THE DEVIL ON THE ALTAR
Written by: Grace Olayemi

CHAPTER ONE
“Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!” Patricia kept on shouting as she ran towards the main entrance of her father’s compound.

Patricia was a lady of about twenty-four, she was the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adams, the village headmaster. She had completed her secondary school education for about six years and all efforts to gain admission into the higher institution proved abortive. Being a headmaster, her father valued education but he didn’t have the means to provide it for his only daughter and that always made him sad.

Six years ago, when Patricia completed her secondary education and gained admission to the university, her father could not raise the money for the acceptance fee and she had to forfeit the admission.
Even though her father saved his meager salary since then, Patricia has been denied admission for various reasons. She had almost lost hope of ever going to school when she got the news that the institution she applied to had released the admission list and when she checked it, her name was shortlisted for the admission.

She could not contain her joy as she ran down from the cyber café to the house. Everybody was happy about the news and there was singing and dancing and rejoicing in Mr. Adams house after such a long time.
Patricia went down on her knees as she couldn’t contain her joy and gratitude to God. She worshipped God all through the night, singing songs of praises, dancing and even rolling on the floor.

Patricia couldn’t wait to share the news with her friends in their local church. Very early the next morning, she got dressed and hurried to the church since it was a Sunday. After the service, she informed her pastor and he was also very happy for her, everyone rejoiced with her and then she went home. Patricia’s parents were not born-again Christians even though they go to church occasionally. Patricia gave her life to Jesus while she was in the secondary school and she had been living for God since then. Even though her parents frowned at her religious beliefs and most of the time taunted her for taking it too far and becoming a fanatic, she never lost focus and she was resolute about her conviction.

When she got home from the church, her parents called her to advise, admonish and caution her about a lot of things. Her father who was privileged to study in a college of education told her that life in the higher institution was quite different from what she could imagine and that there would be a lot of things in the school that would catch her attention and might end up distracting her from her main purpose of going to the school in the first place. He told her to be focused on what she went to the school for and that it was only then she would be able to achieve success in the school.

“Thank you very much, daddy and mummy.” She knelt before them.
“I’ll be a good girl and make you proud.”

Her parents kept on giving her all the sermons African parents give to their children when they are set to go to school. She had a mixed feeling of both joy and anxiety that night as she packed the few things she had into a leather box. She committed her ways to the Lord that night before going to bed and she was rest assured of lifting the status of her family once she graduated with a very good result. Very early the following morning she took the first bus leaving their village to Ibadan and off she went.

To be continued...

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THE DEVIL ON THA ALTAR
Written by: Grace Olayemi

CHAPTER THREE
Patricia got a call from home that her mother was terribly ill and her attention was needed to monitor her and be by her side in the hospital. She was so destabilized and taken aback. She could not go home immediately because of the approaching exams but all through the period of the exams she was a shadow of her former self. She became quiet and always deep in thoughts. She would even miss lectures and church services. She spent most of her time in her room praying and crying, hoping that God would heal her mother miraculously.

After about two weeks of her doing that, a lot of people started noticing the change in her and a few of them showed their concern and asked her what the problem was, but she decided to keep it away from them. Even her roommate had to push the words out of her mouth before she told her. Patricia though very friendly was a secretive person and never shared her personal life with anyone, not even Celestina but no one was expecting her to hide such vital and drastic information.

Bro Paul Adeoye was a 400 level student of the department of biochemistry and the president of the fellowship Patricia attended. He had always seen Patricia as an admirable person and also noticed her zeal and passion for God and indeed had loved to be close to her but they really never had any chance to relate outside church activities - and being the president, he was always very busy. He also noticed the change in Patricia and her incessant absence or lateness to the church. He called Bro Stephen who happened to be the prayer coordinator, Patricia’s direct leader, to find out if he knew why Patricia had been absent from church lately and even whenever she was present, she was always coming late which was very unlike her.

“Actually sir, I have been planning to report her to you because I really can’t understand why Sis Patricia suddenly changed,” Bro Stephen replied after the president questioned him concerning Patricia’s case.

“What steps have you taken to know what the problem is?”

“I have been to her hostel twice now and each time she has refused to tell me what the problem is and even her roommate is not helping matters.”

“Does she have a roommate that attends our church?”

“Yes sir, Sis Celestina in the ushering department is her roommate.”

“Ok, look around if she is still in the church and call her for me.”

Bro Stephen looked everywhere for Celestina but she had left the church, he went back to report to the president. The president then decided to pay Patricia a visit himself.

To be continued...

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THE DEVIL ON THE ALTAR
Written by: Grace Olayemi

CHAPTER TWO
Patricia got to Ibadan tired and worn out due to the stress of the journey. It was not difficult for her to find her way around since she had been to the campus before. She entered her hostel and was greeted with a warm smile and a big hug.

“Hello I’m Celestina James, a part one student of the department of business administration, can I meet you?”

“I’m Patricia Adams also a part one student from the same department.”

