AGAINST THE ODDS - Episode 5: A Turn for the Better

    Bathing was difficult for Mawufemor due to the bruises and sutures on his skin. Elorm, the daughter of the pastor and a final-year nursing student at the Ho Nursing Training School, attended to his wounds following his shower.

    Elorm had the characteristics of an extrovert; she was a person with an outgoing personality. She was not as religious as would be anticipated of a clergy's ward, unlike her siblings. She enjoyed dressing in skimpy attire, much to the annoyance of her ageing parents. "It's unbecoming for a Christian woman to dress as you do...", her mother would often comment. "Don't dress like a harlot in my house," her pure choleric father would rather say. “If you do that again, I will disown you!" Elorm was accustomed to this empty threat, but she was always mindful of her attire while her father, the pastor, was present. 

  Nevertheless, regardless of her excesses, she was an attractive woman. She had eyes as brilliant as rare diamonds, a form resembling a tender bamboo shoot, and a body that tapered sharply upwards from her broad hips to her small waist and slender torso. In fashion circles, she had the most desirable female body form, known as an hourglass figure, with a low waist-to-hip ratio. In scientific circles, particularly in biology, she would have been labelled as being latero dorso ventrally endowed.

“Arggghh! Pl-eee-a-se be m-ore gen-gen-tle,” Mawufemor pleaded.

“Be a man,” Elorm said. “Men don’t show pain!”

“But please be gentle with me. The pain is excruciating!”

“Don’t be a baby! Man up!”

    Just then, Rev Amenuveve walked in.

“Elorm! Change your attire to something more suitable! We are no longer alone in the house. "We have a guest!"

“But daddy…!”

“If you but daddy me one more time, I will whoop your behind for you. Silly girl!”

    She pursed her lips, then frowned, and then stomped out of the room in Kardashian fashion!

“Naughty girl!” Her father remarked as she left.

    Mawufemor writhed in discomfort as the pastor assumed the duties that his daughter had just been relieved from. Inwardly, Mawufemor preferred daughter over father for obvious reasons. She engaged him in cheerful conversation as she treated him, which made his discomfort more bearable.

    After dinner, the Amenuveves had a lengthy conversation with Mawufemor. They discussed his spiritual life, educational background, and career path. After the deliberations, it was decided that Mawufemor's E.P. University student debts would be paid in full so that he may continue his undergraduate education.      

    Mawufemor was qualified for a pending scholarship package from the church for underprivileged but brilliant tertiary students. The pastor and his wife had planned ahead of time that Mawufemor would be able to use it for his graduate studies after completing his undergraduate studies at E.P. University. Furthermore, Mawufemor was offered a job at Rev Amenuveve's real estate company, to help him earn something to assist him in gaining his independence as a man. 

    Mawufemor's emotions overtook him. He knelt at the pastor's feet and cried. He wondered what he had done to earn such an outpouring of love and concern from these complete strangers who had adopted him as their own. The family encouraged him to give thanks to God rather than to them and to always remember to place his trust in God rather than man.

    Elorm embraced him and helped him to his feet. He felt a warmth he'd never felt before, as well as a live surge of electricity that caused his body to quake uncontrollably. In fact, it was the first time he had ever been hugged by a woman. He felt at ease all of a sudden as if all of his problems had evaporated.

    He went back to his room and reflected on the events of the previous week. He recalled how distressed he had been a few days before when he climbed the asphalt road from the major market to the exam centre to take his exam. And the events of that day that led to his arrest and subsequent police beatings.

   Kor! Kor!! Korr!!! The sound of a knock on the door jolted him out of his reverie.

"Do you mind if I come in?" From behind the door, a lovely feminine voice whispered a request.

“Come in!” Mawufemor stammered to say.

    Elorm walked in with a sensuous grin and a revealing nightie, showcasing every detail of her femininity.

TO BE CONTINUED...