CAN I STAND THIS LOVE?

 

EPISODE 1

Hi. Good day. I want to tell you a story; the story of two promising youths from what I would term “worlds apart”. They both appear to be people of strong faith with religious backgrounds that do not synchronize. He’s Pentecostal, and she’s a Witness. It all began some years back when the astonishingly beautiful elegant nicely shaped figure of a girl walked into a skill acquisition organization to add accolades to her resume, only to discover a chocolate skinned alluring eyed extremely calm and focused guy as one of the organization’s top employees; woe betide me if I forget to add that he was handsome! 

His attention fell on her on first sight, and so did her crush on him. At that instance, he pondered a little on the figure his eyes beheld, for it matched the image in his fantasy; just that he wasn’t ready to get involved for fear of the outcome, being that he had grown to become a commendable practitioner of his faith. That didn't seem the case with the girl. She on the other hand seemed ready for whatever! At this point, one would ask; “I thought you said they both appeared to be people of strong faith? How come she seemed ready for whatever and he wasn’t? Wasn’t she also a commendable practitioner of her faith?” You bet she was! But that’s as much as I can say about that. All I know is that she seemed ready for whatever!

But you know, this is Africa. It’s somewhat odd for a lady to make the first move. If not, she would have done so. The only thing she could do was send overly apparent signals, hoping he would get them and respond accordingly. Guess what he did; he got them all, but played dump because he hadn’t yet found the courage to overcome his fears and conscience. That left the poor girl emotionally frustrated for a longer time than necessary, to a point where she even considered his unresponsiveness a heartbreak. It horridly came to the end of her time of study in that organization, and she had to leave. I suspect that if she had her way, she would have applied to be staffed there in order to have her desires met. But like they say; you don’t always get what you want. She inevitably had to give up and move on with her life, and she did. Or, did she? Stick around and find out.

Two long years of no communication whatsoever passed, and one would suppose that past “news unworthy events” had found permanent rest in history’s grave. But quite amazingly, the low burning flames of lust, passion, and desire sprung up like wild fire when the boy pulled a stunt which drew national attention to himself; including the girl’s. From two ethnic groups away, communication between them kick started; all thanks to telecommunication and technology. Being sure that physical contact couldn’t come into play by reason of the distance between them, the boy got curious and decided to trade the parts he had in past times dreaded. At this point, it is important to note that the distance between them was his motivation to do so, for he thought to himself; we can only go as far as communicate. No physical contacts whatsoever! I guess he still hadn’t totally overcome his fears and conscience yet, but he was soon going to. READ ON!

“I so much loved you back in the days and wished we had our time” she said passionately over the phone. “But you wouldn’t even cast a first stare, let alone a second. I suffocated daily in your presence, and you didn’t even notice, even when I threw it all at your face. How blind you were”

“You’ll be greatly mistaken to think for a second that I didn’t notice your deliberate lifelessness just to win my shoulder to lean on; not to mention your endless smiles at mere sight of me. And also, your babyish elongated answers to my simple professional questions, and best of all, your somewhat revealing outlooks on few occasions.

“Jeez! She exclaimed. You noticed all that? How come I never for once caught you staring?”

“That’s because I was too careful to be caught. I sought for different occasions to check you out satisfactorily, but it seemed like your longing eyes were always waiting to catch my lustful glance, and that’s something I never wanted to happen, so I maintained caution”

“But why?” she asked exhaustively.

“You wouldn’t understand if I told you?”

“Why then are you telling me this at all? And why now? It would have meant the world to me back then”

“I think you deserve to know that the feeling was mutual, but was prevented by a force too great to wrestle”

“A force too great to wrestle? So you would have to wrestle a force to express your feelings?”

“Yeah. Sounds weird doesn’t it? But I guess I’ve found the courage to talk about it now”

“Don’t you think it’s rather late? We’re like worlds apart now, and seriously engaged with the pursuit of our careers. I don’t see us making any headway with this. If you ask me, I’d say there is little or nothing we can do about it now”

“Exactly” he said sarcastically.