Celestina could not contain her joy as she jumped up from the bed and gave Patricia a big hug.

“Wow! Wow! Wow! This is so awesome!” she shouted.

Celestina helped Patricia settle down and they became best of friends because they had a lot of things in common. They were both Christians from a humble background, from the same department and also roommates. They became inseparable and because they were both fair in complexion many people started calling them twins and at first they would protest and say they were not but as time went on they both accepted it and started calling one another twins. They went as far as dressing in matching outfits to almost everywhere they went.

Patricia and Celestina joined the campus fellowship in the school. They were very committed, zealous and passionate about the things of God. They would be the first to get to the fellowship on meeting days and the last to leave and since they have not been integrated into the working force of the fellowship, they would just help with the cleaning and arrangements of the chairs for the service. They were so committed to doing this and in no time they caught the attention of the executives of the fellowship. They were trained alongside other people and they became workers. Patricia had always been a chorister and she loved singing and registered her interest to join the choir of the fellowship but she was asked to join the prayer team and even though she was not happy with the arrangement she accepted it and was faithful to discharging her duties as a member of the prayer team. Celestina on the other hand wanted to join the ushering team and she was allowed to. She was very happy and started her function as an usher also.

Lectures, assignments, tutorials, seminars and other activities started fully in school and Patricia and Celestina were gradually getting used to the rigour of campus life. They would wake up as early as 4am and would be out of their hostel by 6am to meet up with their 7am lectures. Even though their hostel was inside the school, the distance between the hostel areas and the lecture halls was quite great and it was always very difficult to catch up with the bus so they mostly trekked to class.

Patricia had always been a very brilliant student so she had little issues with difficult courses and most of the time she would be the one to teach her roommate and others. She was also very pleasant and outspoken and she loved making friends. She talked to virtually everyone in her department and because of her many good qualities many people wanted to be her friend and she would always give her consent.

This attitude of hers was also transferred to the church. She was always making friends with everyone and because of her zeal and passion for the things of God, she became quite popular. Her beauty also made a way for her amidst all other things and everyone wanted her.

Even though she was aware of what was happening she didn’t allow anything to distract her from her studies and from her devotion to God. She would go to the library after lectures and on fellowship days she would go from the library to the church. She had no time for social engagements and even though she had a lot of friends, she knew how to handle them so they would not be a source of distraction for her. Everything was going on very fine and smoothly and the semester was gradually drawing to a close when the unexpected happened.

To be continued...

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THE DEVIL ON THE ALTAR 4
Written by: Grace Olayemi

Locating Patricia’s room was not really difficult for Paul, the fellowship president.
“Peace be unto this house,” Paul said as he knocked quietly on the door.

“Peace be unto you too,” Celestina replied and opened the door for their guest.

She was shocked to see the president in their room and more so she didn’t know he was coming and the room was not that well arranged to receive an important guest like that. Their room was not spacious but it was comfortable for two people to live in.

“Please have your seat,” Celestina said pointing to the chair behind the door.
Patricia had been sulking since she received a call from home and Celestina has been trying to calm her down but she has refused to be calmed. She didn’t even raise her head to see who was at the door, not until Celestina mentioned the name of the brother before she stopped sulking. She was also wondering what the whole president of the entire student fellowship would be doing in her room. Paul also noticed the surprised look on Celestina’s face so he decided to state his reason for visiting them.

“I’m actually here to see Sis Patricia. I’ve noticed that she has really changed from who she was before and I’m certain there should be a reason for that and I’m here to find out that reason.” Patricia who was lying on the bed decided to pretend as if she was asleep hoping that Celestina would not open up to Paul but something else happened.

Celestina told him about everything that has been happening to Patricia and she even told him of how the whole situation had affected Patricia’s relationship with God. How she no longer read her bible or pray and in fact she preferred to stay in the room and sulk than to go for lectures or church programs and that in most of the courses she had written the exams, she didn’t prepare adequately for it. Paul was so shocked at the discovery that he kept quiet for a while then he later spoke.

“Sis Patricia please sit up and talk to me,” he said looking over to where Patricia was lying.

She sat up and greeted him, her eyes were red and swollen. He could not just imagine that the fervent, jovial and beautiful sister had been reduced to something else.

Paul advised her, encouraged her, prayed with her and even told her stories of how he lost his father just after he completed his first year in the school and he didn’t allow it to affect his spiritual life. He told her of the importance of always having a cordial relationship with God and not letting anything come between her and her Maker. He showed her examples in the bible of people that had trusted God in difficult situations and how they got their victories. He admonished and counseled her and even led her back to Christ. Because before he finished his sermon, Patricia had discovered that she had gone far away from God and needed to rededicate her life to God and she did. He was really a God-sent because his visit helped Patricia overcome the entire trauma she was going through and she became her happy self again.

To be continued...

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THE DEVIL ON THE ALTAR 5
Written by: Grace Olayemi

The end of the semester came and students were so eager to go back home to see friends and relatives. Patricia was also very excited since she would be going back home to see her mother. Her mother’s health had improved and she was eager to go back home and see her.

