Her stomach churned violently and her breath came in short, quick gasps. She closed her eyes and felt the room spinning round and round, she opened them again. For three days running, she has been on her knees, seeking the face of the lord. She believed God for her father’s recovery and for the financial state of her family to improve. With an effort, she dragged herself to the cupboard and brought out the banana.Muttering a short prayer,she broke her fast and laid back to rest for a while.Just as she was about to doze off,she heard someone knocking at the door. “Come in,” she called out drowsily, hoping to see Jeff or Bianca, but to her surprise, it was Cynthia. She frowned. She was the last person she had expected to see. Besides, she promised herself to keep her at arm’s length, knowing she was bad news.
“Hi, there.”
She eyed her curiously. “Hi Cynthia, what are you doing here?”
She blew out her cheeks. “Today was my worst day ever.”
She eyed her warily. “Why did you say that?”
“I wonder why bad things happen to good people.”
“I still don’t get it. What are you talking about?”
“You know Tony? “Yes. What about him?”
“He is dying.”
She sat up, the tiredness and hunger disappearing immediately. “Dying?” Why? What happened?”
“Yes, I mean, no. Em, Maya, you see,” she stammered. “I don’t know how to tell you this. But … but Tony has been sick for some time now. And just lately, they found out the truth about his sickness.”
“And what’s that?”
She lowered her head. “Theysaid he is suffering from terminal cancer and hasn’t gotten much time to live –threeweeks at most.”
“Threeweeks?” she cried, suddenly feeling for him. “Oh, poor soul!”
“So his family decided to send him out of the country for sightseeing and to have some good time until he dies. He’ll be leaving onWednesday.”
“Wednesday? But…but why so soon?” She was annoyed that she would not even get a chance to say goodbye.
“Yes, Wednesday. But friends are organizing a get-together for him. Would you like to come? He said I should bring you. Here is his card. It’s for you.”
“No, I am not coming. You know I do not go to parties. I mean, I vowed not to go to parties again. Not after …after…, you know, what happened last time.”
“This is not all that a party. It is just a get together to cheer him up. Surely, you’ll come, even if it’s the last thing you do for a dying man.”
“Okay, I’ll come,” she had accepted. “But you should have said so before. When is the party coming up?”
“You would not believe it, tonight. They are keeping it a secret. I just got wind of the information this afternoon.” 
“It’s all right,” she said. Her mind was already on Tony and what he must be going through. If he dies without Christ, he would be lost forever. She must be at that party, even if only to share the word with him and see if she could reconcile him with God. “You said 9 pm, right?”
“Yes, 9 pm. You’re going to come?”
“Yes.”
 “Why don’t you give me a call when you’re done so I can pick you up?”
“That’ll be great, thanks.”
As she was putting final touches to her makeup,she heard someone knocking at the door. She had selected her dress with care, careful not to wear anything seductive or suggestive as she kept telling herself she was just going there to commiserate and share the word with him, nothing more. That is the least she could do for him. The knock sounded again. She took a cursory look at the wall clock, it said a few minutes after 21.00 hours. It must be Cynthia, she thought, but when opened the door, she was shocked to see Jeff.
“Hi babe,” Jeff called, and then frowned as he caught sight of her attire. “Looks like you are going out?”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you. They are throwing a get-together for Tony.”
The frown deepened. “Which Tony? Why?”
“Tony Aluko. Heard he’s very sick.”
He scratched his hair. “Why am I not aware of this?”
“They’re keeping it hushed up. I learnedof it this evening.”
“The whole thing still doesn’t make sense.”
“I know,” she placed her hand on his arm. “I’m only going there to cheer him up. There’s nothing to worry.”
He shrugged. “Okay.”
“So, where did you go after church?”
“Oh,” he sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you. Pastor Smart wanted help with something.”
She looked at him coyly. “Do you know you are going places?”
“It’s God’s Grace. Well, I have to get going. See you when you come back.”
As soon as Jeff left, Cynthia breezed in. “Hi babe, hope you are ready?”
“You bet. I was about calling you,” she surveyed herself in the mirror. “Do you think what I’m putting on is okay?” 
She sized her up. “Yes. You look great in just about anything you wear. You have a terrific body and great taste.”
She giggled. “Oh, please, don’t start.”
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. She threw the door open and was shocked to see a girl she once tried to convert with a Bible in hand.
“Sister, I don’t know if you could spare me a minute. But there’s something I don’t understand. I … I was hoping you could help,” the girl stammered and opened her Bible.
She looked over her shoulder, Cynthiablinked, and she got the message. “I’m sorry, I would have loved to help you, but as you can see, I am busy. Why don’t you come back, say tomorrow?”
“Oh I see, but it’s just Proverbs 22: 4,” the girl said, flipping through her Bible.
“I said I’m busy or are you deaf?” she snapped and banged the door to her face.
“So, what are we still waitingfor?”
She picked up her handbag. “Let’s go.”
As she was about getting into Cynthia’s car, she saw Pastor Set, the school chaplain and one of her role models. Their eyes met and held for a split second. He coughed lightly and spat heavily on the ground before walking away.