“Then why bother at all, knowing there’s nothing we can do?

“I didn’t say “do”, I said “talk”. “There might be little or nothing to do, but there’s definitely something to talk about”

“What?” she exclaimed in amazement and confusion. “Just talk?”

Hmmm. I guess all he now wanted to do was talk. But about what exactly? And why? For what purpose? Of cause you won’t know. You’ll never know unless I tell you. In this story, I determine how much you know about these snooping explorers. I’m sure by now you’re wondering who I am. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier on. I should have done that before getting started with my tale. I’ll do that now. I’m an intangible being with the ability to explore the alarming contents of a man’s heart, and thereafter, tell about it without the man’s knowledge. That’s exactly what I’m doing now. Having explored and gathered facts about the inner cravings, thoughts and desires of these two mortals, I am proceeding to tell about it. I hope you find it interesting and medal worthy. I’ll take a break now and continue my tale later. I do hope you’ll stick around. Meanwhile, thanks for reading thus far.

To be continued…….

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EPISODE 2

She was thrown into a state of total confusion, as she couldn’t decipher what his motives were. Who wouldn’t? A guy who ignored such glaring signals from a girl who was willing to go to any length imaginable with him suddenly wakes up and wants to talk without seeming to want to meet with her? Talk about what exactly? Well, that’s what we’re about to find out. Guess what he wanted to talk about; nothing exactly! He just got curious and wanted know if what she felt was something real or mere infatuation, and also find out if the feeling was still there. So he had her recite her feelings over and again; a thing she did with much pleasure. Still, some of her words made her claims debatable, adding to the fact that the guy in question is hardly convinced, so he held back and wouldn’t reciprocate duly. But after a great period of inconstant communication between them both, he quietly opted to give in all the way. Even at that, there was this one thing that still stood strongly in the way. Before we proceed to that, there are facts I’d love you to know about this young man.

He had built himself a glowing reputation over the years and wouldn’t trade it for almost anything. He’s trying his best to grow into becoming a responsible man, an imitable icon, a dependable spiritual head, a good father, and a creative lover. Though it seemed almost impossible, he never ceased trying his best to avoid records capable of hunting down future glory. Records like; toying with a girl’s heart and zooming off to settle with another, being considered a selfish pleasure seeker, using and dumping young girls, and the likes. You can guess the likes, can’t you? So let’s proceed.

Due to the above stated and many other shadowed motives, he quietly opted to reciprocate the girl’s feelings which still appeared to be blazing hot! But he sat back to consider the odds he inevitable stood against and try to merge them suitably to everyone’s favor. Having considered and proffered suitable solutions to all the odds that stood against his getting fully involved with the girl, there still was this one odd that appeared to be unmanageable; “THEIR RELIGIOUS BACKGROUNDS”

If you still remember, I had mentioned in the beginning of the story that the guy belonged to the Pentecostal family, while the girl belonged to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Pentecostal doctrine condemns romantic involvements between two partners who have no agreement to settle together in marriage at a later time, and the Witness’s doctrine condemns any relationship whatsoever with a partner who is not a fellow Witness. This is what had been the guy’s primary reason for holding back on the girl, even though everything about him craved her; for she was a beauty from inside out! But what about the girl? What was her take on the matter? I guess she was too consumed by passion to even consider any odds; at least not that I know of. She would happily commit and unite herself to him, and embrace his offers and requirements; well, so it appeared. But the guy, destabilized by their religious differences, relented in feeding her back with the expected response; for he would certainly have let her go along the line, and that is considered wickedness according to his doctrine. Secondly, he would hurt her true and sincere feelings and set a bad record for himself; something he had worked hard to prevent over the years.

