Honest Illusions

Episode 17

RCF, Aluu...

Oprah couldn't believe the change that had come over Chris. For the past two weeks, he had been nothing but a gentleman to the hilt. No arguments, no show of jealousy and the most important, no demand for sex. As if that wasn't enough, she had managed to convince him to come for Tuesday service with her and to her surprise, he had.

He was standing up for first timers recognition and Oprah felt her spirits soar. If they managed to move past this phase in their relationship, they could have their own happily ever after. God knows that was what she wanted because she loved Chris so much. No guy had ever made her feel like she meant the world to him like he did. Her friends usually talked about how their first relationships went sour after a couple of months but Oprah didn't want that to happen to her and Chris. They loved each other and planned to get married after school. Things just had to work out for them!

****

Seye had seen Oprah come into the fellowship site with Chris in tow and he had been slightly surprised. Oprah had told him all about their relationship and the fracas that had followed her announcement of giving her life to Christ. She was genuine about it, that he could tell but Chris was another matter.

For the past few days during their walks back home from church, she had gushed about the sudden change that seemed to have come over Chris. He was happy for her but something about Chris' manner didn't gel with the story. He didn't want to seem like a cynic so he had been pleasantly happy for Oprah but in his heart of hearts, he prayed that Chris had genuinely changed.

****

Chris was getting increasingly impatient but he tried his best not to show it. Oprah was still having a nice chat with her newfound 'friend', Seye, who she never seemed to stop talking about. He glanced at his wristwatch, they had kept him waiting for almost 20 minutes!

He watched them warily. Oprah had told him, her and Seye were nothing but good christian friends but Chris found it difficult to believe. Not with the way he always seemed to crop up in every conversation they had or the way she spent more time in Seye's company than his lately. His eyes narrowed as he regarded them, Seye seemed like every boyfriend's worst nightmare; handsome, suave and with the whole 'born again' vibe, he was bound to get any girl he wanted, her being in a relationship, notwithstanding. Chris knew Seye was bound to make a move on his girlfriend because she was quite a looker. No man, worth his salt, wouldn't want to be with her. But he wasn't going to give up Oprah without a fight. He would become the perfect boyfriend so she would find it difficult to leave him. He just couldn't stand the thought of Oprah in another man's arms, he couldn't.

(To be contd)

Honest Illusions

Episode 16

Convocation Arena, Abuja Campus, two days later...

"Oprah wait!" Chris exclaimed behind her as she walked away. When she didn't stop, he hurried after her and held her hand.

She whirled to face him angrily. "What is it Chris? Haven't you had enough?"

"Baby I'm sorry, I've been trying to apologize for what I did. I'm so sorry, I swear I don't know what came over me."

Oprah cast a furtive glance around at the audience they were beginning to get. "Can we not just do this here? There are people watching."

"I don't care about them Oprah, you're the one I care about. Please forgive me," he said and went down on his knees, still holding on to her hand. "I don't want to lose you baby."

What the hell

"Chris please get up, all of this isn't necessary," she didn't like the attention and side-eyes they were beginning to get from students walking through the crowded Arena. Some of her colleagues having lectures were outrightly staring at them. "Please let's go talk some place else, not here," she pleaded.

Chris was obstinate. "Not until you tell me you've forgiven me."

"Fine! I've forgiven you. Can you stand up now?"

Chris grinned, "Anything you say sweetie," he said and got on his feet. "Let's go grab some lunch at my place. I made some stew yesterday and everyone has made glowing comments about it. You've not had lunch, I'm sure you must be famished."

I'll pass

"Er...the thing is, I have another class in 20 minutes. There'll be no way I'll be there on-time if we go to your place."

"Alright, Ofirima Mr Biggs then? Baby please don't reject my offer. I really want to make it up to you. I know my attitude the other day was downright annoying."

Oprah sighed, suddenly weary. "Okay, Ofirima Mr Biggs it is."

(To be contd.)

Honest Illusions

Episode 15

"Who's Seye to you?" He demanded as he strode into the room immediately she opened the door.

Oprah groaned. "Chris please..."

"Please what? Who the hell is he and why was he acting all territorial about you last night?"

"That's ridiculous Chris because the last I remember, you were the one acting territorial! You're the one always acting territorial!"

His eyes narrowed to slits, "are you shouting at me Oprah?"

His voice was dangerously low and Oprah found herself backing down in the face of his fury. "He's just a church member."

"He's just a church member yet you found it cozy to walk home with him, no doubt laughing your heads off at the expense of your lunatic boyfriend."

"Chris please stop this, I'm preparing for school."

"Is he the reason you decided to stop sleeping with me too?" He asked unrelenting and when Oprah didn't reply, he got more furious. "Is he?!"

"No, of course not." Oprah was getting more confused by the minute, what was wrong with Chris? This was definitely not the guy she said 'yes' to at that party.

"So who was? Huh? And why didn't you reply my message last night?"

Oprah had had enough, she walked to her wardrobe to pick out her clothes without replying him. When he was tired of making a fool of himself, he would leave. Something was definitely wrong with him. But she miscalculated.

Chris was past the mood for niceties. He strode to her and pulled her back by her shoulders. "Don't ignore me while I'm talking to you..."

"Or you'll do what?" Oprah was furious now. "If you aren't tired, I am Chris, I am. I'm tired of your posturing and petty jealousy, I'm __"

Before she could continue his palm whipped out and struck her face. Oprah staggered under the force of the slap and sat on the bed. She was astounded.

"Y-you slapped me?"

Chris looked shell shocked. The scales suddenly seemed to have fallen out of his eyes. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Get out!" She said softly, "get out of my sight!"

He looked puzzled as he mumbled an apology to her and left. Oprah massaged her aching cheeks in slow circles. What the hell was wrong with Chris?

(To be contd)

Funny but strange,...man starts growing breast after sleeping with neighbour's wife

According to The Nairobian, a popular Kenyan Newspaper, a 39-year-old man, James Mutua, has suddenly developed breasts after he allegedly slept with the wife of one his neighbours.
Mutua, according to the report, began growing the breasts that have now become saggy, in 2015 after several warnings from the neighbour to desist from having affairs with his wife fell on deaf ears.
The report has it that Mutua confessed to developing sagging breasts after ignoring the warning as he is now seriously looking for a cure for his condition and is of the view that the husband of the woman he was sleeping with decided to punish him through spiritual means.
Mutua who once worked as a chef at a hotel in Westlands, told reporters that his services were terminated in early 2015, when he began developing the breasts after he started sleeping with the woman, and he began selling fruits and vegetables within Westlands to sustain his family.
On how the breasts started growing, Mutua said he felt an unusual sensation on his chest and before he knew it, his breasts became enlarge and has been growing since then, forcing him to wear a bra and over-sized jackets to hide the bulge.
He further confessed that the first time he slept with his neighbour's wife, he was drunk and was lured into the act by the woman wife who had visited him before seducing him.
After the first encounter, Mutua continued, the married woman became more aggressive and would pick him from work or even from his mother’s house for sex.

