GOD had blessed her with a precious bundle of joy, thus shutting their mouths completely.
Looking at the tiny face of the newborn, she felt it was all worth it, all the trouble she went through to get to this stage of her life…
The years went by and Claire’s only son, Gift grew into a lively, well-behaved boy loved by everyone. His father doted on him, denying him nothing. The way he acted, one would think the boy was his only child, that he did not have other children.
Even the daughters noticed the preferential treatment given to Gift and began to grumble.
“Anytime, we ask Daddy for money for anything, he’ll say no money. But once it’s Gift, money will surface from nowhere,” said Claire’s first daughter, Grace.
“Shut up! How dare you talk about your daddy in that manner! Silly girl,” her mother admonished her. But in a way, the girl was right. Gift was getting spoilt and Claire was not too happy about it. When she confronted her husband about it, he did not see anything wrong in what he was doing.
“He’s my only son, my heir. He’s the one who will carry on the family line. So, Gift is not just an ordinary child, he’s special. He deserves to be treated specially. If the girls have a problem with that, well there’s nothing I can do about it,” he stated.
“Well, dear, I don’t think it’s fair on the girls. They’ll feel unloved, unimportant as if Gift is the only one that matters in this family. I know you love all the children and you should show it to all of them equally and not discriminate against anyone,” she advised.
He did not reply but simply shrugged and carried on watching a sports programme on TV.
The revelation
Gift was about seven years when a series of incidents began to happen that caused Claire’s carefully laid plans to crumble.
First was the incident at church over the holiday period. The pastor’s exhortation to the congregants to make restitutions for past deeds in order to enjoy God’s blessings for the new year had touched her deeply. At the time, Claire had felt as if the man was addressing her directly. Was it possible that he could see into people’s hearts, know about their transgressions?
That could not be; afterall, he was not God, Claire reasoned.
Then, a few weeks ago, Gift had fallen ill. He had developed a high fever and had been vomiting a lot. His parents took him to the hospital where he was admitted.
Tests were carried out on him and he was given drugs and treatment but to no avail.
His situation only grew worse. At a point, they became so worried about his condition, Damian suggested they looked for money and fly him out of the country for treatment abroad.
“Nothing must happen to my boy. I’ll do whatever it takes including borrowing money to ensure he gets the best treatment possible,” he said one evening. They had just returned home from the hospital after visiting Gift. His condition was deteriorating and his parents were getting desperate.
The following day, Damian’s mother arrived, with a man she called a ‘great prophet and man of God.’
“Gift’s health problem might be a spiritual attack from enemies who are envious of you,” she told Damian. She disclosed that together with the man of God, the family would embark on two day fasting and prayers to remove the ‘curse hanging over the boy’s head.’
Claire was fully in support of anything that would make her son recover from the strange illness. But Damian was opposed to the idea.
“I don’t know this man, Mama. He could be a charlatan for all we know. There are so many fake prophets out there, so one has to be careful,” he said.
But the mother waved off his fears stating she could vouch for Prophet Jonah’s authenticity any day. “Don’t look down on him because he’s young. He’s very powerful and can see things the ordinary eyes can’t see,” she assured him.
It was on the second day of the prayers, a little after midnight that the revelation came. At a point, the prophet stopped praying and took Damian and his mother into another room.
They were there for a while and when they returned to the room, Claire noticed that the atmosphere had changed. Damian looked tensed while Mama’s lips were twisted as if she had tasted something disgusting.
It was the Prophet that first spoke.
Addressing Claire, he asked:
“Madam, is there anything you know about the boy’s illness that we need to know?”
She gazed at the man confused, not comprehending what he was about.
“What do you mean, Pastor?” she queried.
He looked her straight in the eye, then said:
“You know what I’m talking about. As we were praying, I got a revelation concerning your son. The boy’s illness is not a physical one but spiritual. His spirit longs to go home. His real home, not the one he was taken to as a baby. This is not his home.”
“Sorry, I don’t know what you are talking about,” Claire stated.
Mama butted in:
“Stop pretending you don’t know what’s going on! Open up now so we know the next step to take to save the boy’s life! Its only your confession that can save him now! Is Gift yours and Damian’s child?”
***
Claire’s confession
They say no matter how long you hide the truth, one day, it will surface. How could I keep quiet when my precious son’s life was at stake. If you are a mother, you will understand. That night, after much grilling and threats from Damian and his mother, I opened up to the crime I had committed all those years ago, ably aided by my friend Franca.
I confessed all; how Franca had arranged for a baby boy to be delivered for me after the scan I took revealed I was to have another girl. She made the necessary arrangements with a nurse including the payment for the boy, Gift, who was smuggled to the delivery room on the night I gave birth. He had been born a few hours before I went into labour by a woman I never met. I could not go into much details because other people were involved. But the bottom line is that I bought my baby boy, Gift. I exchanged him with the baby girl I had.
I did it because I did not want to lose my husband to another woman as his mother had threatened to marry another wife for him. One that will give him sons.
The following day, confusion reigned in our home as Damian threw me out of the house.
“Get out of my house and return that bastard to wherever you got him from!” he screamed at me as he threw my things out.
“Please, forgive me, my husband! It was desperation that made me do it!” I cried, begging him on my knees.
It was no use. I was kicked out and I lost my home and family. The only positive thing that came out of the whole incident is that Gift fully recovered from his mysterious illness. He is my only consolation now as my daughters were all taken from me. I live in regret over my actions but I was forced to do it because of my situation.
I just hope Damian will understand, forgive and take me back. I still love him and I miss my girls.
The End
