Sex with a Ghost 1&2

In a hammer bus to Lagos, I sat directly behind the driver close to the window. The air in the bus was filled with dissimilar noises. A child was crying while the mother did nothing to calm her down. On the last row sat a man around his forties with a bald head. He was screaming at his much younger wife beside him; raining down abuses and saliva on the innocent lady who simply bent down her head in guilt not uttering a word. On the middle row sat younger man on a black suit with a grey tie, lying over the phone to his employer. Saying he was already in Lagos while we're just halfway into the journey.

Ignoring the liar, I looked out the window, the fresh breeze washed through my face, making my eyelids to flicker, pushing out through the window the repelling and stomach twisting gas in the bus. I admired the beautiful and green landscape of this great country; the thick and inhabited forest on both sides of the road.

Allowing my imagination to run wild, I wondered what could be going on under such a dark forest. What could be hiding behind such giant trees; wild animals, beasts or evil spirits? What fierce battle for survival could be going on there every moment, every day and night in there?

I pictured eggs in a shallow hole under a fallen tree. Without any detectable noise and force, the shells were pushed from inside until tiny line first appeared on them before they cracked and oozed clear liquid. Then newborn snakes yawned, showing their black mouths and fangs. Their bodies, a smooth column of armoured muscle, slithered under the little sunlight that escaped the canopy of trees above. They came out from the empty shells, their pale bellies gliding over dried leaves, sticks, and stones. They went out in search for preys; each armed with a fork-like tongue that flicked in and out and a fatal amount of venom buried deep in their muscles.

I was jerked back to reality when the young lady beside me said

"Brothers and sisters in the Lord" she paused and in few seconds the bus was quiet. The man stopped yelling at his wife. The woman behind me calmed her weeping baby and the man on suit dropped his call.

"Let's bow our head and close our eyes in prayers!"

Quickly and in total obedience, everyone bowed their heads. The bald-headed man removed his traditional red cap and brought down his head in submission to the preacher, a young lady much younger than his wife.

"In Jesus name!" the pretty lady in a blue face cap and red collar polo began praying.

I was lost in wonderment; marvelled at the power of religion, the numerous atrocities one can commit by just attaching the name of some god to it. Certainly, religion is the most seductive system that mankind has created. Death is our greatest fear and religion offers us the illusion that we would be immortals and live in a beautiful paradise forever.

Right there, I made up my mind to either join the army or simply become a man of the cloth. These are the only two groups of people that command such respect effortlessly. To join the army, I need physical strength but to become a man of God, I will pray and wait patiently for the big man upstairs to give me a call.

"In the mighty name of Jesus" She brought the prayer to a conclusion and we all echoed in a chorus.

"Amen!"

Her eyes loosely closed, she began in a voice laced with emotions

"As I was praying, the Lord revealed to me". She oscillated as murmurs erupted in the bus. A sinister smile cut across my lips while unbelief grew in my soul. "Here we go again," I said within me. The good Lord talks to everyone these days. Nobody wants to agree it is just their conscience speaking to them. I opened my ears and pinned my eyes on the lady, waiting to hear what the Lord has to say.

"There is a person on this bus. Yesternight, you had sex with someone in your dream. The person later turned into a strange creature. You woke to discover that your underwear was wet".

The grumbles increased with everyone wondering who could have had such a terrifying dream. I was surprised and at the same time scared. How did she come about such knowledge? Could God have really revealed my dreams to this lady? Tension began to spring on the inside of me. What if it was just guesswork like most prophecy? But that must be a hell of a chance.

"If you are in this bus, don't be shy" she continued. "The lord has located you today. Don't allow this opportunity to slip out of your fingers. Raise your hands up, so I can pray with you and free you from the stronghold of the devil".

"Raise your hand and tell her your problem," the voice in my head buzzed.

"This is not real. She is a fraud just like the rest" I replied

"What if she is truly a messenger of God and her prophecy is authentic?"

"If that is true which I highly doubt. What makes you think I'm the one? There are over fifteen people on this bus, it could be anyone"

"Because that is how people dream rampantly about having sexual intercourse with a mermaid in shallow waters?"