10 years old girl chained for two days for stealing #4000

The police in Ogun state has rescued a 10-year-old girl, Promise who was allegedly chained by the woman she was living with, Chiamaka Okafor at a house in the Saraki, Adigbe area of Abeokuta, Ogun State.
According to PUNCH, she was chained for two days (Wednesday and Thursday) before she was rescued by the Police at 7PM (Thursday).
Promise told police that her boss (who is her aunt, according to the report), chained her for allegedly stealing N4,000.
According to Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesperson in the state:
We had an information that the girl was chained to a burglarproof window at an uncompleted building at Adigbe area and this led our men to the scene.
The girl told us that it was her aunt who chained her on the allegation that she stole a sum of N4,000. The woman is now on the run, while her husband, who is an accomplice, has been arrested and he is helping us in our investigation.
Oyeyemi said Chiamaka fled the house on sighting the police, leaving behind her four children, including a 6-month old baby.
Omotoyosi Odu , a tenant at the house said:
At a point, when the girl was chained to the window in the kitchen, she was crying out to me that I should please give her food. Other neighbours too heard her cry.
Then the landlords had left home for their shop at Pansheke Market. Later, the girl was moved to the boys’ quarters and chained again. Some of us tried to intervene but she warned us to steer clear, because it was none of our business.
Oyeyemi added that the Commissioner of Police, IIiyasu Ahmed , has ordered a manhunt for the fleeing woman in order to bring her to justice, so as to serve as deterrent to others.
“The matter is under investigation and the police is after Chiamaka Okafor. As soon as we complete the investigation, they will be charged to court,” Oyeyemi added.
Promise has been moved to the welfare home, Stella Obasanjo Children’s Home, Ibara GRA, Abeokuta.               
                                                                      Photo Credit: PUNCH

FFk posted this on his facebook timeline few minutes ago

On 29th July 2016 CNN reported that "the Nigerian government is preparing troops for a crackdown in the Niger Delta if peace talks fail".

This is sad and ominous. As United States Senator Ted Cruz once said "the light of truth is stronger than the terror of darkness".

It follows that the biggest mistake that the Buhari administtation can possibly make is to attempt to "crack down" on the Niger Delta and kill innocent civilians.

If this ever happens, for whatever reason, it will set off a chain of events that will lead to the end of Nigeria as we know it.

Nigeria will disintegrate before Buhari's very eyes if any more innocent blood is shed and if the towns, creeks and villages of the oil-producing states are shelled and reduced to rubble.

The cause of the people of the Niger Delta, and indeed that of the Igbo people of the eastern states, is just and their struggles and aspirations are legitimate and reasonable.

Self-detetmination is a right. It is a concept and principle that is universally accepted and that has the backing of international law.

You do not threaten and bomb those that seek to exercise that right: you treat them with respect, decency and decorum and attempt to persuade them to stay.

This is a point that is lost on President Buhari and those around him. The Avengers are not Boko Haram: taking them on in the field of battle would be a monuemental error.

Why you should let digital marketing agencies to build your new website

Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency to build your new website is wise if the goal of your new site is to increase both traffic and leads. If you want to grow your business, don’t hire a firm that just builds websites: While the firm might give you a great-looking website, the site it builds for you will lack key components that make an effective website.

Advantages of a Digital marketing agency includes :

1. The entire team working on your website will have years of marketing experience — copywriters, designers, developers, project managers, etc. — trained in creating web content, designs and functionality that attract and convert website visitors. I believe websites should be able to increase sales since its your online office .
Your website will be designed and written with conversion goals and a conversion funnel in mind from the earliest stages.

2. Your website will feature multiple calls to action applicable to any stage of the buying cycle. These calls to action will be planned, refined and implemented throughout all phases of content and design production. (Because a marketing company is judged on the amount of leads it is driving, you can be sure strong conversion elements will be a robust component of your website.)

3. Best practices will be implemented for call-to-action text and design. The placement, colors, design and content of each call to action play an important role in how well it works. Marketing companies with years of experience in perfecting these CTAs will be able to get the strongest results.

4. Best practices for user interface will be implemented — your site will always be easy to navigate. Companies solely focusing on website design sometimes get “carried away” and design for design’s sake; an Internet marketing company will make sure your website is easy for visitors to use and obtain information.

5. Your website will be built with a strong base for SEO, rather than a slipshod base or none at all. For instance:
Your site map will be developed around supporting keyword research done at the beginning of the project, to ensure you have all the necessary pages on your site to drive the greatest amount of relevant traffic possible.

6. Site speed improvements will be implemented at all possible places. (Page loading speed is critical for SEO.) Which are one of the most important thing to satisfy users browsing your website .
Content will be written for targeted keywords so it is optimized from the start and does not have to be redone down the road.

7. Your site will launch with all necessary optimized content and correct title tags and meta descriptions.
You won’t have to make scores of costly updates to your new website when it’s time to start your monthly SEO campaign.

With an Digital marketing Agency , every detail of your new site will have been designed, written and developed with the goal of getting as many people to the site as possible and converting them into sales leads when they get there.

Since the marketing team is involved in your site from the beginning, once the site is live and the real marketing campaign starts, your account manager is ready to hit the ground running and has had time to provide plenty of input beforehand. This accelerates your campaign’s performance and puts more leads in the pipeline more quickly.

Honest Illusions

Episode 14

Later that night...

Oprah sat on her bed, reflecting on the talk she had with Seye as they walked back home to their lodge. He truly stayed in the same lodge and block as her, Pritaso Block B but Oprah did not know till today. However Seye did because he had seen her around a couple of times. Only a few minutes in Seye's company confirmed to Oprah that he was not faking his devotion to the things of God. Not that she had any doubts about it. She could not deny it had felt so good to talk to someone who didn't seem the least judgmental or arrogant. Maybe that was why all those brethren in church found him easy to talk to.

*****

"How did you find the service?" He asked.

"I dunno, it was quite an interesting experience. It really felt like you were talking to me. How did you know?"

Seye chuckled, amused. "How did I know what?"

"Come on Seye, most of the things you said back there were really some of the things I'm experiencing at the moment. Hearing you talk about them made me feel like I am not alone."

"You're never alone Oprah, you have the Holy Spirit within you and he's your greatest friend and ally. No matter what issues you face, you just have to call on him and he would come to your rescue."

*****

Oprah's phone buzzed beside her on the bed, effectively snapping her out of her reverie. She saw she had a ping from Chris.

"What's up bae? You home yet?"

After the embarrassment he caused her this evening she marveled at his audacity. She put off her phone without replying him. He definitely stepped way out of line this time

To be contd

Honest Illusions

Episode 13

"C-Chris" Oprah stuttered, confused.

He cast a malicious glance at the guy beside Oprah. He looked too handsome to be a genuine brother. Must be one of them hypocrites who acted pious in church but committed worse crimes outside church, Chris thought with disgust.

"Come on girlfriend, introduce me to your fellow brethren," his tone had the right amount of sacarsm and he watched with satisfaction as Oprah riveted her gaze on the ground in obvious embarrassment.

"Hello, I'm Seye Akintunde, you must be Christopher," he said in one of the most cultured English accents Chris had heard, he surely had to be faking it

Chris sneered at him, "I prefer Chris. I'd really love to stay and chit-chat but I haven't got the time. I'm here for Oprah, bae, let's go home."

"Oh how marvelous, we happen to be on our way home too. You see, I stay in the same lodge with Oprah so I wanted us to walk home together. But now you're here, you're welcome to join us." Chris didn't like Seye's smug smile and confidence.

"You really shouldn't bother, Seyi or was it Seun?"

"Seye." Oprah said from beside him. "And like he said, we were on our way home. Your lodge is just across, I don't want you to go out of your way at this time of the night. Good night Chris."

