The Decoy

She was the outcast
The one all the other children 
are wary of playing with
The one everybody whispered
about
She was seven years old when
it all started
Her father's mother started
confessing to witchcraft one
friday night
She confessed until Sunday
morning
She said quite a lot of things
She mentioned dates and time
She mentioned names and
atrocities committed
She also explained why!
Why she was determined not
to allow any tree planted
in that family bloom and grow
Why she had assigned herself
as the gatekeeper of glory
and destiny
Why she allowed only those
who were willing to submit
their glory to her pass unto
this side of eternity and denied
the stubbornly glorious ones
access to life
In all, she confessed to have
killed 54 people
It was terrible
She confessed in FESTAC
of all places
The entire neighbourhood
heard about it 
The family was marked for life
and so was she
Somehow while the pastor
and other elders who were
invited to witness the shameful
confession were present,
her grandmother said the crown
of the witchcraft coven to 
which she belonged had been
given to "so and so"!
Her grandmother mentioned
her name!
She mentioned her by name
What!
She was not even a witch
How could she be?
Her grandmother hated her and
she had already given her life
to Jesus
Her mother asked her and her
two older brothers if they would
like to give their lives to Christ
and she said Yes!
Her brothers too and their mother
led them to Christ
Can a witch give her life to Christ?
It seemed she was the only
one who believed she was a
believer
Everyone else believed the witch
even her mother
Her mother's attitude towards
her changed immediately
They started feeding her with 
her own plate
She also got her own spoon
She was shunned and ignored
treated like a pariah
It was terrible
Whenever anything goes wrong
with her mother or siblings
She would get that look
That long silent look
That look that says "You witch"
She began to behave like
a witch
Tearing paper, cloth, throwing
tantrums and crying a lot
She hated the way her skin
crawled at the hateful glare
everybody threw at her
They saw her behaviour as
confirmation of witchcraft
Thus began the church to
church wandering which
lasted for three years!
She was taken everywhere
It seemed her mother would
believe in the 
prophet/prophetess or
pastor before taking her to
them but once they declare
her free of witchcraft she
would lose faith in them
Her mother kept saying she
would know when something
changes
The witchcraft thing disturbed
her education
It seemed her parents believed
it is of no use educating a
witch
Just the same way they preferred
her to wear rags and hug the
wall when the other children
are playing and having fun
She had marks all over her 
body
Some from flogging with 
brooms, others from incisions 
and beatings
By the time she was twelve,
she still hadn't been enrolled
in school
All her siblings were in school
Every morning, her parents would
dress up the other children and
feed them
They would put them in the car
and drive off to work
She would be locked outside
To wander the street and count
the trees until they returned
Her father was uncomfortable
driving anytime she was in the
car
He claimed her spirit was always
trying to take the steering wheel
from him
Everybody had a story to tell
about her
She had appeared to everybody in
their dreams
She had wanted to give many
meat so that she could bring
them into witchcraft
Nobody could imagine anything 
good or pleasant about her
It was all witchcraft, gloom and
doom
She didn't know why she took
solace in mutilating herself
She started cutting herself with
broken bottles
She wanted to die but she didn't
know how to 
Then her mother's younger brother
returned from Rome
He was a priest
He came to their house and saw
her
He berated her parents and 
was visibly angry that she was
being treated worse than a dog
despite their level of education
He insisted on taking her with
him that same day
That was how five years of hell
was over in one day
The priest in his shinny beetle
car drove her away from hades
Her salvation was literal and real
The priest enrolled her in school
immediately
He saw to it that she was well 
fed and nurtured properly
Though she was years behind
her age mates
She applied herself and left
primary school at the age of fifteen
She spent five years in secondary
school
She was in the Polytechnic by the
age of twenty-two
The priest was her father, her
mother and everything
Her parents never asked of her
To them, she was dead
The Priest shielded her from
them
He rarely mentioned them
to her as she grew because
he noticed the way she got
destabilized by fear every time
he talked about her parents
She was admitted into the 
University to study microbiology
She was 23 by the time she 
gained the admission after
her National Diploma
She graduated four years later
as the best graduating student
She had put in everything,
she needed to erase the 
witchcraft brand from her mind!
Finally, she was the best!
Since she left her parent's house
at the age of twelve, 
she had never set her eyes on
her parents and her brothers
On the day she graduated, her
Uncle (The priest) and some of
his friends from their church
were those present to celebrate
with her
Her name and face made it into
the newspapers
She was given a scholarship to
study abroad
She bagged her Ph.D. at the
age of 31
She got a job in the UK as a
researcher
She met a man
A born again Christian who
saw the glory of God in her
All the while she had distanced
herself from pentecostal 
churches
None of the pastors or members
intervened while her parents
treated her like a vermin
