Butterflies and Roses

He didn't tell her he was married
He met her at the bank and turned
on the charm
He looked at her in a way that made 
her feel very special
He wasn't the first man to look at her
that way
She had always liked guys who look
at her that way;
Longingly without being lustful
Admiringly without undressing her
with their eyes
She knew it takes a level of skill
to master that look but she counted
those who have it as matured enough
to speak their minds with confidence
He gave her that look
She was in a good mood
The kind of mood that enhances
everything and makes the
rain feel like sunshine
He asked if he might know her
name
She told him
He asked her where she worked
She told him she worked with a
market research company
He told her he was an advertising
practitioner and joked that they
were practically twins
She smiled at the joke
He conducted his business and left
the banking hall
She conducted her business and
was set on her way to the office
when she saw him
He was standing by his car
He said Did you drive or can I
give you a ride to your office"
She said her office was just a few
minutes walk away
He insisted on driving her
As they drove out of the banking
hall
She saw a document
A letter from the Proprietress of
a school
The letter was addressed to parents
It was about the children/ward's
inter-house sport competition
Something in her heart sank
She had hoped he was single and
available
She wasn't in love or anything like
that but she was hopeful she would
meet her "own" husband and settle
down as soon as possible
She was thirty and rising fast in
her field
She was recently made a manager
She was placed in charge of the
Policy Creation and enforcement
department of their office
She was an orphan
She had lived with an aunt all her
life
Her aunt never got married nor had
any child
When her parents died in a motor
accident and she was robbed of
her parents at the age of seven
her aunt took her in and gave her
a home
Her aunt was a teacher who lived
for a very long time in England
Her aunt ensured she had the
best education money could buy
She attended an all-girls secondary
school and spent the summer with
her aunt
Her aunt doesn't have a social life
She didn't know why but it affected
her badly as she also didn't have
a social life
She lived with her aunt in a hermit
like life
That was the story of her life until
she graduated and moved to Lagos
in search of a good job
She got the job and began to pine
for a companion
She took in many roommates (Female)
but the yearning in her only grew
in intensity
She knew she wanted to be with a
man
She understood how it works at
least in theory
She had her first date at the age of
24
It was that look that convinced her
She caught the guy starring at her
and his interest exhilarated her
She realized she was excited by his
interest and eagerly encouraged him
to pursue her
They had lunch and then dinner
Then she told him about herself
and he "ghosted"
He simply stopped calling or pursuing
her
She reached out to him to ask 
what was wrong
He said he suspected she was either
a lesbian or a feminist
He simply withdrew because those
ideologies were not his thing
She didn't understand what he
meant but the relationship was
already awkward and she didn't
want it to seem as if she was
begging for it
She met another guy a few months
later
She knew he was interested in her
that way but he didn't make any
move in that direction
He kept her at an arm's length and
they remained friends
After three months, she grew 
confident enough to ask him why
anyone would assume she was
either a feminist or a lesbian
The guy looked at her and said 
"Are you saying you are neither?"
She was shocked
What did he see?
He said she only talked about women
For her, it was as if men didn't exist
It was true
She had never had anything but a
brief contact with the male folks
all her life
She had some contact with the male folk
in the university but it was in class and 
often for classwork
She stuck to the hostel and the library
until she graduated
She was like a shadow
She just wanted to do her time and
graduate
She missed out terribly on life in the
process
She knew she needed to address
the obvious challenge she was
facing
So she asked her colleague what
she could do
He said she would need to live
a more balanced life, mix more
and all
She asked him how
He told her all she needed to do
was fall in love once
One true love experience was enough
to change the language and orientation 
of anybody
A lover's words and actions were
changed by love in such a way that
any other man or woman that comes
across such will find the indelible mark
left by love on the heart of such
She went home thinking about this
She needed someone to fall in love
with even if it would lead to a 
broken heart
She so badly wanted to live
Two days later she became his 
temporary "girlfriend" 
He told her he was dating a lady
who was currently observing her
NYSC in the north but he could
help her (Not sexually) as a friend
to meet other guys and gain some
experiences to balance out her
lopsided worldview
They started hanging out together
She understood perfectly well
that she was free to date someone 
else if such a person shows up
and he is free to walk away when
his babe returns to town
He took her to the usual places
The beach, parks, clubs and restaurants
They split the bills and yes, she had
the time of her life
But nothing could be learned in a 
guarded environment
After almost a month, they began
to kiss
He crossed that boundary and she
matched him toe to toe
She was not in a bubble
She understood the implications of
what they were doing but she also 
wanted to fall in love and tell the
story truthfully when the time 
comes
They kept to kissing and some 
touches
He knew she was a virgin land and
would produce whatever seed he
planted
Love could grow out of control
He didn't want to push her too far
They have been at it for three months
when he got a letter from his babe
His babe said she was praying when
she saw them
Her man and a strange girl
His babe described her as if she was
looking in a mirror
His babe told him to stop what he
was doing
He showed her the letter
She was shocked
She was sure somebody was feeding
his babe the information
He told her his babe was a born-again 
Christian who has a spectacular
walk with the Holy Spirit
He told her many testimonies of what
he had seen the Holy Spirit do through
his babe
The more he talked about his girlfriend's
exploits of faith, the more she lost
interest in him
She was a born again Christian too
Her aunty led her to the Lord as a
twelve year old and she received the
baptism of the Holy Spirit
She realized her fellowship with the
Holy Spirit had suffered since she 
started exploring the wrong valleys
with him in the name of learning life
She apologized to him and walked
away from the mess they had made
When she got home that night
she cried her eyes out
The love thing intoxicated her so 
much that she somehow felt
the Holy Spirit couldn't help or
didn't know anything about love
She had always relied on the Holy
Spirit since she was a teenager
He had led her from glory to glory
in every sphere of her life
She was the one that remained 
undecided about love and marriage
She didn't talk to the Holy Spirit
about it
She didn't table it as she usually did
with other things
She just took the wrong turn and
started plowing the wrong field
She got it all wrong
She knew she did the moment she
read the letter and heard him
speak about his babe
She was distracted and was was
unwittingly distracting another
citizen of zion from her duties to
the people through the Holy Spirit
She really felt bad!