Parting with each other was not so easy for Patricia and her bosom friend, Celestina, they held onto each other in a tight hug until the honk of the car forced them to let go of each other, they promised to stay in touch with each other all through the period of the one month break. Patricia entered the bus heading to her village while Celestina entered the one heading to Lagos.

Patricia got home towards the evening and was welcomed by a very quiet and deserted house. She was surprised to find the house empty and wondered where everyone had gone to by that time of the day. She looked everywhere and called names but got no reply. It was at that point that her wonders began to turn to fear and anxiety. She ran out of the house and went to her neighbor’s place.

“Good evening, ma’am,” she greeted as she stepped into the house.

“Good evening, my daughter,” the old woman replied staring at her, “You look so much like Patricia, the headmaster’s daughter,” the woman said, still looking at her.

“I’m the one ma, I just returned from school this evening and I’m here to ask if you know anything about my parents’ whereabouts.”

“Hmmmm!” The woman sighed heavily and beckoned on Patricia to have her seat.

“I’m okay like this, ma’am. I just want to know where my parents are so I can go to them,” Patricia replied impatiently.

“Your mother’s condition got so bad last night that she passed out and was rushed to the community hospital. Your father and Mr. Wale went with them and we have not seen them till now.”
Immediately Patricia heard this, she ran out of the house and didn’t even wait to hear all the woman had to say.

Patricia was so anxious and agitated that she didn’t even bother to take a taxi or at least a motorcycle to the hospital, she ran all the way there. The community hospital was the only hospital in that town and it was situated close to the entrance of the town. Patricia got to the hospital sweating all over and panting heavily.

“Please ma’am, I’m here to see the woman that was rushed here last night,” Patricia said to the nurse at the reception.

“Please, calm down and give me her details.”

“She is Mrs. Adams and she was brought here last night.”

“Hold on let me check,” the nurse said and began to look through the register, “oh! She is in rm14 but…” Patricia did not wait to hear the rest she dashed away in search of the room.

“Please ma’am you can’t go in there,” a voice said behind Patricia, she turned back to see a young man, who might be the doctor looking at her.

“And why is that?” She asked.

“The patient is in a very delicate condition and any contamination can worsen her case so all unsterilized equipment can’t be taken into the room,” the doctor explained.

“I’m her daughter and I would really like to know how she is doing.”

“If you are so concerned about her then you can bring the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand naira for her surgery,” the doctor said and walked away.

Patricia was left perplexed; she just stood there and was looking at nothing in particular. She knew the financial status of her parents and knew that two hundred and fifty thousand naira was impossible for them to raise even if they should sell all they had including themselves.

To be continued...

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THE DEVIL ON THE ALTAR 6
Written by: Grace Olayemi

Patricia decided to take a walk after staying in the hospital through the night and was not allowed to see her mum and neither did she see the traces of her father anywhere. She had not walked up to two blocks away from the hospital when she heard her name, she turned to look at who was calling her and lo and behold it was her dad. She ran all the way to greet him, she gave him a big hug and burst into tears, he patted her back, comforted her and assured her that all will be well.

“I have been in the hospital since last night but I didn’t see you around.”

“Yeah, I left the hospital when the doctor told me what was at hand. I went to some friends and even the cooperative society but they all said they had no money at the moment. I have emptied all my accounts and it is not even up to quarter of the amount required.”

Patricia could not hold back her tears; she could not believe that it was their poverty that would lead to the death of her mother. Her father tried to console her but she refused to be consoled, she cried her eyes out.

“Patricia you are a Christian, you believe in God, you believe in miracles, your mom will not die but live to declare the works of God in the land of the living, you will overcome this, it is just a phase and it will pass and you will come out shining.” Those were the words that kept on dropping into Patricia’s mind and suddenly she felt strengthened and went to the church to pray.

Patricia stayed in the church all through the night praying and pouring her heart out to God. She felt so relieved and optimistic after praying that she could bet that her mother would be hundred percent alright by the time she would get back to the hospital.

She got to the hospital right after her mom was rushed into the intensive care unit after she developed serious complications over the night. Patricia was so shocked to discover the recent development and was more shocked to learn that the doctors were threatening to send her mom out because of the unpaid bills which kept on increasing.

Patricia saw her dad sitting in the corner with his head lowered and tears ran down her cheeks. She could not figure out what they had done to deserve all those kinds of suffering.
She decided to also run around and see how she can be of help to raise the money for her mother’s treatment. She went around to her pastor’s place then to some elders in the church and also her former colleagues in the church but they all had one story or the other to tell her.

Having moved around from place to place without getting the help she needed, she decided to start looking for what to do to fetch her money. She looked around for little jobs she could do and get paid after the day. She saw quite a number of them and even though she would be receiving a meager pay she didn’t mind as long as she could be depositing the money for her mom’s surgery. Jumping from one construction site to another was not an easy task for Patricia. She was always worn out with pains all over her body after each day’s work.

To be continued...

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