Chris was furious but he watched helplessly as they both walked away. He glared once more at Seye's retreating figure. Something about him seemed odd and out of place. Were brethren this friendly in RCF? He doubted it. Something definitely smelt fishy about this.

*****

"I don't know what to say," Oprah began after they had walked some distance away from Chris.

"Your boyfriend?"

Oprah nodded. "I didn't know he would be waiting outside church to cause such a scene."

"Was he the reason you could not make it to church on Sunday?"

Oprah nodded again. "Its crazy because Chris isn't always like this, today's just__"

"Its all right Oprah, it happens." Seye said and reassured her with a smile.

(To be contd)

Honest Illusions

Episode 12

For inexplicable reasons Oprah felt a bit better as she hurried towards the fellowship centre. The sun was lazily going down and she could see a few people whom she easily recognized as brothers and sisters by their dressing. No skirts above the knees and different types of headgear to cover their hair. The men had their shirts buttoned to the neck, some wore ties and dress shoes. Everyone had their Bibles with them and they were all heading to the fellowship site.

When she got closer, she could hear voices singing a popular song 'what can was away my sins?' Drum beats, piano and some hand claps accompanied the song. Oprah smiled dryly, it would be nice to have her sins washed away

There were about 30 people already there. Oprah moved inside quietly, wishing she was invisible. An usher led her to a seat and she placed her Bible on the chair and joined the singing. As she sang, she looked around her. She recognized a few faces, mostly female. Everyone looked happy, although she could sense a restraint in their dancing. Most of them, especially the ladies, appeared self-conscious. She wondered what Chris would say about her being there. He didn't like RCFites. Perhaps that was because he didn't know or understand them.

Oprah was so deep in thought she didn't notice that someone was saying hello to her. A smiling guy took Oprah's hands.

"I'm glad you could make it," his rich baritone sent a shiver up Oprah's spine as she looked into the face of the preacher of the other day.

The rest of his words were lost on her as she stared into his dark eyes. His rosy lips were moving but she didn't hear him through the rush of blood in her ears.if guys looked this good as preachers, then pastor wives were the luckiest women. She snapped out of her reverie and forced herself to focus on what he was saying.

"We didn't see you in church on Sunday morning. I'm sorry; I was supposed to have called you up to make sure you were fine."

"Thank you," Oprah replied. Such brotherly concern, I'm liking RCF already. "I wasn't quite myself on Sunday that was why I couldn't make it."

Liar, liar, pants on fire...

He didn't probe any further.

"My name is Seye Akintunde," he introduced himself.

"Oprah Williams," she said.

"Nice to meet you Oprah, I'll see you later," he concluded smiling as he moved towards the back.

***

Oprah felt much better than when she came in after the service ended. Brother Seye had been the minister once again and she could only describe the experience as rapturous. She had wondered at some point during the service how a good looking guy like Seye could be so vibrant in the service of the Lord. Chris had painted most of the guys in RCF as lacking any sense of fashion or comeliness, he just had to meet Seye.

Speaking of which, she brought out her phone and checked out the call log. Chris had been calling her all through the service, she had not answered out of old habit. Now the call log showed he had given her 15 missed calls. What was with the frequency of the calls? she wondered idly.One would think it was an emergency.

She shrugged and picked up her bag and Bible, she would call him when she got home as it was already getting late. A dark night on the streets of Aluu left little to be desired. And she didn't want a repeat of Friday night.

She saw Seye speaking with a lady and there were three others waiting to speak with him. She moved closer to say thank you and goodbye. To her surprise, Seye turned towards her direction and asked her if she would not mind waiting for him, so they could walk back together.

As she waited, she watched Seye counsel several people. She could not hear what they were saying, but she could see the relief written all over those counseled by the time Seye was through with each one. In her heart, Oprah admired Seye. There was so much peace around him and everyone seemed to admire him. Even though he was very good looking, there seemed to be a glow all over him. He was always so relaxed and smiling.

Finally, Seye was through.

"How was the service?" He asked Oprah as they exited the church compound.

A lone figure by the gate drew Oprah's eyes and she swallowed uneasily. Chris stepped out of the shadows.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my born again girlfriend."

(To be contd)

A woman's new boyfriend beats her 13 months old baby to death

A first time mum, 22 year old Ronnie Tayler-Morrison woke up in the middle of the night to her boyfriend, 27 year old Hardeep Hunjan, 27 screaming that her son had fallen out of his cot. The child was rushed to the hospital but he could not be saved. However, her boyfriend Hardeep Hunjan, has been found guilty of battering the 13-month-old baby to death during a drink and drugs binge. Noah was found dead after suffering 15 fractures to his body, including a 6in wound across his skull. According to medical and Police reports, he beat little Noah Serra-Morrison so severely that his body looked like a car crash victim.

The sickening assault occurred at the flat where he lived with the child and his mum at Luton, Bedfordshire.

The jury acquitted Tayler-Morrison of murder but found her guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. She told the jury on the night her son died that she had passed out and came around after her boyfriend woke her up telling her Noah had fallen out of his cot.

Hunjan was convicted of cruelty to a person under 16 and found guilty of murder.

Source:UK mirror

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Okonjo iweala and husband(sir ikemba)celebrates 37th marriage anniversary

Erstwhile Nigerian Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala and her husband, Ikemba Iweala are celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary today.

The couple have 4 children. Their son,Uzodimma Iweala, the author of the novel 'Beasts of No Nation'.took to his Instagram today, to celebrate his parents.

"Happy 37 years of marriage to my wonderful parents who seem to have taken this whole kids out of the house thing extra serious." he wrote "My siblings and I just get selfies of them now with captions like Enjoying watching President Obama speak at the #dncconvention. Okay oooo! Enjoyment! I couldn't ask for more wonderful parents or a more perfect example of how you live through life's triumphs and challenges with someone you love. Happy Anniversary! And please take me with you on your next trip" Source: http://freedomnewsng.blogspot.co.ke/2016/07/okonjo-iweala-and-husband-ikemba.html?m=1:

Honest Illusions

Episode 11

It was 2:00 p.m on Monday and Oprah still had not got up from her bed. She missed her 10:00 a.m lecture and she still didn't have the inclination to get up from her bed where she had lain since 7:00 a.m.

She felt miserable as she reflected over the events of that weekend. She had thought her desire for sex would have disappeared since she was now a christian. But it hadn't felt like that two nights ago when she had moaned and writhed in pleasure as Chris' adept fingers and lips touched places in her body. Places she didn't know could elicit such pleasurable feelings in her and would leave her begging for more.

She cringed as memories of the time spent with Chris over the weekend played over and over in her head. The evangelist had explained that when you got saved you became a new creature, "old things pass away and all things become new." Apparently it didn't include her desire for sex

She had imagined that it would be easy to stop having sex with Chris. That had not happened instead she had yearned for it, she had begged him to continue. She knew she had sinned and felt very ashamed. It was as if she had betrayed someone's trust and there was no one to talk to. Nobody could possibly understand how she felt.

Her phone beeped with a message. She did not feel like looking at her phone let alone reading the message. She did not want any communication with the outside world, she felt so sad and guilty. She wanted to turn her phone face down on her bedside stool where it was but changed her mind and decided to read the message.

It was from RCF UNIPORT and it was an invitation to the new convert's class that evening. She had forgotten all about it and wondered if she was still a convert after all she had done with Chris. She wondered if she was even God's child after last weekend.

