Awakening Love: Part Three

PART THREE: DRINKS

Read Part One here

Read Part Two here

Two Years Later…

KOBINA

Give me oil in my lamp

May my light never be dim

Keep me burning, keep me burning

Until the coming of the King

Kobby sat at the keyboard with the instrumentalists as the choir ministered powerfully. As he played, he recalled how much had changed since he joined The Tabernacle a little under two years prior.

When he had attended church after Akosua’s invite, Pastor Kunle had preached a powerful message on the meaning of salvation. He had preached from John 17:3 and 1 John 5:20, speaking about the importance of knowing the Lord and being known by the Lord.

“After all,” the pastor had said, “Scripture tells us that it is those who know their God who will be strong, and do exploits, check Daniel 11:32. It’s not that you do the exploits before coming to know the Lord. Matthew 7:22. Many will tell Jesus what they did. Jesus will reply that He never knew them. Intimacy is the secret of power in this kingdom. Do you know the Father–and does the Father know you?”

The message had shaken Kobby to his core. Yes, he had attended church faithfully with his parents from his childhood, and even continued to go as an adult. It was what was expected of him. He even read his Bible, prayed…sometimes. He wasn’t a ‘bad’ person. Did he know Jesus though? No. Convicted, he had responded to the altar call that day, and given his life to Christ.

It hadn’t been smooth sailing since then though. When he had told his mother about his decision to leave their family church and join The Tabernacle as a member, she hadn’t been happy at all. It had taken many months, and her noticing the visible transformation in his life for her to grudgingly admit that he had found a place that he was indeed growing.

Now, she even joined The Tabernacle online services after attending her own service in the morning. Kobby had a feeling it was only a matter of time till she joined him in his church, although he had no intention of forcing her to.

Following his repentance, he had been assigned a mentor and taken through several weeks of new believers’ classes. Many of the basic concepts he already knew from many years of Sunday school, but he was amazed by the way the teachers broke down the more complicated aspects of biblical doctrine, and shed new light on topics he had always thought he understood.

After his final class, he opted to join the choir as an instrumentalist, and now served as one of the pianists. Pastor Kunle demanded nothing but excellence from every department, so he had been forced to level up his skillset, and even he had been surprised at how much he had improved.

His friendship with Akosua had also grown more in the past two years as well. The two had become fast friends, and more than one church auntie had suspected romance between the two of them. Kobby only wished it was true; alas, Akosua saw him as nothing more than her “brother in the Lord,” as she had worded it when someone had broached the topic a little over a year ago. She had even tried to set him up with a friend of hers in church–Dzifa–and after one date even she could tell that Kobby’s mind and heart were elsewhere.

He appreciated Akosua’s friendship nonetheless. She had stuck by him through some of the most trying times of his life.

Shortly after joining their church, he had lost his job. The layoffs had come as a surprise, as the company had seemed to be doing well. He had been optimistic about his chances of getting a new role, considering his impressive C.V., but after four months of searching to no avail, his morale had taken a hit. His pride wouldn’t allow him to ask Matthew for help again, as the multi-millionaire was focused on building a home of his own, so he had resorted to borrowing from loan sharks, an experiment which had gone very wrong, very quickly.

Ridiculous interest rates, coupled with the depreciation of the cedi and the fact that he was unemployed, had placed him under a seemingly insurmountable mountain of debt. Feeling ensnared, with nowhere to turn, he had gone back to one thing that had given him comfort in the past–alcohol.

| ~ | ~ | ~ |

Two years ago…

“Ei fine boy, waba biem!” shouted the bartender, as he cleaned the counter. “Mehuu wo akyε o. Ayekoo!”

“Chale, bossu, ma me Guinness baako,” said Kobby. He had just received three rejection emails back to back, from companies he had felt so confident about, and he was frustrated. As he sat down, his phone pinged. He checked his email eagerly–another rejection.

“Wo deε, yε ne mmienu,” he grimaced.

