Art By Sarps

Hi lovelies! Thank you for stopping by to read Za-ki 2. I’d recommend you read the first part of Za-Ki by clicking here, it makes understanding this easier.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

“Babes! Are you done accoutering yourself? Don’t make me miss the sermon today o!”

I heard him scream from downstairs as I slipped my foot into my heels. I walked briskly down the stairs as I laughed.
He’s always warning me to not make him late for service since we got married. He compliments my make-up each time, yet he doesn’t understand why it takes so long. “Oh, men! Will they ever understand”?

I saw him as I got down. My feet failed me and froze. He was dressed in a sparkling white kaftan that held his body to perfection. His customized Tissot Supersport Chrono watch sparkled subtly. Yes, customized with our initials ZA-KI – my wedding gift to him. His freshly cut hair was neatly brushed and sort of glistening as the sun rays wafting through the curtains hit them. His beard, when freshly trimmed, was my weakness; the mere sight of it made my knees wobble. He adorned his feet with African slippers.

I was awestruck, just like the night of our second friendship anniversary dinner, or maybe even more.
Fortunately, I wasn’t the only one who was awestruck and daydreaming. And since I came out of my reverie first, I could put the blame on him.

“Love, I’m here. Let’s go now.” It took him another 60 secs to stop staring and start moving towards me. “Now, who’s going to make us late”?

“Gosh, my wife is the most beautiful woman God created! Oh-oh-oh and that smile forming, the laughter about to burst out, woosh! I fall in love, all over again, with you daily”, Yaki said as he hugged and held me tightly.
He whispered in my ear, “thank you for saying yes to me. It is the best thing that ever happened to me. You’re such a blessing, one I could never have known to pray for. And most importantly, thank you for returning to the faith. I Love you, My Zee”. As he pulled away, he caught the tear that was falling from my eye. “Please don’t mess up my wife’s piece of art on her face, or you’d have me to deal with”, he said sternly as though the tear could hear him. I burst out laughing. “Now, that’s my wife! Let’s go now”, he said as he reached for my hand.

I’d love to spend the rest of my life with you. These past few days have been some of my hardest days. I wondered how I’d go on without you. You mean so much to me and I don’t want to lose you.

We locked up and headed for the car.

As he drove, the train of my mind took off… My mind went back to how I almost lost Yaki 2 years ago.

He stayed in the hospital for a week, and I slept by his side throughout. I couldn’t leave him. My legs wouldn’t move, and the nurses would sometimes have to force me to get something to eat. They threatened to not allow me inside if I didn’t eat because they didn’t want me fainting on top of their patient. I knew it was a lie, but I couldn’t risk it, so it worked every time.

I spoke to him daily; I shared our happy moments – when we first met, our first lunch together, our first successful Save Us event. I even shared our fights with him because each brought us closer and helped us understand one another. And there was always food after a fight. Oh, and I prayed, yes I prayed. I prayed daily. Every minute I got, I prayed.

It was my last resort because I knew he believed in God, and the doctors said that everything was alright with him medically, and they knew not why he wasn’t waking up. If God was as good as he said He was, He must at least answer my prayers on his behalf, right? So I prayed.

A week after the accident, Friday dawn, I cried my heart out to God. I didn’t know what else to do. This was different from all the prayers I had done all week. It came from the depths of my heart. It was different.
I shared my bitterness from the death of my parents and how much it made me doubt His love for me. I had no siblings, and extended family wasn’t a thing when I was growing up. I didn’t know how I was going to move on.
My dad’s best friend took me in. He and his family gave me the best life, and that’s how I made it. So instead, they become my “gods.”
I told Him I didn’t know how I’d move on if He also took Yaki from me. It hit me that Yaki had become my god, just like the Durhams were.

The Holy Spirit convicted me shortly after my pity party. I came to a realization that God never left me, but I left Him because I couldn’t trust that without my parents, He’d take me through life. I was so scared and relied on the humans I could see and easily relate with.

Oh, how wrong I was!

Then, I promised to return to Him if He gave me Yaki back. Yaki was no longer going to be my god, but instead, we’ll serve Him together and grow in Him. And even if Yaki didn’t come back, I’d still serve Him because the peace that flooded my heart was exactly what I’d been looking for since my parents’ demise. “Whew, God, I missed you”.

I heard a sound from the bed just as I ended my promise. It was Yaki. He was awake. He was trying to clear his throat, then his lips broke into a beautiful smile.

I screamed, semi-jumped on him, and hugged him tightly till he was whimpering for me to let him go because his body was still aching. I said a thank You prayer to his hearing, and I could hear his surprise and happiness when he said Amen.

The doctor came in, looked at him and said it was a miracle he was awake. We looked at each other and smiled because we knew it was. He was ready to be discharged.

“Yaki, yes.” He looked at me, expecting something to follow, but I only smiled at him. “Yes, what?” he asked. “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.” His eyes almost popped out.

“Yaki, I love you. I’d love to spend the rest of my life with you. These past few days have been some of my hardest days. I wondered how I’d go on without you. You mean so much to me and I don’t want to lose you.” He was speechless. I went on.
“Oh I know you heard all my prayers, and yes, I’m ready to go back to Christianity. I promised God I would if He gave me you. And He did. Actually, I still would have gone back to God regardless, because He gave me the peace I have been searching for all these years.”

“Z….” He hugged me tightly and whispered I love you.

I finished packing his things, went out to the cashier’s office to pay the bills. I returned to the room and found him smiling, but I returned his smile with a frown. His brows furrowed as his smile disappeared, and his eyes begged to know what was wrong.

“Yaki, don’t you ever put me in such a situation again. And I’m ceasing your driving license. I’ll be your chauffeur until further notice”. He looked like he had seen a ghost. I rolled my eyes at him.

“Now, let’s head home, my love.” I reached for his hand with a wide grin on my face. He burst into laughter. “You’re unbelievable!” he exclaimed amidst laughter as he took my hand into his.

Hello there, thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this. I’d love to read your thoughts, so please leave a comment or two below, letting me know what you liked, loved and disliked!

Thumbnail Image Source: Art by Sarps