'As far as I am concerned' it is only one news that I have heard

'What do you mean by that Etim? Those that see clearly said that alongside the famine, He will come as well'

'Please save the tales of His coming, I am not Elijah - these things have been spoken of for decades now, and not even a cloud as small as a man's hand has formed in the sky- I am tired.'

This had become my pastime activity, I would fasten my ears to the walls begging them to let me in on the secrets they held as I struggled to make up the mumbled words that flowed out of Daddy's discussions with his overzealous friends. from discussing the latest orchiectomy surgery to discussing AI's latest revolutions and the welfare of my cousins who lived on Mars. I had grown accustomed to the rising and falling of their voices. they were discussing the famine that had been told of, our house had been transformed into a farm overnight, the sound of tractors filled the air, and the atmosphere was filled with the stench of fertilizers- Jada's decision to change from medicine to Botany finally came in handy as my dad locked her in a room forcing her to modify the ugwu leaves and make them bigger and fresher.

We were cheating nature again, nature had decided to punish the sons of the earth from shining suns that burns us to raining rains that beat us, she was trying to get rid of us by all means and this famine was another try, but the sons of the earth laughed at her as they boasted in their technologies to become their life-sustainer. The news channels showed all of man's cleverness to trick her once again, everyone had bought barns and storehouses and stood laughing at the signs that she gave- the famine was to last for three and half years but they prepared for five years- just in case she decided to punish a little more. They were secure in and of themselves.

I kept having the dreams though

The dreams that He came, I saw Him

But not in the figure of meek and lowly in heart, Meek does not come in a turbulence of a thousand fires, surely lowly in heart does not come with a sword protruding out of his mouth. I told Mommy, I asked her if we shouldn't prepare the same way we were preparing for the famine.

'Idan, I once had what is in your eyes, I once asked the questions you asked, I hoped like you - but when time constantly aborts your babies before the 9 month elapses, when your husband touches you- you will ask him to remove his hand because you know that nothing is coming'

She asked me to prepare for the things that are seen and leave the unseen things, after all, we could not eat unseen things.

They kept planting and planting

I kept praying and praying

I knew it was coming, it filled every corner of my dreams, I had seen the whole earth tumbling into the belly of the ocean, I had seen men and women grasp for a savior only to find none.

I saw it everywhere - in one dream I was dressed in a psychiatrist's hospital dress- they thought I had gone mad so they banished me away but I had the information, I had the box that held the description 'The thing that is coming' I knew what was coming but they did not believe me.

So when He came,

When He came,

The air could not pride itself in hoisting him, the waters ran from him as they split in two, and the mountains shook in reverence, the stones finally cried out the songs they had been practicing, the skies painted their most terrific picture and the earth stood still.

They tried to hide behind me but the words came out from the books that we had buried in the basements, the words took on flesh, came to life, and pointed accusing fingers, each person, one by one received their verdict

'You, Your love waxed cold'

'You, you worker of iniquity'

And when it had settled on my own home, it raised the finger , looked straight at them, and said;

'You, your bellies were your god'