Two hours and many bottles later, Kobby’s vision was starting to blur.

“Bossu,” he burped. “Fa baako ka ho.”

The bartender looked on in concern. “Daabi. Bεεma wei deε, wabo. Kɔ fie wai, na adeε asa.” Kobby laughed bitterly. “Menkɔ fie nkɔ y3 d3n? I am a failure. Even common security job, I cannot get. I am tired. Tired!” He banged his fist on the table–and then promptly threw up.

“Hei, hei!” yelled the barman, jumping away. The bar was nearly empty, the only other occupant snoring at a table in the corner. The barman snatched Kobina’s phone. Kobby tried to reach out and snatch it back, but there were suddenly two–no four–barmen standing in front of him. He stumbled, and fell straight into the pool of his own vomit. The barman looked on in disgust and concern.

“Give me your password, let me call someone to carry you home,” he said.

Password…password. Kobina racked his brain, trying to remember his password, but he couldn’t for the life of him recall what it was. In fact, he wasn’t sure what a password was exactly. His vision swam and his head ached, and all he wanted to do was sleep…

| ~ | ~ | ~ |

Present day

Kobby had been fortunate that the barman had been able to unlock his phone with facial id, and had quickly called his last contacted number, Akosua. She had quickly arrived with Matthew, as she’d been having a Bible study at the Okyere’s place.

They’d taken him back to Matthew’s home, where they had cleaned him up and fed him. After much questioning, he had opened up to them about his financial and career struggles. Following a stern reprimand, Matthew had offered to pay off his debts as a loan with a much more reasonable interest rate, and had offered him a job in one of his companies, which Kobby had accepted, though he was determined to leave the moment he found another opportunity. Matthew had also insisted that he speak to Pastor Kunle, and the pastor had personally walked with him through months of rehabilitation as he struggled with his addiction.

What had really struck him though, was the love Akosua had continued to show him even after the incident. Matthew he had known for years; he knew the man was forgiving and kind, and even more so since he gave his life to Christ. Akosua…well, she had no reason to continue to interact with him after seeing him in such a terrible state. He wouldn’t have faulted her for not speaking to him anymore, especially considering that her life seemed to be so perfectly put together.

Yet, she had continued to speak to him, laugh with him, and seek him out. She had followed up with him when he went into rehab, and introduced him to her circle of friends, making sure he wasn’t lonely.

Honestly, it was at that point he had started to fall in love with her. In as much as she bantered with him though, love and romance were topics they rarely ever touched on. He had seen her reject many men who had tried to ask her out, never cruelly, but firmly enough that each of them knew they stood as much of a chance with her as an ice cube in the hottest corner of hell.

He still didn’t know why she continued to talk to him, but this he knew to be true.

Yes, Christ had forgiven him, and made him whole. Yes, he was now a new creation in Jesus and his past sins had been washed away by the blood.

But Akosua Serwaa Obeng–beautiful, intelligent, sarcastic Akosua, with such a pure heart for God and a smile that lit up his whole world–would never be his. Not in this lifetime.

AKOSUA

Akosua smiled politely as Jeff, one of her fellow ushers, finally finished stammering through his proposal. It took everything in her not to yawn, and she felt bad for being so disinterested, especially knowing what an effort it had taken for him to even speak to her. Jeff was notoriously shy around women.

“….and s-s-so, I t-t-think we would suit each other v-vvery well. I really like you,” he finished, looking relieved to finally be done speaking.

“God bless you Jeff,” Akosua replied, resisting the urge to check her watch and run. “I really appreciate what it must have taken you to speak to me, and I don’t take your feelings lightly at all. I can’t lie to you, I really am not interested in you in that way. Don’t get me wrong you’re really sweet–” she added this as she saw his face start to fall, “–but I don’t think we’d be right for each other. That being said, you’re such an amazing guy and I know that your perfect woman will come around one day.”