Despite her misgivings, as she stared at the message, something inside her seemed to be nudging her to attend the new convert's class. She really did not understand very much about being saved and the RCFites seemed to be the only ones who knew anything about it.

Of course she had not made it to church on Sunday morning, she was not sure but it was almost as if Chris did not want her near RCF even though it was just opposite his lodge. He did not go to church either. He said he just wanted them to be together all weekend.

Now she felt terrible. She had a conviction that God was not with her. She had heard that a Catholic could confess to a reverend father who would prescribe what they had to do to get their sins forgiven. She did not know whether confessing to the president of RCF would have the same effect. As there was no point staying in her room and feeling miserable, she decided to go for the new converts class later in the evening.

*****

Sunnas Restaurant, Aluu...

Chris was having dinner with his two best friends, Tonye and Luke. They were his friends from the same department but everyone in their class knew both boys were bad news. It was even rumored that Tonye was a member of the deadliest cult on campus, the dreaded "V".

"Oh boy wida that your chick na, wetin you tell me say she dey yarn on Friday?" Tonye said after a thoughtful swallow of the palatable fufu and egusi soup before him.

"O mehn, no be small thing o!" Chris intoned licking off the remains of native soup on his fingers. " I no no wetin carry am go RCF on friday wey she come room that evening dey yarn kpaks. She say she don turn born again say our kpanshing na sin."

Both boys burst into raucous laughter that attracted some stares from the other customers seated in the small restaurant. Chris was feeling a little uncomfortable at the attention they were attracting.

Tonye placed a reassuring palm on his shoulders. "O boy no vex say we dey laugh but the thing just funny die."

"As in eh, all these Uniport girls no get chill. Instead make she say she don see another bobo, she wan use born again do excuse."

Chris was taken aback, "Another bobo how?"

"O boy no tell me say you believe that her story?" Tonye asked incredulous.

"I believe am o. Oprah no be like other girls, she dey different."

Tonye and Luke burst into laughter again, louder and more sarcastic this time.

"Story for the dogs! No be only different, my guy leave trash for LAWMA jare," Tonye replied. "That b*tch has found another guy and she wants to leave you for him. If una commot kpanshing from the relationship, wetin go remain?"

Chris jolted upright in his chair and seemed uneasy at Tonye's assertions.

"Don't tell me you believed that her stupid excuse that she's now born again? Everyone is born again on campus in case you haven't noticed. I attend church regularly every Sunday." Luke said.

Tonye smirked, "as in eh, every Sunday service was a hit back-to-back."

Chris was deep in thought and didn't join in on their jokes. Tonye and Luke seemed to have a point, maybe that was the real reason why Oprah was beginning to act funny. It was all beginning to make sense.

"O boy leave that babe, she don cast. No worry you go find another babe, dem full ground," Tonye was saying.

But Chris did not hear, he could not bring himself to hear what his friends were telling him. He loved Oprah, he didn't want any of the other girls. None of them compared to her in beauty and pedigree. She was the best thing to happen to him in a while and he would be damned to let her go.

Never. If he did not have her, no one else would have his Oprah. Nobody, he vowed silently.

(To be contd.)

Honest Illusions

Episode 10

Chris had made his way out of his lodge without thinking. He had felt something was wrong when Oprah hadn't turned up on time.

Why his Oprah, of all the girls on campus? Why now? If she had been involved in this born again thing when they met, he would not have touched her with a 50 feet pole. Just when he had begun to settle down, believing he found 'the one', everything seemed to be falling apart.

There was no way he could have any relationship with Oprah without being sexually expressive because goddamnit he could not keep his hands off her. And how else would she show him that she loved him? He was a man. It was a natural thing, a biological thing and if those hypocrites at RCF would say the truth, they could not do without sex either. If it was a sin then all his friends and every normal man were all sinners. Speaking about his friends, what would Tonye and Luke say? This would be a major falling hand on his part if he didn't handle issues with Oprah well.

It started drizzling as he walked down his street aimlessly. If he had agreed to meet Oprah outside her lecture hall, all these wouldn't have happened. He wasn't prepared to break up with her. But her decision to stop sleeping with him was as good as breaking them up. It was indeed a most confusing matter. He had to find a way out of this unbelievable situation. He looked at his wristwatch when he got to his lodge and was surprised to discover that he had been walking around for an hour. It was already 10:00pm.

Bleep! He left his phone in the room so he could not call his caretaker to open the gate. His best bet was to bang on the gate like a lunatic and rouse everyone in the lodge from sleep. He hated it but he had to do it anyways. After the third round of banging he heard his caretaker, Wene's voice.

"Who be dat?" He asked agitated.

"Oga Wene na me, Chris."

He sighed and after a few minutes, opened the gate. Chris could sense the tense atmosphere. Lately, the robbery attacks of student lodges in Aluu was on a steady increase giving every inhabitant of the place a cause for concern.

"Abeg no vex say I dey disturb. I no carry my phone commot," he explained to the caretaker.

"No lele, but next time try carry am o!"

"Sure, I go see you tomorrow morning when I dey commot."

This brightened Wene's features considerably, "Chris! Chris!! You be correct guy!"

The wan smile Chris plastered on his face for the benefit of his caretaker vanished as he got to the stairs leading to his room. He was a bit apprehensive. What if Oprah had left his room? It might not be a good idea to allow her a whole night to reflect over the events of the day. If she told any of her new fellow 'converts' or God forbid, any of those hypocritical RCFites what happened, he would certainly become history. He rushed back to the room and used his key to open the door hoping that she would still be there waiting for him.

To Chris' relief, Oprah was still in his room, sleeping. He could not believe his luck as he gently woke her up.

"Oprah, I'm so sorry, I don't know..."

Oprah would not let him continue. "Oh Chris!" She gasped and hugged him. "You're home safe. I'm so sorry, I should have been more understanding. I shouldn't have sounded that way, I should ha__"

She didn't know what she was saying. All she knew was that she could not bear the thought of breaking up with him as the tears she had tried to hold on to escaped her eyes.

He held her tightly and covered her face with kisses as she also clung to him tightly. He could taste the salty tears as they cascaded in trickles. His kisses became more intense and although Oprah tried to resist, she gave in and they had sex.

(To be contd.)

Honest Illusions

Episode 9

Oprah didn't believe Chris had walked out on her for the first time in their 3 months old relationship, but what had she expected really? She didn't know what she expected from him but his reaction had shocked her.

When she listened to the male student preacher a few minutes ago, it had all seemed really easy. But standing alone in the centre of the room with Chris off to only God knows where, was not quite the turn of events she had expected.

For the past few weeks, she had been wondering if having sex with Chris was right. Chris didn't seem to see it as a big deal but she would have been happier if they didn't have to indulge in the act altogether. But then again, Chris was not just any random guy, he was her boyfriend and had promised to marry her. Her friends often shared stories of how guys in relationships often ended up cheating if their girlfriend refused to cooperate and she was scared. She didn't want Chris to cheat on her, she would die if he did. So she had given in and they had had sex quite a number of times.

It wasn't as if she didn't know premarital sex was a sin before she had heard the preacher. Her mother had drummed it into her and her sister's ears since forever and it ranked top ten on the minister's preaching back home but in her maiden foray into the world of relationships with her relationship with Chris, all she could say was, it was easier said than done.

