 |
| Found |
It
was a chilly afternoon as Felicia trudged down an unknown bushy path.
For seven days she had gone missing. Nobody knew her whereabouts. The
police was informed, a search party was set up to look for her after
she mysteriously disappeared after closing from her secondary school.
All efforts to locate her proved abortive. Her mother, Esther had
cried her eyes out, she had refused to eat since the sudden
disappearance of her one and only child. She looked pale, haggard and
couldn't be pacified. Her husband, Patrick was simply lost in his
thoughts. He was a pale shadow of himself. He had contacted everyone
he knew yet all these could not help locate his only child.
He
braced himself up as a man and decided to do all he could to ensure
he found his daughter. He decided to take the entire situation into
his own hands and find his daughter even if it was going to cost him
his life. He decided he wasn't going to die without finding his
daughter. He woke up one morning, 10 days after Felicia had gone
missing and told his wife he was going to find their daughter. His
wife looked bewildered and wondered how. He told her with all
assurance, 'My dear, I'm going to find Felicia no matter what it's
going to cost me, even if it is my life. One thing I assure you is
that Felicia will come back to this house.' His wife, Esther still
couldn't believe what had come upon her husband. She told him, 'the
police have combed every nook and cranny, looked everywhere and told
us that she couldn't be located. Can you do more than the police?
With
love in his eyes and smiles upon his face, he held his wife's face in
his hands and told her, 'my love, Felicia is coming back home. I will
bring her back here safe and sound. Peradventure I get killed while
searching for her, I want you to know that I love you with all my
heart. I have never loved any other woman as much as I love you. Take
care of the home and be on the watch out. Felicia is coming back
home.' With this statement, he kissed his wife goodbye and put on a
shirt and a pair of trousers and with his mind set, he went out of
the house determined to bring Felicia back home. Esther his wife was
simply short of words and could do nothing but cry as she saw her
husband leave her to find their one and only daughter.
Felicia
sat down in the woods afraid as she heard the ruffles of grass behind
her. Unknown to her, her kidnappers deliberately left her to wander
in the woods in order to set a trap for whoever was going to look for
her. Most importantly, they wanted to kill her father since he was a
judge who judged fearlessly and faithfully. Recently, he had
sentenced a corrupt politician who happened to be their godfather to
30 years imprisonment for financial misappropriation of state funds
despite every financial incentive offered him to rule in favour
of the said politician. Due to this, they kidnapped his daughter in
order to use her as a bait to lure him to be killed.
They
had almost given up on their mission when suddenly they heard someone
calling out Felicia's name from a long distance. They listened
attentively and to their delight, it was the voice of the judge
calling out his daughter's name. Unknown to Esther, Patrick's wife,
her husband the judge had received a text message informing him to
come to a particular village on the outskirts of the town he lived.
He was given a vivid description of how to find his daughter. He was
ordered to come alone else his daughter would be killed. He obeyed
their instruction and didn't tell anyone. He knew he was taking a
huge risk that could cost him his life. However, the deep love he had
for his daughter made him take the risk with all the dangers
involved.
As
Felicia heard her name, she stood up and shouted, 'daddy.' Upon
hearing his daughter's voice from a very far distance, Patrick
continued shouting her name and started running frantically towards
the direction of her voice. He was overcome with joy as he ran
towards her not noticing the blood that ran out of his arms and legs,
a result of the thorns that pierced him while running through the
thick bush.
Unknown
to him, her daughter's kidnappers were lying in wait for him. From
their vantage position in the woods, they looked as Patrick ran in
search of his daughter. They laughed and laughed amongst themselves
happy that they were finally able to get the 'faithful judge' in
their trap.
As
Patrick ran in the direction of his daughter's voice, so also she ran
in his direction. After some minutes, they both saw themselves and
hugged themselves tightly. Tears streamed from their faces as they
both held each other in a tight embrace. Patrick beheld the pale
shadow of his daughter and wept the more profusely and kept saying,
'thank God I found you..'
Suddenly,
both of them froze as they saw five weird-looking men jump out from
their hiding place and cocked their guns almost instantly. The leader
of the gang cleared his throat and said, 'Mr. judge, now we have you
where we want you to be. Look, today is your last day on earth. We
are going to kill you for sentencing our godfather to thirty years
imprisonment. We are not going to kill you instantly, we are going to
kill you slowly in the presence of your daughter.' Patrick composed
himself, smiled and responded saing, 'I am ready but there's one
thing I beg of you. Please, set my daughter free and let her go back
home.' The leader of the gang and said, 'don't worry, we'll send her
back home but not until after watching your horrifying death.'
Within
a split second, one of the gang members got hold of Patrick, stripped
him to his boxer shorts and tied him to a tree in a kneeling position
while another held his daughter and told her to watch how her father
was going to die. One after the other, the remaining gang members
began to punch Patrick in the face so hard that his face got swollen
and blood gushed out with minutes. As the blows were rained upon
Patrick's face, he looked at his daughter, smiled and told his
daughter, 'don't cry Felicia. I'm doing this for you. Remember I'm
laying down my life for your sake so you cab live. Tell your mummy I
love her and stand for the truth anywhere you find yourself even if
it means you losing your life.' With tears on her face, Felicia
responded saying, 'Yes daddy.'
Patrick's
torture continued as the gang members now brought out a pen knife and
began to slash his face at different angles and thereafter his body.
Patrick was losing so much blood that he started feeling dizzy.
Nonetheless, he never complained or wince in agony. His face was full
of smiles knowing fully well that he was dying for a just cause.
After his body was pierced at different places, the kidnappers
brought out specially prepared horse whips and begun to flog him one
after the other. The pain Patrick went through was unbearable. His
face was distorted, his sight blurred, blood running through his
entire body.
The
torture continued for the next one hour as different methods were
used to torture him. At a particular point, the leader of the gang
brought out a pointed iron rod and pierced Patrick's eyes one after
the other. It was a gory sight to behold. Felicia screamed in agony
when she saw this. This torture being carried out on her father was
just too much. Nonetheless, Patrick was just full of smiles. In a
faint voice, he told his daughter, 'Felicia, make sure you tell your
mother how I found you after receiving a text from these kidnappers
and decided to come find you without telling anyone. Make sure you
tell your mother how I suffered in agony and pain in order that you
might live. Teach your children to live in truth all the days of
their lives. Felicia, stand for the truth, live a clean life, don't
involve yourself in unfaithful things.' With these words, Patrick
bowed his head as life was seeping out of him.
The
leader of the gang now took up his gun which he had placed on the
ground and aimed it at Patrick's head. 'Any final words Patrick? He
asked. Patrick with all the strength he could muster lifted up his
head and looked up to the sky, with joy radiating his face, he said,
'today I lay down my life for my daughter. She was lost but now
found. I gave my life for her. Posterity will definitely remember me
for my good deeds. I am not afraid to die for my one and only
daughter whom I love so much.' After these words, he bowed his head.
In
one swift movement, the leader of the gang moved close to Patrick and
blasted his brains with five shots from his automatic gun. Felicia
watched in horror as the brains of her father spilled out of its
enclosure. Immediately, she was whisked away and taken to the main
road where she was given transport fare to locate her way back home
after giving her descriptions to her house.
Felicia
couldn't stop crying as she boarded a bus and continued to say amidst
intermittent sobs, 'I was lost, now I'm found.'
EPILOGUE
Jesus
is the righteous judge who was killed for you. He laid down His life
for you without holding anything back. He was tortured, bruised and
killed because of you. Will you allow His death be in vain? You are
lost in sin yet Jesus has died for you to be found. Will you be
found?
The
rapture is about to take place. Are you ready?
