Prisoners of Hope by Fortune Nwaiwu

CHAPTER ONE I  was awakened by a barrage of strange voices in the middle of the night. I lifted my head off the pillow, ears straining to decipher what was happening, but I couldn’t parse out any clear words in the midst of the different voices simultaneously talking, weeping, and groaning over each other. But the rapid footsteps made clear that all was not well. I tracked the footsteps going first to the church compound, then to the parsonage, where whoever was out there banged on the door.  “Sir Peterson, open the door,” the voices cried out to me.  I remained inside the church, peeking out through one of the glass windows to see what was happening. Surely, none of them knew that I had been sleeping in the church. If they had been kidnappers, I could have escaped them.  One bishop I knew of had been aroused by a crowd of people claiming a member was critically sick, but as the man of God came out to pray, he was abducted. For this reason, I never let anyone know where I slept at nigh

AUTHOR’S PREFACE Fortune Emerence Chinemerem Nwaiwu is a published author of both literary and religious books. He did not come into writing because he was good at writing or he knew what to write. His writing skill came up as a manifestation of God's benevolent gift bestowed on him. When he was an undergraduate student‎ reading works written by people, especially Horace Walpole, Wole Soyika, and William Shakespeare, he desired to be a great author like them, and then he prayed to God to make him a great author. If he has nothing to write about and puts his pen on paper, some ideas and novel thoughts flow out from his imagination. After writing a Bible study guide titled Echoes of the Widows, he was touched, having felt the pains and agony of widowhood, then he set out to extend such sufferings and griefs of which widows experience into his novella titled Widows In The Web Of Grief. He has written many unpublished books. Due to lack of funds, he is unable to publish some of t

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my profound gratitude to my editor, Douglas Winslow Cooper, Ph.D., a former Harvard University professor, for his valuable contribution and support in editing this literary piece through his company, WriteYourBookWithMe.com I also thank David Chidi Eberechi and his wife Esther Dave-Eberechi, for their financial support and encouragement offered to me which enabled me to realize this creative work of artistry. Above all, I thank my lovely mother, Nwaiwu Juliana, and my wife, Chidinma Nwaiwu, who have helped me, encouraging me to write even when there was no hope of realizing this huge dream. Also, thanks to my siblings Nwaiwu Gift, Nwaiwu Promise Nnamdi, Nwaiwu ThankGod Uchenna, Nwaiwu Temple Chizuru, Nwaiwu Confidence, Nwaiwu Happiness Chinyere, and my sister in-law Ogechi Nwaiwu and her children for their encouragement and assistance during the writing project. My profound gratitude goes to my son, Sampson Fortune-Eminence for being born at

DEDICATION Dedicated to Tina Su Cooper, a U.S. woman whose husband, my editor Douglas Winslow Cooper, in his article entitled “Like a Plaintive Melody” wrote [in 2014] the following words expressing his profound grief though full of love to Tina Su Cooper, his wife: Most mornings I sing to my beloved wife, as she lies immobile in the hospital bed we have at our home: You were meant for me. I was meant for you. Nature patterned you and when she was done, You were all the sweet things rolled up in one. You’re like a plaintive melody That never lets me free, For I’m content the angels must have sent you And they meant you just for me. ****************** “You Were Meant for Me (Broadway Melody of 1940)” by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed; lyrics © EMI Music Publishing Co. ****************** This song captures the bitter-sweet nature of our current situation, happy to be together, sometimes sad that Tina’s ill-health has limited her so greatly. She h

PRISONERS OF HOPE A Story about Pain and Healing By Fortune Nwaiwu Copyright © 2018 Fortune Nwaiwu ISBN 978-1-387-91862-1 All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal. Requests to the publisher/author for permission should be addressed to Email: fortune.nwaiwu.fn@gmail.com or call +2348034367982.  Author’s Contact: Tel: 08034367982  

Chief Editor's Notes We are all going to die, eventually. Even though we are hoping for heaven, we are not eager to die immediately. We still have much to do while here on Earth, and we hope it will meet with favor in God’s eyes. We are strengthened by hope and yet confined within the limits our hopes and beliefs set for us; we are “prisoners of hope,” in author Fortune Nwaiwu’s captivating phrase. In this well-crafted novella, minister and teacher Fortune E.C. Nwaiwu tells of the last days of respected Elder Levi, a man whose faith inspired many of his fellow church-goers, a man doomed to a premature death due to lung cancer and pneumonia, likely caused by his smoking habits. During Levi’s last days, much occurs, including the sexual abuse of a God-fearing woman, the making and breaking of marriage plans, and a shoot-out between the police and some murderous kidnappers. In the end, the wisdom of her parents is confirmed for one of the central characters. Fortune Nwaiwu wri