“B-b-but I–” he started, but she cut in before he could finish his statement

“Jeff, please.”

“Is it because of K-K-Kobina?” he asked.

“Kobina?” Akosua asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow and ignoring the way her heart started racing slightly at the mention of the man who had over the past two years become her closest male confidant.

“Yes, you two are always t-together. I even thought you were d-d-dating, but Dzifa said you weren’t.”

Dzifa. Of course, Dzifa had put Jeff up to this. They had all known each other since Junior High, and had joined The Tabernacle together. Dzifa had decided to join the choir though, and she sometimes joined the instrumentalists, since she played guitar.

Akosua was going to knock that girl heavily when she found her.

“Listen Jeff,” she sighed. “Kobby and I aren’t dating, we’re friends. Regardless, my decision to say no isn’t in any way related to my friendship with him.”

The young man looked unconvinced, but Akosua was in no mood to stay and try to change his mind. She turned and after walking for a few minutes, bumped into the very person she’d been looking for.

“Aha, Dzifa!” she exclaimed. “What were you thinking; why would you push Jeff to ask me out?”

Her childhood friend smiled mischievously. “But are you not single? All I told him was that you and Kobby are not dating. Or was I lying?”

Akosua stopped as she fumbled for a reply. She finally answered with a lame, “No, you weren’t. Mtchew.”

“Ehe!” yelled Dzifa, victorious. “What Jeff decided to do with that information was none of my business, my dear. But speaking of Kobina, I haven’t seen him in a while oh. To be fair, I haven’t been coming for rehearsals mmom.”

Akosua had actually tried to set Dzifa and Kobby up a little over a year ago. He was a pianist, she a guitarist and vocalist. It had seemed like a perfect match at the time, nevermind the twinge in her own chest when she had thought of them going on a date. It hadn’t worked out between them though–Dzifa had declared on a phone call after their very first date that the man’s heart was firmly fixed elsewhere, and refused to tell her anymore than that.

For some strange reason, she had been glad when Dzifa had told her that she and Kobby were better off as friends, and for a wild, wonderful period of about two days, she had fantasised that the girl Dzifa had mentioned might be her. Her dreams had come crashing back down to reality when his demeanour and interactions with her had remained the same–friendly, playful, but never hinting at anything beyond that, at least not that she could tell.

“Ah Peter, hi!” said Dzifa, breaking Akosua from her reverie. The prayer head that Akosua had had a massive crush on two years prior had married his girlfriend Susan about three weeks ago in a beautiful intimate ceremony at Aburi Gardens. The young couple had just returned from their honeymoon, and were making plans for a mission trip in the coming months. Akosua was genuinely happy for them, and even happier for herself. She had realised in the months following her heartbreak that she and Peter were not really suited to each other. They didn’t have much in common, and she found their conversations, though polite, were never really as engaging as the ones she had with–

“Kobby, we were just talking about you oh. How far?” Dzifa smiled as Kobby came to join the group.

“Chale, God dey, so we dey. Akosua, Peter, how have you guys been?”

They both responded, and after a brief conversation, Peter had to take his leave.

“So what are you both up to this week?”

“Work!” replied Akosua and Kobina at the same time, before they looked at each other and started laughing. Dzifa rolled her eyes.

“Kobby, our girl is a hotcake o. Jeff–you know Jeff, ushers–he just asked Akosua out oh,” said Dzifa. Kobby frowned.

“Asked her out to where?”

“To where sε sεn? To be his girlfriend!” laughed Dzifa.

“And what did she say?”

“You know you could just ask me, I’m standing right here,” Akosua interjected, annoyed by the fact that the conversation which was about her was flying right over her head.

“I hope you said no,” he said.

“No? Why would I say no?”

“Because Jeff is not your type.”

“And how would you know my type, Kobby?”

“My friend, all the guys you’ve been calling cute, you think I haven’t noticed the pattern? I’m not blind.”

“Okay, I’ve heard you.” Akosua rolled her eyes. There was silence for about five seconds.

