He gave me the bottle of water and said to give it to the King. It was so neatly packaged, having it’s own cup and everything that I jumped at the chance. Besides, I hadn’t had the time to go pick one up myself. As I walked over to the palace, I saw him a distance off, assuring me everything was fine, feeding my thoughts with poisonous evil thoughts that sounded all good and harmless at the time. As I held the package something just didn't feel right but hey..I was late already so I kept moving.
I got to the palace and as usual, it was full to the brim but there was always room for me, always a pathway structured out whenever I arrived. I entered confidently when I saw the King and my heart felt light and bubbly. He looked so radiant in His Agbada, His charm and authority filling the air and my lungs, and I found myself thinking “I’m so lucky to be serving You”. Before I could present Him with the water, He asked me to give it to one of the servants and held out His hands to welcome me. I ran into His arms and felt special and important, the only member of the congregation in the King’s embrace.
A little while after, I stepped outside the gates and saw the man that gave me the packaged water. Rushing over to me, he frantically asked if I offered the King what he had provided. I was about to tell him what had transpired between the King and myself when two odd looking men grabbed him. He looked uneasy at best, but not because of the men that held him, but because I hadn't finished what I was telling him.
Within minutes, I got to understand that what the man had given me for the King was poisoned, toxic, and lethal. My surprise turned to thanksgiving that my my King hadn’t taken it. My thanksgiving turned to hurt that I had been deceived so easily; and hurt turned to anger that he would use me, the unsuspecting victim, to get to the King.
The men holding him started telling me what heinous things they would do to him and they started threatening him. As I glowed in the thought of what would be done to teach such a person a lesson, I noticed he still looked eager for news. Suddenly, the King came outside, dressed in plain normal clothes, and He spat out something liquid in front of the man.The men holding him looked down immediately and stood like statues, immobile at the sight of the King. The man, mouth wide open with despair stared at the floor where the King had spat out his package. The King cursed him softly, His facade so calm you wouldn’t suspect what He had just said, but His eyes betraying the irritation He had for the man. It was then I realized it wasn’t only me that had entered into the King’s palace with such an item. He had given others too. The King, sensing the man’s total disappointment, turned around and went in, not bothering to look at me. As he passed by me, I felt a surge of love so strong it almost knocked me over. Knowing that the love I just felt was all mine, I choose set it aside for the moment, ignoring it with a mindset to deal with the issue at hand, telling myself I would still go in to feel that rush of love fill me again. I reasoned that the King was in His domain and I was always welcome so He’d be there waiting for me when I finally decided to return into the palace. I looked at the man and noticed he looked ready for the worst. I basked in the knowledge that his plans had foiled considerably. The men holding him down then brought out a whip and looked ready to make good on their threats.
At the same very moment, my King, still dressed in plain clothing, came out, looked at me and said something warm and endearing, telling me He was going out, and stared into my eyes with a message I knew I was supposed to grasp but I just couldn’t understand by just looking in His eyes at the moment. The men said something that stole my concentration from the King’s eyes. When I turned back almost immediately, He had already started moving. I desperately wanted to move with Him; knowing I needed to move with him, my place by His side, but the thought of seeing the man who had almost hurt my King taught a bitter lesson was so exhilarating, I stayed...
The men started saying some words and all of a sudden, it felt like I was looking at a courtroom scene in the middle of the road the old fashioned way, the herbalist way. I heard them go on and on and the more they spoke, the more my environment changed. I saw people come out of nowhere and they were all moving in a hurry. the weather changed considerably and a storm began to brew behind the men waiting to reek vengeance on the broken-looking man. I noticed however that the route my King had taken still shone brightly. As I thought of going towards it, the men asked me to make their work complete by finishing their sentences. They would talk and I would conclude. I realized the more I did that, the more distant my King had moved from me, and the bright light paving His departure route dimmed before my very eyes. The clouds covered the skies and I knew almost immediately that the storm was here and that it had caught me in a bad place. I couldn’t run back into the palace because the King had gone out. My legs that had felt immobile only a few seconds age sprang to life and I started running. I turned back and saw that the men holding the man had left him, and the once-broken man stood slowly, a wicked gleam in his eyes. As he stood, I sensed the guards reverence him in a way I couldn’t explain. I quickly turned my eyes back to the route I was running towards. People around me ran in different directions, their mouths moving like they were screaming but I couldn’t hear a sound. as the wind and droplets of rain found their way into my eyes, I found my mind wandering off and seeking shelter, comfort, security, and most of all, my King.
As I ran, it dawned on me that my King had taken another route. I thought of turning back, daring the odds, and using the route my King had used but it seemed a worthless venture now. The wind had become a lot heavier and the rains were pouring in torrents. Items. trees and other stuff fell from the sky out of nowhere and it was at that moment it all came to me...
The king had known! I realized then that I hadn’t needed to bring a gift for him...just myself. He had come out the first time to inform me He knew of the man’s plan, cursed him to my hearing to let me know that judgment had come upon the man swiftly, and had filled me with love without touching me in an effort to let me know that He had already paid the price and I had nothing to settle there, only alot to enjoy. It also clicked that it was for this same reason that the man had looked so broken and empty from then on. The king had come out afterward with the message of salvation in His eyes, asking me to leave my growing hunger for vengeance and hatred behind and walk the road of righteousness with Him; His eyes offering me succor and safety in his ever-pleasant haven. He had left the path open for me with the bright trail He had fashioned out for me at His leave with the hope that I would follow in his stead soon, that is until i gave into my wicked desires and forgot the reason why I had come to the palace in the first place...to be with him. I finally understood why I couldn’t enter the palace once the King had gone out...Wherever He went, the Palace went with Him.
My mind then drifted back to the evil gleam and wicked smirk the man I found myself trying to get away from had on his face and it suddenly hit me...the man had set me up! If he wasn't going to get the King, he was willing to drag me down with him at all costs. He had been willing to play the destitute knowing I’d be drawn into his scheme if he played his part well enough. At that instant,I cried out for my King with the rain in my eyes, trees in my way, and my resolve to overcome. As soon as I felt my ache for him reach its peak, choking me considerably, my phone rang and immediately I opened my eyes...
Me...on the couch...breathing heavily....looking around wildly, frantic to get away from the evil man that had seemed larger than life just a few seconds ago... it took only a moment to click and then another moment for my brain to register it fully...it was a dream!
The phone had stopped ringing and I sat, afraid for a few minutes. Then i felt a conviction in my spirit to write my experience down. The minute the conviction came, I rejected it because I didn't want to remember what had caused such a stir in me; but it just kept on coming strong; reminding me I had ignored writing and telling of the time I saw the evil face and black horses all covered in smoke at the window some years back; keeping it to myself and withholding the ultimate revelation that came with it. The conviction, coupled with the images of the new information that had crept into my mind, forced me out of the couch and to my laptop. As i reached for my laptop, I stopped halfway and considered what I was about to do...if I relived what I had just seen, no matter how difficult and scary it might be, there would be no going back...EVER! After a moment’s thought, I still reached out and grabbed my laptop. I lifted the screen and powered it on.
Then as I bent my head down and placed my hands on the keyboard, I heard it in my head, as clear as I heard my own heartbeat; simple words that sent shivers down my spine as the weight of the words sunk in deep. They were simple, structured in the way most of the greatest stories ever told often started. Clear as the rustle of the wind colliding with palm trees on a windy day,my head resounding the words as I began to type; I heard...I HAVE A STORY TO TELL!
