Rephrasing Renee K's words,
"I guess the line between fiction and a lie is very thin".
Oludare, a young man, who has been trying to make a living through his writing talent, mulled over this as he sat with his notebook and a pen, waiting for inspiration -willing to write.
He looked at the bible on the table and then the cheap loud-ticking clock and remembered that in an hour’s time he was due to be in church for the evening’s bible study.
Oludare had been born and bred a Christian and, being an avid church goer, he struggled with the thought that what he was about to do was to “sell a lie.”
After the death of his parents, he come to live with his grandma who made sure that his food and drink were lectures of morality and from the moment she noticed that he had an interest in writing fiction was uncomfortable with the concept.
"Did you know any actors?" His grandma once asked.
"Yes, ma'am." Oludare answered. "Anorld." He said.
"Well, I don't know any Anorld, but I am sure that he would have been said to be dead in one movie and still appear in another, right?"
He nodded reluctantly. "It's just a movie."
"No, it's just a lie. If they try to tell us he is dead, then he should stay dead!"
"It is a profession, mama."
"And what do you think of that profession, assuming we just have to believe it is a profession?"
"I think its okay, grandma." Oludare had replied innocently, between mouthfuls of the scant meal he had no choice but to eat. Things were hard but he had to live .
Smiling, his grandmother reached for her tattered bible. She was an illiterate but knew the holy book from cover to cover. Now Oludare knew he was in for a long session of preaching!
"My son, let me tell you this, the bible says that no liar will see the kingdom of God." She waved the bible in his face and Oludare swallowed hard.
"But..."
"There is no 'but', my son. These actors and writers of fiction are definitely going to hell!" She sounded convincing.
"But, mama, these people are just..."
"They are just telling lies and acting it. Actors pretend to become what they aren't just to make money! The Bible says that money is the root of all evil. My son, you cannot start writing lies and selling them. Just because the devil painted it as a fiction does not make it right. You are just selling your soul to the devil and the Bible says that the devil is the father of lies!'
"But, Jesus also spoke in parables, mama." Oludare protested; an action he regretted later. "Those parables are not real occurrences, mama, they are fiction like..."
The rest was history. His grandma didn't wait to hear the rest of what she considered his blasphemy. He was dragged to church and made to go through deliverance sessions for being possessed by demons. Those were nothing if he had to recollect the being brainwashed with lectures every minute of the day!
"There are other things you can do with your talent, son." The Reverend advised after weeks of deliverance sessions, fasting and lectures.
"Like what, Sir?" He asked.
"You can join the evangelism team and win souls for Christ."
Oludare had no choice so he didn’t resist. He was weak from fasting and his figure was frail, he knew now it was better not to argue again with the Reverend.
Loudly the table clock struck the hour and his mind jumped back from his memories. It was time for Bible study but Oludare was torn between his writing and attending the church program. What a dilemma he was in.
Then his phone rang- it was the Reverend. He watched it ring again and again. At last it was still - until the text arrived.
"Brother Oludare, you are needed at the church for the church service. Please, be on time."
Oludare knew what the Reverend meant by those words for, after the death of his grandma, he had been absorbed by the church and now it was his only life. He had never had a formal education and though his reading and writing skills were adequate, they were not sufficient to qualify him to study in a college.
Life was very hard for him because of his lack of skills. He had only ever had menial jobs which demeaned him and made him feel useless. Since being sacked from his last job he considered himself a failure and had reached the stage of poverty whereby he only ate if he was given a penny by a church member. No, however his instincts were gearing up for survival and he needed to act.
His phone rang again, and in anger, he watched it ring out.
"I have had enough!" He told himself. "God didn't give me this gift for nothing."
On impulse he picked up his pen and wrote the first line in his notebook. It was his first attempt as before he had only written in his mind about the sorrow and pain he had suffered and now he started to set it down.
When he read what he had written, he smiled and read it aloud:
"In the end, when everything else fails, your talents will ride on the back of your little education and take you to your destination."
He felt good. And when his phone rang again for the umpteenth time, he pressed hard on the red button to switch it off. Then he settled himself in
his chair and started to write.
“Once upon a time there lived a man so poor that he did not know how to make a dime even though he had many talents…….”
Edited by Lyn Dickason.
Written by KINGwax Oluwadamilare
"I guess the line between fiction and a lie is very thin".