“Well, did you say no?” Kobby asked.

“Ah ah, why are you so curious, Kobby?” asked Akosua, starting to get irritated. “Even if he’s not my ‘type’”–she put this in air quotes–“Jeff is an absolute sweetheart, and I’ve known him for over a decade. In fact, the more I think about it, this guy is actually a catch o.”

Kobby’s frustration was visibly written on his face, and Dzifa started to snigger.

“You know what?” she said. “I need to run, my sister just texted that we’re ready to head home. But the two of you obviously have some things to talk about, so please, please, just be honest with each other, eh?” With that, she ran towards the car park.

Akosua turned Kobina.

“Well?” she asked. “Why are you so concerned?”

He sighed, and mumbled something under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“I like you,” he repeated. Her heart skipped a beat.

“You say what? Eh?” she said.

“I like you. A lot. And I’ve liked you for a long time. You’re really smart, and our conversations are amazing. You always encourage me to think outside the box, and you push me to be the very best version of myself. Your love for God is inspiring, your relationship with Him is so beautiful. You are beautiful, both inside and out. You’re compassionate, you’re sweet, you’re amazing… ah chale, this is not how I intended to confess. I spoke to Pastor Kunle and your dad, and it was supposed to be a whole romantic declaration, because I know you like those, and you can feel free to say no too I– ”

“I like you too.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oga, you heard me, don’t make me repeat myself,” she mumbled.

“But you too, you never said anything!”

“Ah ah, what did you want me to say? ‘Kobby, I’m in love with you, will you be mine?’”

“At least give me some kind of green light ehn, you’ve figure hard girl like that.”

Akosua rolled her eyes, but a small smile escaped her.

“Anyways, I still want to do this properly.” He took both of her hands into his, and looked into her eyes as he asked, “Akosua Obeng, will you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?”

It was all she could do not to grin like a madman as she responded, “Yes, I’d love to.”

Read Part Four here

GLOSSARY

waba biem — you’ve come again

Mehuu wo akyε o. Ayekoo! — I haven’t seen you in a while. Welcome!

Bossu — an expression used to show friendly respect for a companion or colleague

ma me Guinness baako — give me one Guiness

Wo deε, yε ne mmienu — make it two

Fa baako ka ho — add one more

Daabi. Bεεma wei deε, wabo. Kɔ fie wai, na adeε asa — No. Young man, you’re drunk. Go home, it’s getting late

Menkɔ fie nkɔ y3 d3n? — What should I go and do at home?

God dey, so we dey — God is alive, so we are alive

figure hard girl — act like you’re romantically uninterested

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Waitttt! The story isn’t over yet! We have two more chapters left! But yayyyy! It’s official: Kobby and Akosua are finally together(for now, mwahahaha)! This chapter was a little harder to write: I love romance, but it’s not necessarily my forte(yet).

The topic of relationships is central in this chapter: the obvious one being that of Kobby and Akosua, but another one being the one between a person and God. One thing I wanted to highlight was the importance of knowing God for yourself–those who know their God will be strong and do exploits. When Jesus died for us, He tore the veil, and opened a way for us to relate with the Father as a father. Christ desires that we may know Him–John 17:3, that’s literally what eternal life is defined as. For lack of knowledge, His people perish.

1 Timothy 2:4 says that God desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth–who is the truth? John 14:6 –I am the way the truth and the life! I could speak on this topic for ages, but anyways…

My question for you today is this: how well do you know your God? How intimate is your relationship with the Father? If you haven’t already given your life to Christ, I want you to know this: God loves you so much, and desires to build a relationship with you, so much so that He sent His Only Son, to die on the cross for your sins. He had you in mind. He loves you immensely, and desires that you come to know Him.

If you have any questions, you can reach me on princessasante77@gmail.com

PS: Song at the beginning is Give Me Oil, by Joe Mettle, featuring Sandra Boakye-Duah.