He didn’t bring up the matter for discussion with her, as he didn’t want to appear as a marriage freak before a girl who never for once pulled a stunt that headed towards that direction. Why would he want to turn what can be supposed a “spur of the moment” into a lifelong commitment anyway? So he settled in his heart to keep on relenting and let nature dismiss the thing between them little by little, as out of sight is out of mind. Did I mention that they had grown to become like “OGECHI & JESUSBOY?” Oh yes they had! Not exactly though. Only over the phone; and of course; social media. Wait a minute; it just struck me that you might not know about OGECHI & JESUSBOY. Gosh!!! Seriously??? Are you a Nigerian? You're a Nigerian and you don't know about the 21st century ROMEO & JULIET? Please don't mention it in public! And dive out of such ignorance by clicking on the following link to read and know about those two. But that will be when you're done reading my tale. Here's the link to the tale of JESUSBOY & OGECHI. http://jezuzboi.blogspot.com.ng/2015/04/ogechi-i_15.html

So they eventually drew close to seeing each other again, and possibly escalate their romance to the climax. But the guy wouldn’t let it happen due to facts you already know. But then, nature’s breeze only succeeded in fanning emotions to flame until the guy finally overcame his fears and conscience. He was going in now! He was going in big time! So he arranged for a meeting and had her prepare to embark on a trip to his place from two ethnic groups away. Try not to imagine what played out on her arrival lest your imagination gets wild! Just wait until you read it from me. Once again, thanks for reading. I’ll be back soon with the conclusion of the matter! Cheers!

To be continued…….

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EPISODE 3

Hi there, and welcome back! I’m glad you made it! Now let’s get on with the rest of the story. Like I said just at the end of the last chapter, the guy decided to give things a shot without considering anymore what the outcome would be. I guess he was now finally down for whatever! A day was fixed for their seeming reunion, and the girl made her way to the airport glowing like a goddess to fly down and be with him! She was happy it came to that, and the excitement was desperately obvious! Back at home, the guy was busy setting a supposed right atmosphere to welcome her. He wanted to make that day a very memorable one, so he had his bed covered with sheets of decorated linen and perfumed it with aloes, preparing to have his fill of love with her until dusk gave way to dawn. Soon enough, he was done with that, and right then, a call came into his phone. Guess who called in; the girl!

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii” she screamed excitedly over the phone.

“Hello there” he replied with a cool teasing voice. “Somebody seems very excited” he added.

“You bet! I can’t wait to be there! Guess what happened last night?” she whispered.

“What?” he asked.

“I had a dream about some things that are most likely to play out when I get there” she replied giggling babyishly.

“Oh really? Do you mind sharing?”

“I would love to. But I’m at the airport right now, and there are lots of people here. I wouldn’t want them hearing the details”

“Hmmmm. Sounds like classified information”

“Really classified” she affirmed still giggling babyishly.

“Alright then, I’ll be all ears whenever the environment is conducive enough to speak of it”

“It won’t be long. Just an hour from now, I’ll be there” she said. Just at that very moment, an announcement to go on board reached her, and she wrapped up conversation with him. “I have to go now. My flight is boarding”

“Alright then. See you in an hours’ time. Goodbye”

“Goodbye” she replied smiling as she hung up and made to go on board.

At about an hour later, she arrived looking very refreshed and full of anticipation. “Taxi!” she yelled, calling on an airport shuttle cab to come give her a lift. “I want to head down south to the I-Reality estate. Can you take me there?” “Of course” the cab driver replied. “It will only cost you some few naira notes.” “How much are we talking about here?” she enquired. “Just a thousand, five hundred” the driver replied. “I’ll double that!” she said with smiles on her face. “That’s so generous of you ma’am” the driver replied and then asked her to hop in, which she did, and he zoomed off!

While in the cab reminiscing and imagining things, her phone beeped and interrupted her little mind travel, and she got pissed off with the phone for interfering with her soon to actualize fantasy. If the phone were to be a child, she would have smitten it a little. Nonetheless, she went ahead to see what notification had come in; probably a message from her eager and longing prince charming enquiring to know where she was at the moment, as he was dying to have her in his arms. So she picked up her phone, inserted her password, and then BOOM! It wasn’t from him. It was a message from one of her besties. A little short story that was trending on social media as at the time. It appeared she had been getting such messages from her bestie over time, so she just smiled on seeing this one and said; “Lora will never stop bombarding my phone with these “IMAGINARY REALITY” stories. I wouldn’t blame her for getting so addicted to these genius writings though. Who wouldn’t? And now she trying to get me addicted to it as well.” She then laughed for a little bit and again said; “Well, I think it came in a good time. I’ll make do with it while enjoying my ride to lover boy. I hope it’s going to be a good read as usual.” She then clicked open the message Lora sent, and the first thing that caught her attention was the title of the story. Guess what the title was; “CAN I STAND THIS LOVE?” She smiled on seeing the title, and was certain it will be a good read, coming in a good time to prepare her spirit and soul for the moments ahead of her. So she leaned back on the car seat and commenced reading.