However, the student preacher's words had resonated within her and struck a chord in her spirit. For one, he had a certain aura around him that Oprah couldn't place, he radiated so much peace and calm that Oprah couldn't help envying him. He was not bad looking either and Oprah knew had he not become a preacher, he would be a serial heart breaker. She had first been drawn to his good looks and dapper dressing until she heard him speak. She could only describe the experience as memorable.

*****

RCF - Aluu, a few hours before...

His clear, loud voice reverberated through the half-completed auditorium. His diction was perfect and he sounded confident like he knew what he was talking about.

"My friends, listen to me. Until you discover God's purpose for creating you, you cannot experience true peace and joy in your life."

It was as if a light bulb came on in Oprah's head and suddenly it didn't matter if she had to be in Chris' room at that moment and he would send out an APB if she didn't show soon. All of her worries fell away and the only thing she could hear was the young preacher's voice.

"Beware, sin will rob you of God's purpose for your life. God is your father, he created you for a purpose. He loves you and wants the best for you, but you will never experience God's best until you say 'no' to sin and give your life to him. He loves you more than you can ever imagine. That was why he sent Jesus to die for your sins. Why don't you say 'yes' to Jesus and begin to walk in his purpose for creating you so you can discover true peace and joy."

There was silence everywhere.

"Ask yourself," he continued, "Are you truly happy? Do you have true peace and joy? Or do you have peace and joy that is here today and gone tomorrow?" He threw an open invitation. "If you want to give your life to Christ, please stand up now. If you want to become a true child of God, I want to pray with you."

People began to stand up everywhere as the choir began to sing softly.

Oprah's heart was beating fast, she wanted to stand up too. The young preacher had spoken the truth. Since God had created her for a purpose, Oprah wanted to discover that purpose.

She stood up.

*****

Oprah looked at her watch, it was almost 10pm and Chris wasn't back home. She was worried, what if something had happened to him? What if he had been mobbed by the infamous Aluu boys?

Oh God! Oh God! then it would all be her fault, if only she had not been so stubborn and firm in her newly found spiritual conviction. If only she had given it time, given him time to begin to come to terms with it. It had seemed so sudden and cruel. She really should have waited

(To be contd)

Honest Illusions

2

Episode 8

Evergreen Lodge, Aluu. 10pm...

Oprah stood by the window staring at the dark night outside. Chris' reaction had confused her. He did not appear to have taken her serious at all. She turned back to look at Chris who appeared to be reading a magazine.

Chris was however deep in thought. Oprah born again

He didn't know what to think. He really could not stand those RCFites. Would she start to dress like them? He shuddered only considering it, God forbid!

He believed that God was his father and that was just fine with him. He was an usher at Our Saviour's Chapel, the interdenominational church on campus. For an undergrad to be an usher was quite an achievement. Most undergrads did not even go to church at all. After Saturday night parties, it was usually impossible for anyone to make it to church. He had been like that too, until, quite remarkably, he decided to give up on Saturday night parties. Friday nights were enough. Since he had a steady girl, he really did not feel like he was missing out on anything. He honestly could not stand the taste of beer. He had never indulged in smoking. So, what more did he have to do right?

He got up and went over to Oprah. He had to be careful, he reasoned. It was best to take things easy, for now. Maybe it was just a passing fancy. He did not want any arguments tonight. He had been waiting all evening for her.

When Chris pulled her closer, Oprah knew what was coming. She prayed silently that he would understand and not insist. She prayed wrong.

Chris wanted her. He started by kissing his way down gently from her earlobe to her neck as he was sure this would ignite the desire in her and in no time she would be moaning in his arms. She tried her best, politely, to turn him down, but he was adamant. He was getting a hard-on from her gentle resistance.

"Don't you love me anymore?" Oprah asked as his hands found their way underneath her cotton top to her boobs.

"Don't be ridiculous. What is this about? Are you seeing someone else?" Oprah gently pushed him away.

"You know that's not true," she was becoming confused.

"Maybe this sudden doubt of my love is just to get rid of me."

"I'm just tired, besides I don't feel very well." She moved away from the window and stood by the bed. She could tell by his expression that he did not believe her. Perhaps she should come out with the truth. She was going to have to face it one day.

"What's really going on?" Chris asked moving nearer.

She sighed, here goes nothing. "I can't do it anymore. I believe having premarital sex with you is a sin."

Chris was quiet. She looked at him. He looked stunned. He kept staring at the floor and then he suddenly turned, opened the door of the room and walked out.

"Chris! Chris!" Oprah called after him.

He did not answer her. Confused, she sat on the bed sobbing. Perhaps she should not have turned down his advances. Maybe she should have waited for him to understand more about being born again. She did not know what to do next

(To be contd)

Honest Illusions

**

Episode 7

Evergreen Lodge, Aluu. 8pm...

It was the last day of the Campus Wide Evangelism Programme organized by the Redeemed Christian Fellowship (RCF). Most of the students that had so far attended were RCFites. Despite the publicity campaigns,other students on the campus didn't pay much attention to the programme. Students often spoke about RCFites as being strict and conservative so they stayed away.

From his room in Evergreen Lodge, Chris could hear the songs from the fellowship site. He was standing by his room window directly opposite the entrance of the fellowship, more focused on his lodge's gate.

It was 8:00pm and Oprah still hadn't arrived. He was becoming angry. She had said her lectures would end at 6:00pm. Even if she was going to be late, it shouldn't be more than thirty minutes. She was already two hours late.

It wasn't that they had a date, he just didn't enjoy having to wait for her for two hours. Maybe she had decided to stop over at her room. He stared out into the dark night, he couldn't see very far. He had no reason to be angry. If Oprah was late, there would be a good reason for it but he couldn't explain why he was angry.

He went back to his bed and sat down. It was Friday and Steve, his roommate had gone to town. Maybe Oprah's lateness was a blessing in disguise afterall. He could talk her into sleeping over, since she had taken her time coming over and the rest as they say, would be history. He smiled smugly as he took out a magazine and started flipping through.

(To be contd)

Honest Illussions

Episode 6

Oprah could see Chris underneath the almond tree directly opposite the Student Affairs Centre. He was frowning. What could be bothering him?

"Who was that guy?"

The tone of Chris's voice bothered Oprah. Was he angry about something?

"I don't get, what guy?"

"What do you mean, what guy? Don't act dumb with me!"

Oprah realized he was referring to Efe.

"Oh, you mean Efe, Ruth's friend," she responded finally.

"I don't care if he's Ruth's friend or not. If he wants to see Ruth, he can go to Lagos where she's serving. I don't want to see him near you again. Okay?"

Oprah was quiet. This was not her sweet, considerate and loving Chris. He didn't even mind that they were out in the open.

"Did you hear me?"Chris bellowed.

"Yes. I heard you," Oprah replied quietly, not wanting to cause a scene.

Chris smiled. He was in control. "Come on baby, let's go get something to eat."

He took her by the hand and led her towards the restaurant.

Throughout the meal Oprah hardly spoke. She was getting worried about Chris. A lot had changed about him and if she didn't know any better she would swear he wasn't the same guy she had agreed to go out with. A lot had happened in their one month old relationship that sometimes she wondered if they hadn't gone too fast.

She noticed that he felt insecure. He questioned her endlessly about any guy he saw near her. It was as if he believed that she was looking around to start dating someone else now she was in school. And she couldn't understand why, since they were supposed to be in love. She pushed her plate aside. She had hardly eaten anything.

"Is everything alright?"Chris asked.

"As fine as they can be," she replied coldly. "What was all that about?"

He frowned and swallowed, "all what about?"

