Tales of Light

GOODNESS OVER WOKENESS

The shrill jangle from her bedside locker propelled her out of her dreamy state.

'Oh, bother! Why didn't I change that annoying tone while I had the chance.'

With heavy hands, she groped about the bedside locker and snatched up the vibrating iPhone. There was a bobbing green circle instead of the usual alarm clock symbol.

Through groggy eyelids, she stared at the caller ID.

'Gosh! Why is Derin calling this early? I'm so gonna kill her for disrupting my beauty sleep.'

She tapped the green circle and brought it to her ear.

"Tell me an angel appeared to you in the night or else you're really going to see one in Heaven."

"Siju! Have you checked your feed this morning?"

"No, silly! Slept late. It's five thirty in the morning for Heaven's sake, and you're calling just to tell me to check my feed?"

She heard Derin exhale in relief. The girl said, "Please don't. I beg you, whatever you do, don't switch on your data connection."

Siju frowned and heaved her body up the bed. Her friend's voice sounded nothing like the cheery lark she was used to hearing.

"Why?"

There was silence on the other end. Siju's mind churned to process why Derin would be so worked up.

Oh!

"It's about that video I uploaded yesterday night, right?"

Her friend's silence only helped to cement her fears.

"Okay, how bad is it?"

"Really bad."

"Hmm."

"Please, I beg you. And I'm seriously serious. Don't put on your data. I'm coming over right now."

"That bad?"
For Derin to willingly volunteer to leave the comfort of her bed this bone-chilling harmattan morning, then maybe a cyber apocalypse had begun.

"Uh-huh!" Derin affirmed.

Siju exhaled and massaged her temple.

"Okay, I've heard you. Can't promise though. You know me. You shouldn't dropped this temptation."

"I'll be there before you know it. Oh, and you might want to put your phone into airplane mode. You know, in case calls begin to fly in."

The phone clicked off and she stared numbly at the phone's screen.

As she made the taps that'd switch her phone to the advised mode, the temptation to do the opposite was high.

Sijuade Cristabel was the most gorgeous half-caste West Africa had seen in a hundred years.
Taking up a career in modelling was the perfect fit for her, one she'd never regretted.
She had over 1M raving fans who treated her like a goddess, all thanks to the fact that her brand was hinging on porn and nudity and support for the LGBTQIA+ movement.

Except for the times when she had photo shoots and events to attend, most of her days were spent taking care of her body and showcasing it on social media.

That was before she met Jesus.
The tedious journey to finding Truth was a long story best left for another day.

One thing she was grateful for was how God gave her an angel in human skin for a bestie. Derinsola Majek was also a social media influencer-a modesty and purity icon, and a lady who knew her stuff right from the get-go.
If there was ever a definition for a real Christian, Siju had no doubt Derin would be quintessential.

About a month ago, when they'd both taken a break from their crazy work schedules, Derin finally led Siju to the Lord. For reals this time.

Siju was sure she'd never be able to get over the shock that worked its way through her when Derin revealed the deep secrets about her past that no one had known ever.
That was the turning point in her heart. God cared, and she said yes to Him.

Throughout that month of their vacation, Derin patiently groomed her to develop a growing relationship with Jesus and to steel her for the persecution that was sure to come.
Siju began enjoying every bit of the love and freedom she'd missed out on all these while.

So, for Derin to sound so agitated over the phone was alarming.

Siju's mind played silly games on her as she knelt by her bed.

Oh, bother. Was I too forward in publicly declaring my faith and renouncing my past?
My manager is so going to butcher me.

"Lord, grace. Lord, strength," was all she kept mumbling as she knelt by her bed for her routine quiet time.

She was so jittery that of all the scriptures she flipped through, only three words seemed to make a fraction of sense.
'Be not afraid.'

The ring of the doorbell startled her. As she opened the door, her friend burst in like a hurricane.

"You haven't checked, right?" Derin asked, eyes clouded with concern.

She nodded and gave a wobbly smile. "I'm still restraining myself. This cat's curiosity is high."

"Good."

An hour later, after drinking steaming-hot coffee, praying and listening to Derin give her pep talk spiced with Bible verses, Siju was sure she was ready to face even the devil himself.

"Here goes," she said, sucking in a gulp of air as she picked up her iPhone and switched on the connection.

With her trusty friend by her side, she opened her social accounts.

Her notifications and DMs were flooded with lamentations from those who felt she was mistaken, perplexity from those who thought it was an error or a hacker or something, and all degrees of cuss words too unholy to be uttered.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to just ignore them all?" Derin asked.

Siju let out a shaky breath.
"I'll do what Jesus would. Love 'em. I was once there. Those in the darkness cannot understand the light. There's no going back now for me. The world is dead to me. Girl, when are we doing that live broadcast on your vlog to share my testimony?" She paused because her voice was trembling.

"Come here."
Derin hugged her.

Siju cried on her friend's shoulder.

•••°°°•••

Author's note: Hey guys! It's been a while on this space. My deepest apologies. 🙏

This was a submission for a short story writing competition I didn't win. 😅

It can get hard to have a completely transformation from darkness to light. But when you make that choice, grace is always granted. 🥹

Don't forget to hit that star, leave your comments and share this story. ✨😁

Have a great day. 😍