To be continued.

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EPISODE 4

Midway into the story, she found the content somewhat relative, and that triggered her interest to have a full read of it before anything else. On reading further, she found that she related 100% to the story; more like her true life story, and she was extremely flabbergasted! The only details that appeared strange to her were some points that pointed to the fact that the boy in the story was deliberately holding back on the girl in the story; his primary reason being the information documented about the differences in the doctrines of their religious backgrounds.

Nevertheless, she wondered how someone’s mere imagination could turn out to be her near reality. Maybe that’s why the writings are called “IMAGINARY REALITY,” she thought to herself. But then, the writer seemed more like a spy who had been snooping on her and documenting every detail of her involvement with this guy for the past four years. The details were just so precise and on point. It couldn’t possibly have been just a mere imagination.

However, she read on till she got to the end of the second episode where the writer urged readers to anticipate the last two episodes, the ones he referred to as “the conclusion of the matter.” So she got curious and put a call across to Lora to enquire about the source of the story.

“I wouldn’t know. There’s this guy that keeps broadcasting these messages on social media.” Lora replied.

“Yeah, I know him. The “IMAGINARY REALITY” guy; right? What’s that his name again oooo? Erm, Jezuzboi?”

“Exactly! Jezuzboi! He posted this on his Facebook page and also broadcasted it on WhatsApp. So I rebroadcasted it because I found it interesting.” Lora explained. “What’s up? You don’t like the story?”

“Not that I don’t like it,” replied the girl. “There’s just something strange about the story. I think he’s writing about me.”

“Hahahahaha. Come on girl! How can he be writing about you? The dude doesn’t even know you.”

“That’s the point! He doesn’t know me, but he was able to predict my past in the first two episodes of that story, and has promised to predict my future in the last two episodes. I’m telling you Lora, everything in that story are the exact details of the things that have happened between loverboy and I.”

“This is strange if you ask me. But it could be a mere coincidence. Have you thought of that?”

“It’s too good to be a coincidence.” The girl agued.

“So what are you going to do?” Lora asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Girl, just discard the details of that story and go on with your life. It’s nothing to worry about.” Lora advised.

“I wish it were that easy.” The girl said. An idea then popped up in her head, and she asked Lora; “Wait a minute, you said he also broadcasted the story via WhatsApp?”

“Yeah” Lora answered.

“Which means you have his contact number” she further enquired.

“Of course,” Lora affirmed.

“Do me a favor, send his number across to me. I need to speak with him.”

“You really want to do that because of an ordinary story he posted?”

“It’s not like the usual. This one strikes me in a different way. I need to clear my doubt. Just send his number across please.”

“Okay” Lora replied, then proceeded to call out his number to her.

“Thanks a bunch,” said the girl after getting the number.

“Alright girl. Good luck” Lora replied and hung up.

She called him but got a voicemail feedback. She was disappointed. She really wanted to find out all she could about the story before anything else. She called Lora again and asked to be linked to the original source of the story. Lora sent her a link to the writer’s Facebook page which she visited and found the story posted there with a lot of controversial comments. Readers from both religious backgrounds took the content of the story very personal and lashed out at the writer for seemingly playing down on the Pentecostal and Witness religions just to make a good story.