Oprah let out a hollow laugh, "so we are role-playing now huh? Okay let me refresh your memory in case you've forgotten. What was all that posturing and show of machismo about?"

Posturing and show of machismo He opened his mouth to speak but something about her tone made him swallow back his words. Now wasn't the time or place

In a gentle motion that bellied how he really felt, he placed his hand over hers and surprisingly she didn't pull away.

"Baby you know how it is with all these Uniport boys and girls they see as 'Jambitoes'. They will do all they can to bed as many of them as possible."

"And I've told you countless times, they can't get me, I have you for crying out loud and heaven knows you're a handful" she said pouting.

Chris tried his best to look contrite, "I know baby, I just can't help myself sometimes. You're so lovely and pretty, I can't bear to have another man touch you. I'll die sweetie, I just cant__"

Oprah's heart melted and her features brightened considerably. "Its okay baby, I understand".

He caressed her hand softly as he held her gaze. "I love you baby, never forget that".

"I love you too honey" she said and smiled, holding on to his hand till he finished his lunch.

(To be contd)

Honest Illussions

*****

Episode 5

Choba, Port Harcourt, a few weeks later...

Everyone in the PS main auditorium looked lively and excited. The rigors of registration had not dampened the excitement of being newly admitted undergraduates at the unique University of Port Harcourt.

The lecturer for the class had not arrived and most of the students were chatting and moving around the lecture hall. Oprah looked around. The girls in the Faculty of Humanities appeared to be the best dressed on campus. Many of those in the lecture hall looked like they had just stepped out of fashion magazines.

The lecturer, a young looking Professor finally arrived and gave an introductory lecture on Linguistics, Language and Media (LCS100). By the time Oprah realized that he had no intention of dictating his lecture notes, the lecture was over. How was she supposed to make notes? Oprah looked around wondering if she was the only one in such predicament. Nobody appeared to be complaining.

The lecture over, Oprah made her way out of the hall quickly. She didn't have another lecture until three hours later. Chris would be waiting at Choba campus where he had most of his lectures to have lunch.

She was a few meters away from the Faculty of Humanities and about to cross to the other side of the road when a black Mercedes convertible skidded to a halt, a few feet from her. A guy leaned out of the driver's seat and called her name. Oprah was surprised, as she didn't know him.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you." Oprah responded.

"Yea, you've only met me once at a party. I'm Efe, Ruth's friend," came the cheery reply. "May I give you a ride?"

Efe the cocaine fellow? Oprah hesitated. Would he offer her some coke in the car? She didn't think so.

"I'm going to Choba campus."

"Hop in."

She got into the car and Efe sped off like a rocket.

"Care for some coke?" He asked.

Oprah was taken aback. "What?"

"Care for some Coke?" Efe repeated. He held out a can of Coca-cola.

Oprah heaved a sigh of relief and declined his offer.

"Something wrong?"

I thought you meant cocaine. I know what happened in your house, you drug addict.

"Nothing is wrong. I'm just grateful for the ride. It would have been an uncomfortable wait for the shuttle bus to fill up."

"Anytime, baby. What are you doing this evening?"

Getting as far away from you as possible

"I've got loads of notes to write. Why?"

"There's this neat party going down later tonight."

"Sorry. I definitely can't make it. Maybe some other time."

"Don't get too serious, girl. You won't have any fun burying yourself in books. You gotta get out and be cool."

Oprah laughed. Ruth had definitely come off cool from her experience at his place. These days she was always secluded in her room reading the bible, according to their mother. Oprah promised to think about it.

They had gotten to Choba at the Student Affairs Centre where Chris was supposed to meet her up. She got down and thanked him as he sped off. Phew! Good riddance she thought as she waved at him.

(To be contd.)

Honest Illusions Episode 3

Episode 3

Elsewhere, at about the same time her younger sister was getting into a relationship, Ruth was getting into trouble. She had left the party earlier with her friend Boye and two boys, Efe and Kene.

Efe was Boye's boyfriend and Kene was Efe's friend. It was obvious that Kene was interested in dating her. She didn't mind that. What bothered her was that Kene seemed to think he was 'Mr World.' He was handsome alright, and she wasn't bad looking herself. Maybe girls were falling over themselves to date him.

Big deal! Boys were falling over themselves to date her too!

Boye, Efe and Ruth were students at the University of Port Harcourt, while Kene was at Convenant University. Earlier on, at the party, Ruth had told Oprah and Chris that Efe would bring her home. Chris had been delighted. It was obvious he wanted sometime alone with Oprah. Ruth had gone off with the other three and here they were at Efe's house.

They were in Efe's bedroom where Efe and Boye were examining some white powdery substance which Efe referred to as cocaine! Ruth was scared. She had known Efe back at school where they'd stayed in the same Pritaso Block B, Aluu but she could never have guessed that he was into cocaine. His father was into some business and was apparently wealthy. Efe drove his own car at school!

"Don't be a spoil sport, Boye, come on, give it a try," Efe's eyes were glazed. He looked funny and he slurred as he spoke. From the way Boye was giggling, Ruth suspected she wasn't a stranger to what was going on. She was however reluctant and hesitant. Perhaps Ruth's presence was deterring her.

Kene was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling. A silly smile playing on his lips.

"I want to go home," Ruth announced. She had had enough.

No one paid any attention to her. It was getting dark and Efe's family house was quite some distance from civilization. His parents went to the UK to welcome his elder sister's newborn son to the world. Efe and his sister were the only children their parents had so the four of them were the only ones in the house.

Ruth eyed Boye who was dancing to some music Efe had put on. It was Sia and David Guetta's 'Titanium'

Suddenly, Kene got up from the bed and started rummaging Efe's wardrobe. Soon, he moved back, clutching a syringe. He took out a plastic wire and tied it tightly round one arm until his veins were protruding. With the same silly smile on his face, he injected himself and fell on the bed again, staring at the ceiling.

Ruth watched with disbelief.

Efe got up from the bed and smiled sheepishly at Ruth. "You don't know what you are missing." He went to a table near his bed and picked up a piece of paper neatly rolled. The powdery stuff he had referred to as cocaine earlier on was on the table. He bent over the stuff and sniffed it into his nostrils through the neatly rolled paper.

To Ruth's surprise, Boye stopped dancing and followed suit. Ruth was dumbfounded. In a minute, they were kissing passionately on the floor. Ruth decided to leave. She would take her chances and walk in the dark. Efe and Boye didn't seem like they were leaving until morning, and Kene.

What was wrong with Kene?

Kene was on the bed convulsing. There was foam coming out of his mouth. Ruth rushed to Efe and pulled him away from Boye.

"Efe, something is wrong with Kene. Look at him, you've got to do something."

Efe took one look at Kene and collapsed on the floor laughing wildly. Ruth was confused. What was funny? Kene was still convulsing on the bed.

Instinctively, Ruth knew something had gone wrong. She tried to open the door and found it locked. The key was at the door. She opened the door and ran outside the room, screaming hysterically all the way out of the house.

(To be contd)

Honest illusion Episode 4

Episode 4

Ruth and Oprah sat quietly in their mother's bedroom. Oprah looked at her mother. The honorable Justice Georgia Bankole Williams was visibly upset. She was tall, fair, beautiful and of mixed parentage. Her thin pointed nose, fair complexion and hazel eyes clearly pointed towards her mother's Caucasian roots while her jet black kinky hair and height was clearly inherited from her Yoruba, Nigerian father. There was no doubt where her daughters got their beauty from.