Any church that can keep quiet
or feign ignorance or even 
participate directly or indirectly
as a seven-year-old was accused of witchcraft and treated the
way she was treated cannot
be of God.
Even if she was a witch, wasn't
the name of Jesus supposed to
be enough?
Her man was from the 
pentecostal church, he was
a minister and he loved her
feverishly
She tried everything to throw
him off her scent but he was
determined to be her husband
They started courting
Talks progressed 
Time deepened their feelings
They got to the point where
they had to meet relatives and
family members
They met his people
His parents were pastors too
They took to her from the word
go!
She took him to her uncle
Her uncle welcomed him with
open arms but for the first time
insisted he was not going to be
the one to stand as her parents!
Her uncle said she should take
her man to meet her biological
family
It was a problem she didn't
even consider
After over twenty years!
It was a low blow!
But her uncle insisted she
had to meet her folks and 
kill the past
"It is what Jesus would
have demanded too" Her
uncle calmly stated
She couldn't explain what
took her over when she
heard it
It was a dark fear!
She knew it was nothing
She knew the past had no
bearing on her future
And yet...
That night when she got home
she couldn't sleep
The next morning she was ill
They rushed her to the hospital
The doctor ran a series of tests
The doctors said she was fine
But for that darkness
They sent for a psychologist
Her husband to be sensed
it was not ordinary
He took her home
He called the Brother in Jeans
and hT-shirt
They had known each other
for a while
He told him everything
The brother in Jeans and T-shirt
prayed for her
She recovered and told him her
fears
That her parents would still see
a witch or blame her for anything
they see as wrong in their lives!
"They have never seen anything
good in me and they never will"
she lamented
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
told her everything will be
different from that day!
Nobody will be able to say
nay!
They prayed together in 
agreement
A few days to the event,
she received a message
from her mother!
"You sat on the glory of your
brothers, you turned the head
to tail with your witchcraft.
Your father has been down with
spinal cord injury and everywhere
we turned, fingers were pointed
at you! You are not welcome here"
Wow!
She called the Brother in Jeans
and T-shirt and told him about
the message
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
laughed
He said "Have you seen the 
triumphant entry into Jerusalem
before?
You shall!
You shall also experience it"
She took her man home the
following weekend
The Priest and the Brother
in Jeans and T-shirt went
with them
When they got to her parent's
house
The Holy Spirit was there
There was this strange calmness
everywhere
A cloud of serenity
It was palpable and overwhelming
Everybody behaved appropriately
Her parents welcomed their
in-laws very warmly
Gifts were exchanged
The event was seamless
Three hours later, her husband
and his people took their leave
She stayed behind for a while 
thanking those who came to grace the occasion
After about an hour, she bade
her parents' goodbye
As she rose to leave
Her mother, eyes wet with
tears got on her feet and
hugged her
That was it!
The twist nobody saw
Her mother screamed and
started rolling on the floor
Within seconds she started
confessing
"You were the decoy! We needed
everybody to look elsewhere
while we do the work we desired!
I was the one
I was the one who did this
I was the one who did that..."
The brother in jeans and T-shirt
laughed
He had no idea there was a
witch anywhere
One thing he was certain of 
was the power of that presence
He felt earlier
It was so strong, he knew something was going on in
the background
The brother in Jeans and
T-shirt prayed for her mother
The foul spirit left her
Then he prayed for her father
who had been confined to a 
wheelchair for a while
He was instantly healed 
The whole house was electrified
People were praying and falling
under the anointing all over
It was unplanned but perfect
After about an hour
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt
led her mother to the Lord
She gave her life to Jesus and
was filled with the Holy Spirit
He blessed the family
All those who were in bondage
of witchcraft were set free
The introduction had turned 
into a deliverance service
Glory be to God!

PS: The wedding was held
a month later 
It was a celebration of the
Holy Spirit
Her mother was the happiest
of all
She was free after many years
in bondage
Her joy knew no bounds
The couple returned to
the United Kingdom where
they still reside till date
They have been blessed with
two children

GSW's note: Don't be hasty
to conclude evil about anyone
The devil knows that we are
scared of evil and quick to want
to know it so as to avoid it
He also understands that we are
at our very core untrusting and
afraid!
This is why we need the Holy Spirit
Once we have him, we will not
be swayed by the antics of the
evil one
Finally, a witch cannot afflict
a spirit-filled Christian!
It is impossible!
The frequency of a believer 
is +
The frequency of a witch is -
The first is light
The second is darkness
A believer has no business being
scared of a witch
It's like saying "light is scared
of darkness"
We don't have to inflict any pain
on a witch too
Witchcraft is a spirit, just cast
it out!
Finally, if you are manipulative, controlling, unforgiving, vile
and malicious!
Even if you say you are born
again
Go to NCDC and ask them to
test you for witchcraft.
You just may be positive!