Oludare, a young man, who has been trying to make a living through his writing talent, mulled over this as he sat with his notebook and a pen, waiting for inspiration -willing to write.
He looked at the bible on the table and then the cheap loud-ticking clock and remembered that in an hour’s time he was due to be in church for the evening’s bible study.
Oludare had been born and bred a Christian and, being an avid church goer, he struggled with the thought that what he was about to do was to “sell a lie.”
After the death of his parents, he come to live with his grandma who made sure that his food and drink were lectures of morality and from the moment she noticed that he had an interest in writing fiction was uncomfortable with the concept.
"Did you know any actors?" His grandma once asked.
"Yes, ma'am." Oludare answered. "Anorld." He said.
"Well, I don't know any Anorld, but I am sure that he would have been said to be dead in one movie and still appear in another, right?"
He nodded reluctantly. "It's just a movie."
"No, it's just a lie. If they try to tell us he is dead, then he should stay dead!"
"It is a profession, mama."
"And what do you think of that profession, assuming we just have to believe it is a profession?"
"I think its okay, grandma." Oludare had replied innocently, between mouthfuls of the scant meal he had no choice but to eat. Things were hard but he had to live .
Smiling, his grandmother reached for her tattered bible. She was an illiterate but knew the holy book from cover to cover. Now Oludare knew he was in for a long session of preaching!
"My son, let me tell you this, the bible says that no liar will see the kingdom of God." She waved the bible in his face and Oludare swallowed hard.
"But..."
"There is no 'but', my son. These actors and writers of fiction are definitely going to hell!" She sounded convincing.
"But, mama, these people are just..."
"They are just telling lies and acting it. Actors pretend to become what they aren't just to make money! The Bible says that money is the root of all evil. My son, you cannot start writing lies and selling them. Just because the devil painted it as a fiction does not make it right. You are just selling your soul to the devil and the Bible says that the devil is the father of lies!'
"But, Jesus also spoke in parables, mama." Oludare protested; an action he regretted later. "Those parables are not real occurrences, mama, they are fiction like..."
The rest was history. His grandma didn't wait to hear the rest of what she considered his blasphemy. He was dragged to church and made to go through deliverance sessions for being possessed by demons. Those were nothing if he had to recollect the being brainwashed with lectures every minute of the day!
"There are other things you can do with your talent, son." The Reverend advised after weeks of deliverance sessions, fasting and lectures.
"Like what, Sir?" He asked.
"You can join the evangelism team and win souls for Christ."
Oludare had no choice so he didn’t resist. He was weak from fasting and his figure was frail, he knew now it was better not to argue again with the Reverend.
Loudly the table clock struck the hour and his mind jumped back from his memories. It was time for Bible study but Oludare was torn between his writing and attending the church program. What a dilemma he was in.
Then his phone rang- it was the Reverend. He watched it ring again and again. At last it was still - until the text arrived.
"Brother Oludare, you are needed at the church for the church service. Please, be on time."
Oludare knew what the Reverend meant by those words for, after the death of his grandma, he had been absorbed by the church and now it was his only life. He had never had a formal education and though his reading and writing skills were adequate, they were not sufficient to qualify him to study in a college.
Life was very hard for him because of his lack of skills. He had only ever had menial jobs which demeaned him and made him feel useless. Since being sacked from his last job he considered himself a failure and had reached the stage of poverty whereby he only ate if he was given a penny by a church member. No, however his instincts were gearing up for survival and he needed to act.
His phone rang again, and in anger, he watched it ring out.
"I have had enough!" He told himself. "God didn't give me this gift for nothing."
On impulse he picked up his pen and wrote the first line in his notebook. It was his first attempt as before he had only written in his mind about the sorrow and pain he had suffered and now he started to set it down.
When he read what he had written, he smiled and read it aloud:
"In the end, when everything else fails, your talents will ride on the back of your little education and take you to your destination."
He felt good. And when his phone rang again for the umpteenth time, he pressed hard on the red button to switch it off. Then he settled himself in
his chair and started to write.
“Once upon a time there lived a man so poor that he did not know how to make a dime even though he had many talents…….”
Edited by Lyn Dickason.
Written by KINGwax Oluwadamilare
Please follow KINGwax on:
Twitter: @acme_success
Facebook: KINGwax.Oluwadamilare.5
Skype: acmesuccess007
Gmail: acmesuccess007