A woman of good taste, she was today unmindful of her well furnished bedroom, the result of several additions by her to the furniture supplied by the judiciary. As she paced up and down her large bedroom, she bore the countenance of a judge about to sentence a notorious criminal to a long jail term.

Several thoughts raced through her mind. She loved her daughters and until now, they had never given her any cause for concern. Perhaps their father's absence was the cause of this problem. Ever since their divorce, he stayed in Port Harcourt where the kids only visited during the long holidays. But even if he was present, what much could he do? If Sigmund was still the same man she had married, she was certain he didn't pay so much attention to the children's upbringing except it was monetary.

Her mind went over the last couple of hours. She had been in her study, writing a judgement on a complicated murder case, when she heard the front door open and close. She had assumed her daughters were back from the party. It was not until two hours later when she received a phone call from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) that she realized Ruth had not returned home with Oprah.

A doctor friend had called her from the hospital to inform her that Ruth was with her at the hospital. She was fine, he had assured. She was brought in with three other youths. One of them had taken an overdose of heroine. Unfortunately, there was nothing the doctors could do. The boy died before they got to the hospital.

Justice Williams was relieved that Ruth was fine, but she couldn't understand what she was doing keeping company with drug addicts. She had told her what had happened amidst sobs. All she could do was thank God that she wasn't assaulted or even raped. She turned to Ruth.

"What were you doing there?" She snapped for the umpteenth time.

Ruth was in tears.

Her mother looked away quickly. She couldn't bear to see her children cry. Anger went out of her like air from a punctured balloon. She sat on the bed beside both girls who were now sobbing quietly.

"I'm sorry for shouting. This has never happened before. Didn't you know they were into drugs?"

Ruth shook her head. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen her mother this angry. She turned to Oprah.

"Why didn't you tell me that Ruth didn't come home with you?"

In-between sobs, Oprah explained that she hadn't wanted to disturb her and she didn't know Ruth was going to stay out that long. Justice Williams rose from the bed.

"You must watch the company you keep. I can tell you that 85% of convicts in jail today are there because of their friends. I'm surprised that you didn't know that Boye was into drugs."

She knew Boye's parents, they were ardent members of her church!

"Its alright girls. I was just worried about you. Please choose your friends carefully. Friendship is not by force. It is by choice."

"Yes ma," they chorused sullenly.

"Anyways, in the meantime, all rights and privileges to parties, dates and outings are hereby revoked. You're both grounded for one month." She said dismissing them.

Both girls looked too dispirited to argue so they just nodded as they stood up to go. Ruth looked even more morose of the two and Justice Williams was convinced she had learned her lesson.

(To be contd)

HONEST ILLUSIONS Episode 2 Ilupeju street, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi was far from quiet, thanks to the noisy party going on in number twenty-six on the normally quiet neighborhood. The sitting room of a beautiful three bedroom detached house was the heart of the party. In all, there were about fifty boys and girls. Most of the girls were dressed in tight fitting clothes that revealed virtually everything while most of the boys were in jeans and custom-made T-shirts that had the celebrant's smiling face. It was just getting dark outside, but the sitting room was well lit with multicoloured bulbs.

Episode 2

Ilupeju street, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi was far from quiet, thanks to the noisy party going on in number twenty-six on the normally quiet neighborhood. The sitting room of a beautiful three bedroom detached house was the heart of the party.

In all, there were about fifty boys and girls. Most of the girls were dressed in tight fitting clothes that revealed virtually everything while most of the boys were in jeans and custom-made T-shirts that had the celebrant's smiling face.

It was just getting dark outside, but the sitting room was well lit with multicoloured bulbs. Oprah looked around her. The smells and fumes coming from burning cigarettes and weed, which was in abundant supply, were almost unbearable. She was sitting alone in a corner waiting for Chris who had gone to get some drinks. They had only danced twice. The dancing floor was over crowded. Oprah could see bodies swaying to Wizkid's latest release. She tried to listen to the lyrics of the songs without much success. The rhythm was great anyhow.

Oprah felt a gentle tap on her shoulder and turned around. Standing beside her was a tall, muscular boy, wearing one of the custom-made T-shirts that was so tight it was a wonder it contained his rippling muscles.

"Hey, baby, wanna dance?"

He had a nice smile too. Chris was nowhere in sight and the music was great. "Sure."

They moved on to the crowded floor and the muscular boy got some space quickly. No one would want to bump into him accidentally. Soon, Oprah realized he was not a bad dancer. Infact he was good. He moved well for his size and she tried to keep up.

Chris arrived with the drinks and wondered where Oprah had gone. He soon sighted her with King Kong. He knew he would have to wait patiently for the song to end. The song ended, but it was followed by a slow dancing number. Before you could say Robin Thicke, King Kong had his arms around Oprah!

Oprah was stupefied. Weren't you supposed to ask before doing something like that? She thought. The young man had his eyes closed, oblivious of everything else. Oprah was most uncomfortable. She was not the only uncomfortable one.

Chris was boiling with anger. He thought of shoving King Kong's possessive arms around Oprah somewhere that wasn't on her anatomy but the size of King Kong's biceps convinced him otherwise.

Chris was tapping on King Kong's arm before he realized he had moved at all.

"Excuse me, I'd like to have my girl back if you don't mind."

King Kong opened his eyes and stared at Chris. Here goes nothing, Chris braced himself.

Surprisingly, King Kong smiled and let go of Oprah. "Sorry. Didn't know she was taken."

With that he walked off.

Oprah was relieved. "Thanks," she said to Chris.

Chris didn't say anything. He handed her the canned malt drink, took her free hand and headed towards the gate. He seemed angry.

They got to where cars were parked, but Chris continued walking holding her in tow. Oprah was almost running to keep up with him. Suddenly Chris turned to face her. "What was that about?" He demanded. Oprah was surprised. "What do you mean?" She asked. "All that cuddling up with that fellow?"Chris was almost shouting. "I was just having some fun, that's all. There is no law against that, is there?"Oprah replied. She was becoming angry and Chris noticed. He didn't know what had taken hold of him when Oprah was dancing back there. When King Kong had held Oprah on her bum, Chris had trouble restraining himself. He had felt like giving him a good beating. He was now embarrassed. He and Oprah weren't even dating! "I am sorry. I don't know what came over me." Oprah sighed. "Its alright," she replied, but Chris could still see the dying embers of anger in her eyes. Just how pathetic could he get? He looked away and back. "Oprah, I don't know how to say this but I think I'm falling in love with you. I--I just couldn't help myself when I ___" "Will you always get like that with me anytime I'm with another guy?" "Yes, I mean no, of course not," he leaned close to the parked SUV at his side and drew her close to him. "The thing is I've never felt this way before with anyone. I don't want to make a fool of myself. Do you feel anything for me, Oprah?" Oprah sighed. "I don't know. I like you, but___" "Is there someone else?" "No." "I want you to be mine, Oprah. Just the two of us. You know what I'm saying." Oprah smiled softly. "You know what I'm saying?" She mimicked. Chris smiled too. "Well, is that a 'yes'?" "What do you think?" She asked holding the smile in place. Chris didn't bother giving a reply. He reached out for her and gave her a long kiss.

