Chapter 21 A ONE SIDED COVENANT

Pastor Melvin began to indirectly talk to Sobrina about love few months later. He was now in his middle twenties, while she was in her early twenties. He would give her books on love and relationship, or marriage counseling messages by his favorite Pastors. He made sure she listened or read them by questioning her after sometime. He slipped into the habit of chasing away every other man around Sobrina. He gave her specific instructions to keep every other man away.

Sobrina had a distant relationship with a man living in the United States, he pressured her until she was able to leave him. He discovered Sobrina's stance on marriage and divorce - Sobrina strongly believed in the advantages of divorce - and began to tutor her on changing her mindset about it. He stopped at nothing to express his love to her without actually affirming it. Sobrina thought it was due to their religious beliefs - it was a sin to awaken love when it wasn't ready, or date when not ready to be married. The fellowship made sure it's members adhered to a strict rule of chastity - thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not put on what patterns to a man, thou shalt not touch a woman, let your ney be your ney and your yeh, yeh etc. The members of the fellowship prided themselves as just, upright and honorable men.

On one valentines day, he invited Sobrina over to his house, where he lived with other male brethren. No other person was home as usual, except him. They just sat, staring at each other blushing and making small conversations. On another occasion, he invited her over and they listened to marriage counseling by one of his favorite Pastors. She was seated in his room by his laptop listening to the message, while he listened from outside in his kitchen where he was cooking.

After they were done, he came into the room, opened a bottle of soft drink and poured it into a cup, brought cookies from a carton in his cupboard and broke them into a plate on the table by the laptop. He asked her to stand by his side and she obeyed. They stood side by side before the table, she didn't quite hear the things he said in prayer before he lifted the cup and drank from it, took a piece of the broken cookies and ate. He asked her to do the same. Sobrina did as he had done without asking questions and the meeting was over.