BEYOND THE PROPHECIES

PROLOGUE

Teniola sat on her bed in her purple-themed room staring at the mango tree. Spotting a ripe, juicy-looking mango, she arises and moves to the window side to get a closer look. Teniola eyed the mango hungrily; she was a sucker for the keitt mango, preferring it to the alphonso mango that was scattered all over the market place. Teniola's gaze shifted to her short and lanky gatekeeper who never stopped hovering around the tree waiting for mangos to ripen; she thought she would go down and pluck it before he did. Teniola quickly went over to her bedside to find her slippers just as her phone began to ring. Olo mi by Tosin Martins started to play and she knew it was a call worth more than a keitt mango. That ringtone was reserved for one person alone; Funsho Macaulay. She smiled to herself knowing it would be quite a lengthy call; they had barely been able to spend enough time with each other lately because of their busy schedules but it was a Sunday afternoon so neither of them would have to hang up within the first three minutes. Teniola cleared her throat and then swiped

her screen to answer the call.

‚Mr. Macaulay, I thought we were still on the challenge?‛ she said

immediately she picked the phone call and smiled sheepishly.

‚What challenge is that Mrs. Macaulay‛ he replied from his end,

acting like he couldn't recall the challenge she was referring to.

‚Our, I can do without you challenge, Mr. Macaulay; who is calling who now?‛ She asked in a teasing manner earning a hearty chuckle from him. Teniola plopped down on her comfortable purple-themed chair,

resting her free hand on the table.

‚Teniola, we both know I lost that challenge as soon as it began; I was only seeing how long I would last without talking to you but apparently not very long‛ he said.

‚That's good, thank your stars you called.‛ she smiled.

‚Hmm, you win this round but I know how to get even. Anyway, do

we still have plans for Saturday?‛ Funsho asked her as they had perfectly mapped out their plans, for the coming week. It was a necessity for them to plan their time as they could easily get carried away with work; it was the same reason Funsho was unmarried even though he was already in his

mid-thirties.

‚Yes, of course, we will be seeing the movie together at 4p.m‛ Teniola responded knowing fully well, that was not the plan he was

referring to.

‚Teniola Arielle... I'm sure you know what am talking about. C'mon, pour out your mind; speak, for your father is listening to you‛ He said, making her laugh. He was fond of calling himself her father or older brother just because he was older than she is; she would sometime say she was his mother instead. They had the kind of relationship most people desired. They were best of friends for a long time but only advanced their relationship recently. He had caught her attention five years ago when she had taken her big mummy to the Spa as a part of her 50th birthday treat. Funsho had been reluctantly following a younger woman who could not decide on what nail polish to buy; she found out that the lady was his younger sister who had just returned from Australia and insisted he took her out. Teniola noticed his crescent-moon shaped eyes as soon as he walked up to the counter; he also had an imperious nose, an angular

flaunty jaw, and his hair was full but styled in a neatly shaped crew cut. He could pass for a model with his Samson physique although she could not say much about his fashion sense.

Funsho had approached her some minutes later, asking to seat next to her on the lounge sofa so he could get a better view of the TV after Teniola insisted that the attendant changed the channel to super sport. They quickly realized that they both supported Chelsea and soon started sharing commentaries and goal scoring excitement, to the annoyance of the other women who had no idea what was so interesting about football. By the end of the match, Funsho had realized she was a die-hard Chelsea fan and asked that they got together sometime soon. They exchanged contacts,

soon realizing that their faithfulness to Chelsea was not the only thing they

had in common.

‚I am just worried Funsho; what if you come and she doesn't approve of you? She always had something to say about every man I ever brought home seeing as her prophesying prophet is still hale and hearty‛.

She said with mixed feelings. On one hand, she wanted to take things with Funsho to the next level by introducing him to her mother but on the other hand, she wanted to save him from her mother's embarrassment. She had not said a lot when Teniola told her she was seeing someone, so she was scared she will take her usual step. Teniola was convinced Funsho was her

last bus stop and she had prayed and received favourable answers concerning him.

‚Teni when I asked you out, you only said yes to me after settling

things in the prayer, so if God be for us, who can be against us. God is with us. I know you are bothered because of your past experiences but things will be different with me; I carry fire baby girl. Who will not want to have a son-in-law like me?‛ he said trying to ease the tensed atmosphere, he had a

knack for being playful in serious situations.

‚Funsho! Must everything be a joke?‛ She said trying to fight the

urge to burst into tears.

‚Okay, I am sorry but on a more serious note, we just need to trust God with this. We are a team and we will handle this together; we will put that day in his hands and everything will be okay. We will of course take advantage of Aunty Ronke's presence because if anybody can vouch for

me, she can.‛ Funsho said.

‚Funsho, I have made up my mind, if she doesn't agree this time around, she will be so shocked at how I am going to change it for her. This is not fair at all Funsho, I will be thirty in a few months and all my friends are already married. Stella had her second baby last week, and my own

mother is indirectly ruining my life!‛ Teniola grumbled in anger.

‚It is finally finished... I didn't know that I was in a relationship with Mayweather, you will change it for the person who gave birth to you and raised you, interesting.‛ Funsho laughed on the other hand while Teniola only kept a straight face as if he could see her. It was silent for a while

before Funsho sighed loudly.

‚Daughter of Zion, you can't fight your mother because of me or anybody else. You should know that God himself authorized our parents to give us out in marriage, so my dear, keep your wrestling hands inside your pocket. We will put the meeting in the hands of God and His will be

done.‛ He reassured her.

‚She doesn't even know so much about you and it is not supposed to be like that; I had to introduce you to Aunty Ronke first because mummy is being so unreasonable but I know our Jesus will intervene.‛ She was scared

but decided to hold on to her faith.

‚Amen‛ he responded.

‚So, now that we've watered down your fire, what is my lawyer

fiancée up to? Anything I need to catch-up on?‛ Funsho asked but Teniola remained silent when she heard footsteps approaching. She paused to be sure she wasn't hallucinating.

‚Mr. Macaulay, we have to continue this chat later, Iya Teni is on her

way to my room and I'm not ready for her long sermon‛. Teniola

whispered.

‚Precious Father, my fiancée is still such a baby. So, at thirty, you can't

receive a man's phone call at home with confidence; a decent, handsome and fire branded man like me for that matter. We need to rectify this

situation soon,‛ Funsho teased her.

‚Must everything be a joke? Besides I'm not in the mood for questions that...‛ Teniola hung up immediately as the door opened but almost laughed at herself when she realized it was not her room's door. Teniola thought to call Funsho back when she was prompted to pray. She pondered over their conversation earlier as random words dropped in her

heart.

‚Helped‛ ‚Limits.‛ Teniola sighed and put her head on the table

when the words came to her for the third time.

‚Whatever you ask in my name, I will do so that the father may be glorified in the son (John 14:13). Teniola reminded herself of the scripture as she knelt

down immediately, asking God to send a helper to intervene in her

situation and give her a testimony for His glory.