(To be contd)

HONEST ILLUSIONS .........a must read story

Episode 1

Oprah turned and tossed that night, restless in body as different things that sounded like mosquitoes buzzed from ear to ear and jumpy in mind as possible bad scenarios flitted in and out of her imagination. Several questions with no answers buzzed around her head. What if things didn't go as planned? What if this turned out to be a bad idea? The questions kept popping up. Endless possibilities, so many questions with no answers in sight.

At so many points on this dark, starless night, she tried to lull her mind and body to sleep by playing the most soothing songs on her phone but her agitated mind would not be calm. She blamed it all on her big Lagos trip coming up in the morrow. But she knew deep down, it was not true. This was not the first time she was going to Lagos.

She looked again at their chat history. Still the same sweet and kind words from the guy who assured her that she had captured his heart. For the past two weeks, his messages had left her grinning from ear to ear and sometimes erupting in loud fits of laughter which made everyone around question her sanity. Her best friend had made it a point of duty to tease her endlessly.

The cause of her frayed nerves was this. It was him. Chris - a guy she met on social media and chatted with everyday and night for the past fourteen days.

Fourteen days?

It felt like forever.

They exchanged numbers, house addresses etc from the first day. Oprah and her sister, Ruth, stayed with their father in Port Harcourt and she had newly gotten admission into the prestigious University of Port Harcourt where Chris was a student. His parents stayed in Lagos and he was there for the duration of the holidays which was two months long.

Only now, two weeks later, she was embarking on a trip to Lagos to not only stay with her mother but to meet this stranger she was already falling in love with. Would she regret it? Would it all be a mistake? She was not certain, she was only certain of one thing - time would tell.

She tossed and turned countless times during the night and the last thing she remembered before she drifted off to sleep was the way she felt her heart skip when she saw his pictures the first time. Truly, she had the hots for this guy.

**** Lagos, five days later...

Oprah lay on her bed staring at the ceiling. She could feel butterflies fluttering all over her stomach. She had been feeling so good that she hadn't even had an argument with Ruth in days! She sat up in her black jeans pant and blue top. Hugging her knees, her thoughts went back to Chris. Was she falling in love? She was so relaxed and happy anytime she was with him. Chris hadn't asked her to be his girlfriend, but she knew he was going to, very soon and she was dying to say 'yes'. Chris was considerate and was always looking for ways to make her feel good. She smiled as she remembered him carrying her off the floor and spinning her round the room in his arms while she shrieked and laughed at his antics. He had also recited a poem about being willing to do anything to make her happy.

"Oprah, your boyfriend is on the phone." Ruth, her elder sister shouted from the living room, interrupting her reverie. Ruth was three years older than her and had just bagged a degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Port Harcourt. She accompanied Oprah to their mother's for the period of awaiting her NYSC posting. Oprah jumped up and ran down the stairs. Ruth rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath,

"Lover birds" and Oprah giggled. She had been teasing her for the last three days.

"Hi Chris, what's up?" "Hello baby. I just wanted to hear your sweet voice." Oprah gushed. "You're not serious." "What are you doing this evening?" Chris asked. "Nothing. Why?" "Would you go to a party with me?" "Where?" "Dolphin Estate. One of my friends back at school is having a birthday bash. Its going to be fun." Oprah hesitated. "I have to ask my mom." "We should be back by 8:00pm." Oprah didn't think her mom would mind. "Cool. Can Ruth come too?" She asked. Three is a crowd, he mumbled to himself. "Of course, if she wants to." "Okay, when will you be here to pick us up?" "At 4:00pm. We have to beat the traffic." Oprah looked at the wall clock. "That's in thirty minutes!" No use, Chris had dropped the phone

(To be contd)
Sat:11:30am

Strategies That Will Boost Your Website Traffic Right Away.

You have lovingly made a website and put it online on the World Wide Web. Now, all you have to do is wait and see who visits.

You have to do something to make people come to

There are plenty of ways that you can generate traffic towards your website, but I am going to concentrate on only 3 of them; that tend to produce very quick (if not instantaneous) results.

The three strategies are:

1. Buy Traffic for your website

2. Send offers and information to individuals in your

3. Request reciprocal links/endorsements

1. BUY TRAFFIC FOR YOUR WEBSITE

As the name suggests, this strategy would require you to dole out some money!

You can place advertisements of your website on other websites that are similar to yours or you can place advertisement of your website on search engines. This way, when some one is searching for a product similar to the one that you are selling/promoting, your website’s ad will come up in front of them. Therefore, you will be able to target people from your niche, and these “targeted” people have a higher potential of buying your product because they were already

You have to pay for the advertisement ONLY when they click on the link. Such ads are known as Pay Per Click (PPC) advertisements. Some of the highly recommeneded PPC ads sites are:

Yahoo! Search Marketing

Miva (formerly findout.com)

When you choose a PPC, do make sure that it offers a tracking software that helps you find out how useful it is to you. This way you will be able to choose the ones that are more profitable and get rid of those that are

2. SEND OFFERS TO MAILING LIST

Brian Campbell (A successful Internet Marketing Guru and best selling author) says that the 1st Internet Marketing Commandment is: “You can’t promote anything online without first capturing the email address of your website visitors.”

He says, “You shouldn’t attempt to get even one visitor to your website without having a mechanism in place to capture the name and email address of the website visitors that come to your website.”

You need to capture most of the email addresses of your in-coming traffic because it is more than likely that they will not buy anything from you on their first visit to your website and they might never come back again! To prevent that from happening, you offer them something that they would like to sign up for (like some valuable information for FREE and its VERY important to deliver what you promise!). After that you keep their attention by sending them more free content, and sandwich promotional offers in between. One e-mail from you will bring most of them back to

A word of caution here: do NOT overwhelm your e-mail list clients with too many promotional offers, you will lose your credibility. You should send them valuable free stuff in between offers, so that they would want to

3. REQUEST RECIPROCAL LINKS/ENDORSEMENTS

There are thousands of websites out there that are selling products similar to yours. Instead of thinking that they are your competition, instead think of them as your potential partners; ask them to promote your product in return of you promoting theirs. These website owners can help you in several ways:

They can put links and banners of your website, in exchange of you putting theirs on your website. Or, they can just add your link to their website and you can then pay them a previously agreed commission when they produce a sale for you.

Or; they can send an email to their email list, endorsing and promoting your product, while you do the same for

Such “deals” are known as Joint Ventures (JV deals) and these are one of the most powerful strategies that you can use to send more traffic to your website.

Try out these strategies for your websites. Better results are produced when all three of these marketing approaches are used together. You might want to try these out and then see which one works better for you and then concentrate more on that one. These three strategies, combined with other marketing methods can sky-rocket your website popularity and sales and make you a very happy online business person.

RIP BRO

He is a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University,Awka Anambra State,.Mr Henry was found dead in his hostel on Wednesday afternoon,. .according  to source,. .his neighbours started raising an eyebrow when he wasn't seen in the morning which was very unusual ,...after they returned from school in the afternoon and he was still not out of the room, they were forced to breakdown the door only to discover his lifeless body, as at the time of this information ,the cause of his death has not been ascertained,. ..Rip to the dead,

A little motivation plays a big role in the achievement of success

Keep going and the chances are you’ll stumble on something perhaps when you're least expecting it, I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something while sitting down,do not let fear interfere with what you can do,defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it,if you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing to do is wake up because an obstacle is often a stepping stone,many of life's failure are experienced by those who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up,. ...so famz be strong, couragous and purpose driven,.coz in the end, its always worth it anyway,. ..jux believe in urself