The writer then replied their comments, explaining that it wasn’t a mere story, but rather, a true life story of a certain young man he knows. He mentioned that the young man reached him with the story so that he would write about it, post it on social media, and get people to read and proffer a suitable way of handling such relationship, as he was short of ideas. But even after he told them all about it, the controversy continued. So, in order to avoid further controversies, he included additional information below the title of the story to make readers know that he was just the writer of the story, not the story teller. Therefore, the heading of the story changed to;

“CAN I STAND THIS LOVE?”

“Story by Danny”

“Written by Jezuzboi©”

As soon as the girl saw that, her heart skipped! She was surprised! Though she saw the story to be a documentation of her supposed affair with the guy, there were still details that were new to her; the most striking of them being the part where the story had it that the boy she considered her lover boy was actually holding back on her by reason of their religious backgrounds. She was disheartened, and her spirit was destabilized! She didn’t know whether or not to proceed to see him. But she had come a long way and shouldn’t just return like that. She proceeded to his house. On reaching there, the boy was all bright and full of life, but she was gloomy and moody.

“What’s up? You don’t look bright. You should be happy to see me” the boy said.

“Really? You think I should be happy?” She asked.

“Of course!” he exclaimed. “We just got to see each other again after four years. Come on; I have everything prepared and in place. You need to cool off. You’ve been in the air for nearly an hour now”

“I will. Only after you explain this to me” She said coldly, and then forwarded to story to him on WhatsApp.

“Explain what?” he asked curiously.

Just then, his phone beeped. The message she just sent was delivered to his phone, and she replied him saying; “Check your phone”.

The guy confusingly grabbed his phone and click opened the message she just sent. Low and behold, it was the story he had briefed JB and told him to post online and get feedback for him. His countenance dropped immediately. He didn’t know what to say to her. He was confused and his heartbeat got faster. A moment later, he lifted his face to the girl and tried to explain things to her. But before he could say any word, she motioned him with her hand to shut up.

Then she asked him this simple question; CAN YOU STAND THIS LOVE? The boy couldn’t say yes, and couldn’t say no as well. Instead, he tried to bail himself out by some explanations he thought was going to cool her off. But she refused to be cheered by his words and asked him again. CAN YOU STAND THIS LOVE? The guy stood there short of words for some moments, and the girl said; for the last time, I ask; CAN YOU STAND THIS LOVE? He said nothing.

He was dumbfounded! After a while of looking each other in the eye speechlessly, it dawned on her that they were not meant to be. So she slowly turned and made for the door. On reaching the door, she turned with tears welling up in her eyes and said to him; GOODBYE FOREVER. She then left downhearted. The boy threw his weight on the couch afterwards and pondered on all that had happened between them from day one.

Having thought hard and come to terms with the fact that she was gone never to return, he concluded that perhaps, he really couldn’t stand that love. I guess things between them couldn’t have been any better or worse than it was. So he braced himself up, grabbed his phone, and put a call across to somebody. Guess who; JEZUZBOI!

“Hello JB” he greeted.

“What’s up homie?” JB replied.

“I think I have the conclusion of the story now” he informed.

“Seriously?” Mehn, readers have been dying to read the conclusion. Please come over and share it with me. I can’t wait to hear it myself. So what’s it going to be? Are you coming? Or do I come over?”

“Don’t worry J. I’ll be there”

“Cool!” I’m waiting.

And so he came over and briefed Jezuzboi on the conclusion of the matter, which he documented and posted for the world to read. This was how the story of these two young people ended. Not really a happy ending if you ask me. Nevertheless, fate took its course. I will keep snooping on them to see who they both ended up with, and as usual, write about it. I hope you’ll still be around to read. Alright people, thank you so much for sticking around to read till the end. 

I appreciate your time. And in case you might be wondering how the writer ended up being Jezuzboi instead of the intangible being I introduced myself to be in Episode one, this information will clarify you. Jezuzboi is just the vessel I use to do my writings since I’m intangible and can neither work with tangible things nor communicate with tangible beings. What then does that make me? I can see curiosity taking the better part of you. Calm down, I’ll tell you. I have always been, and I still am, and I’ll always be nothing but the “SPIRIT OF JEZUZBOI.”

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THE END.