betty Smith, Gabriel’s mom. “Don’t you know we have to go to church today?”
Mrs. Smith, was 5.6 feet tall and fair in complexion. She was a loving mother and cared much for her children. She worked as an accountant in Bloc International Limited. Mrs. Betty Smith was married to Mr. Frank Smith, a lawyer by profession. He was 5.9 feet tall and dark in complexion. They both had three children. Mark, Gloria and Gabriel. Mark was the eldest, followed by Gloria and then Gabriel. They lived in a five bedroom apartment at the McCarthy Hills in Ghana. They were devout Christians and went to church often.
Gabriel lazily took off the blanket, tossed and turned on the bed for a while as he stretched himself. He finally got off the bed, removed the shirt of his pajamas and threw it on his bed. He slowly put on his sandals and headed towards the bathroom to brush his teeth and to take a bath.
“What a boring day today will be,” he thought. “We are just going to sit on the pew singing those boring hymns. I will just have to go and sit there so that daddy and mummy won’t be bored with me.”
Gabriel got to the bathroom, placed toothpaste on his toothbrush and brushed his rightly aligned white teeth. He spent more time brushing his teeth with the hope of his parents leaving to church before him. He took off his clothes eventually and went under the shower. The water was freezing and he shivered violently under the running water. He managed to bath although he was unwilling.
“Gabriel! Gabriel! Gabriel! Hurry and come for breakfast!!” Shouted his mother. “Gentleman, better hurry and stop delaying. The next mass will start in an hour,” she added.
Gabriel got the iron and hurriedly ironed his shirt and pair of trousers. He was trying as much as possible to avoid the wrath of his mother. He quickly polished his black pair of executive shoes as well. He slipped his lanky legs through the pair of trousers, braced it with a belt and tucked in his singlet into the trousers. He then wore his light blue long sleeve shirt and tucked it also into his trousers. He wore his nicely polished pair of shoes and quickly dashed out to the dining room to take his breakfast.
Gabriel met the dining table empty because all his family members had finished eating. He was served with beverage and bread. He looked at the cup and vapor was rising up from the surface of the beverage. He was left with the choice of either eating the breakfast in a hurry or forgoing the meal altogether. He took the former option because he could not stand the thought of sitting in the boring service with an empty stomach. In other not to scald his buccal cavity, he diluted the hot liquid with cold water. He finished the meal with some few gulps and ate the bread in a hurry as if he has been starved for days.
Immediately after taking the breakfast he heard the honk of his daddy’s car, signaling him to come out of the house because they were late. He quickly got his Bible that was fully covered with dust, brushed off the dust and sped out of the room.
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He quickly got his Bible that was fully covered with dust, brushed off the dust and sped out of the room.
Before he got to the car, he remembered he hadn’t combed his bushy hair. He ran off again into the house and superficially combed his hair. He again sped off at a great speed to the car.
Upon sitting at the back seat, he could feel the anger of his siblings coming down on him. He stared at their fury eyes and to be in a safer position, he didn’t utter a word till the car stopped at the parking lot of the St. Francis Church. They all got down and headed to the entrance of the main sanctuary.
The church on this day was filled with many people. The congregation was large with a lot of visitors. It was a fund-raising day. The church usher signaled to Gabriel and his family to sit on the last but two rows on the left corner of the church. This was because they were late and almost all the seats were filled.
The church had a capacity for five thousand people with paneled roofing. The florescent tube bulb shining at their full capacity. The pianist was playing “Rejoice the Lord is King”. The soothing sound effect the piano produced coupled with the sound of the lead guitar and the base guitar made the service very refreshing except for Gabriel.
“How long are these people going to keep me in this place?” he thought. “They are singing as if we are at a funeral service. When will we finish so I can go home and continue with yesterday’s game?”
Before Gabriel could think of another word, a tall, dark-skinned gentleman appeared on the pulpit. He wore a white robe with a cap. He was six feet tall and looked bulky. He had long hands which he fetched his Bible with, he placed the Bible on the pulpit and addressed the congregation.
His voice was shriek and almost inaudible. It was very difficult to hear what he was saying even from the loud speakers present. Gabriel stared at the man hoping he would finish soon so he can go home and continue his game. But the more he thought about the time, the more the sermon seemed unending.
He felt bored and sleepy and yawned to show his disdain for the sermon. The whole congregation was quiet listening to the sermon. In about thirty minutes which seemed forever to Gabriel, the man brought his sermon to an end. “Ah!! At long last this boring sermon is over,” he thought.
“Let these boring people hurry so we can close this service.”
Before he could finish the last statement in his mind, an announcement came from the church secretary that the presiding Bishop had arrived and he will come to address them momentarily.
To be continued
