The devil incarnate.

If the devil wants to get you, he would sometimes use the best weapon that is close to you like your neck vein. I loved playing ball as a lad. If you are looking for me, you don't need to think twice before finding your way to the field. You would see me running around and sweating like a group of nuns in a cucumber farm. My mum became tired of my unseriousness with studies because of soccer and reported me to my dad. Dele's mum had also been complaining about her son's performance at school. When she heard my mum reporting me, she followed suit. Now, dele's dad a well respected and devoted pastor warned his son never to play ball again, just as my dad also warned me

Two weeks have passed and neither I nor dele break the warning given to us by our parents. Though it wasn't easy, we were able to reject the devil's temptation. But poor me never knew the devil was just busy with a young man's case whom he pushed to slap an army amidst a troop. Of course you know that his case is already settled

One fateful morning, when the devil was ready for me, he told dele to call me out to go and play ball. I was surprised to see Dele say such. Dele has been my reason for not disobeying my parents. He preaches to me several times to hacken to the voice of my parents and never defy their orders, so why is he telling me to break their rules? No dele, I replied. Then he continued. "See my friend, we have listened to our parents' words. It's been more than two weeks and we didn't do otherwise. If we play today, and give it a gap of another two weeks, do you think we've done a bad thing? My dad is a pastor and I understand the word of God a lot. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:12, that "We have the right to do anything", so if we play ball today, we've not disobeyed them in any way. 1 Corinthians 10:23 also says "everything is permissible". My friend, we are permitted by God to play ball today"

I looked at Dele with joy in my heart. He has succeeded in brain-washing me. "Truly, you are a son of a pastor" I said. If you can talk like this, then I believe God is speaking through your tiny lips. I told him to go so that I could catch up in a gifi. When I entered the house to change to a cloth fit for the field, my mum called me, and handed a paint rubber bucket full of pepper to me. "Go and grind this pepper from mama Nkechi now. Don't waste my time o", she warned"

On my way back, I met dele on the field. I passed by in a hurry with the intention of dropping the grinded pepper at home so I could come back and join him, but he called me to join him to play. As we were talking, the ball hit the stick goal post and broke

If I had known, I wouldn't have passed through the field with the pepper. I'm still regretting my actions till today. Dele urged me to drop my bucket of pepper to replace the post, and play for like 5 minutes since it's almost getting dark and soon we would all disperse, meaning I might not have the chance of playing ball again if I go home

When I reasoned it in my head, my intellectual faculty told me dele was really making sense. I dropped my bucket of pepper to make a pole, and joined the game. Chai! I never knew the devil sat at a corner laughing at me as I dropped my bucket of pepper. The game was interesting. Dele was a good goalkeeper. Everyone found it difficult to see the back of the net. As good striker that I was, I wanted to prove myself. Immediately I gained the ball, I fired a shot that cannot be compared to the shot Arne Riise fired at anfield to break Allan Smith's leg (check the video in the comment section)

As the ball was on motion, I saw that it was moving towards the bucket's direction. At that point, I felt like turning into flash and wave the ball in another direction. Dele, the best goalkeeper that could save the day ran out of the post when he saw the tempo and force I used to kick the ball

The eruption from the bucket was like a volcano. The bucket broke and the pepper became pepper-sand. Dele couldn't help but burst into laughter. I knew I was dead

I looked up and down and said "this is the end". Dele has finally succeeded in designing my coffin while I was still alive, what a life... I picked the bucket in pieces and headed home, thinking of what to tell my mum. Dele followed and said "The bible says "thou shall not" I didn't allow him to finish before wiping him the pieces of bucket I was holding, because I knew the devil wanted to use him again. When I got home, my mum couldn't alter a word. She thought I fell, but dele finished me totally. He said 'mummy please forgive my friend. He won't play that kind of shot again, but the Bible says, spare the rod and spoil the child". Then he walked away. Hasn't the devil succeeded?