That night she told the Holy Spirit
she wanted to get married
She didn't cry or go emotional
She knew from experience that
her tears could make her feel better
but they had nothing to do with
the move of the Holy Spirit
in her life
The Holy Spirit was her Father
She hides nothing from him
She knows all she needed to do
was ask
The following day she took a
week from the office
She went for a retreat to repair 
her confidence and walk with
the Holy Spirit
A day away from him felt like a 
thousand years
She had been away for three months
She had headed in the wrong
direction willfully
She needed to rekindle the fire of
His life and kill the strange fire of
wrong love she started in her
selfishness
She joined an online fellowship
in the evenings
During the day she read the Bible
She started from the book of John
She just read and listened to 
teachings and slept
She tried joyfully to make up for 
lost time in His presence
On the fifth day, she slept and saw
herself in a car
A man was driving and she was
seated beside him discussing life
joyfully with him
It was a perfect sight, like a peek
into the future
Her future
The Holy Spirit said to her
"I will make the rain sing for you
It will start as the morning dew and 
end up a deluge!"
She was flooded by peace immediately
She knew she had been restored and
sent back to be a better ambassador
She was neither anxious nor 
apprehensive
She had grown to trust the voice
of the Holy Spirit since she was
quite young
Asking him for guidance maritally
was no different from asking him
for guidance when she wanted to
go to the University or when she 
was posted for NYSC
The emotional attachment to marriage
and its attending consequences made
her attach so much importance to it
that she started off on the wrong foot
She relaxed
The Holy Spirit is her greatest asset
and discerner
She was sure He had settled her 
marital destiny already
She bubbled with joy expectantly
for three weeks
Then that day came that she met
him at the bank
While they were riding together
in his car, it felt like deja vu
to her
It was the same scene she saw
while praying about a month before
She was a bit confused but they
just met and she couldn't play
one thousand questions with
him
He took her phone number as he
dropped her off
She went into her office considering
what had happened
There was a million and one reason
that document could be in his car
or it could be the obvious
He was married with children
She was still thinking about it when
he called her
He asked her when she would be
closing that evening
He wanted to know if he could pick
her up in the evening and drive her
home
She told him she drove to the office
He said he would come with his driver
They would ride together while the
driver would drive the other car
She said okay
He arrived by 6 pm
She kept him waiting for fifteen minutes
They rode in her car (She drove)
He said "You will find this unbelievable
but I have seen you before
About four weeks ago there was a
shake-up in my office and nobody
knew where they stood
I took some time off to pray
I went for a personal prayer retreat
at the outskirts of the city
I saw you there, at a chalet
You were standing in front of your
car, arms crossed and looking very
broken
I wanted to park my car and run
over to give you a hug
If felt to me you did something so
terrible in your estimation that you
felt God had turned his back on you
You went there to get right with
God, right?
I perceived that
She was shocked
Then he said "As i was waking up this
morning, the Holy Spirit told me I would
meet my wife and i will know this the
moment I do
I got to the office and realized i had a 
cheque to lodge in at the bank
I wasn't coming to the branch where i
met you, i planned to go to another
branch but then i saw you alighting from
your car and walking into this branch
That urge to walk up to you and hug
you came over me again
I knew you were the one at that point
He knew practically everything about
her and in an odd way it felt right
The discussion flowed into how the
Holy Spirit talks to him
While she heard in her spirit and/or 
saw visions
He says he would suddenly KNOW
something
It would just come to him with
a very strong assurance that it is
the truth and he had never been
wrong when he goes with it
She was very impressed
They drew closer after that day,
it was the most natural thing
She asked him about the document
 she saw in his car that first day
He took her to his elder sister's
house
The document was for his elder
sister's children
He paid the children's school fees
while the family was trying to settle
down in the south after relocating
from Kaduna
Finally, her heart was at rest
She realized she didn't have to know
men, she only needed to know him
They were married a year later
at an elaborate wedding sponsored
by his parents

PS: Mr and Mrs Harrison are ministers
of the gospel
They live in Lagos, Nigeria