Chosen by the gods

---  *CHOSEN BY THE GODS*  A Novel by *Precious*  Zara Okoye was 19 and tired.  Not tired of life. Just tired of Lagos traffic, NEPA, and selling bags in Yaba Market from 7am to 7pm.  She lived in a small flat in *Surulere, Lagos* with her mom and 7-year-old sister Tolu.  Her dad drove a taxi. Money was always tight. But they laughed a lot.   Zara’s only joy was Kofi.  Kofi lived in *Ibadan, Oyo State*. He was studying Computer Science at UI.  They met 1 year ago when Zara spilled zobo on him. He laughed instead of shouting.  Since then they talked every night.   Life was normal. Until the night the candle went out.  *The Mark*  It was hot. NEPA took light.  Zara was helping Tolu with homework by candle light.  Then her wrist burned. Like someone put pepper on it.   “Ahn ahn!” Zara dropped the pen.   On her left wrist, 3 gold circles appeared. Glowing faintly.  Tolu screamed, “Sister you are shining!”   Zara covered it with her sleeve. Her heart was beating fast.   That night she dreamed of a river. A woman’s voice said:  “Zara Okoye. You have been chosen.”   She woke up sweating. The circles were still there.  The next day at Yaba Market, people stared.  Mama Nkechi dropped tomatoes. A boy whispered, “Is that tattoo?”   Zara ran to Mama Ife after work.   Mama Ife was 80 years old. She lived in a yellow house full of herbs. Everyone said she could see things.   “Sit,” Mama Ife said before Zara spoke.  “How did you...”  “The gods sent me a dream about you,” Mama Ife said. She took Zara’s hand. The circles glowed brighter.   “My child, you are a bridge. Between our world and the spirit world.  Water, Fire, Earth, Air. The four gods are fighting. The world is not balanced.  They chose you to bring peace.”   Zara cried. “I’m just a girl who sells bags.”  “Exactly,” Mama Ife smiled. “That is why they chose you. You have no pride.  Tomorrow you must go to *Ogun River in Abeokuta*. Oshun is waiting.”   *Kofi*  Zara called Kofi that night. She was shaking.  “Babe, something is wrong with me.”   She told him everything. The mark. The dream. Mama Ife.   Kofi was quiet for 10 seconds. Then he said,  “I’m coming to Lagos tomorrow. We are going together. You are not facing gods alone.”   The next morning Kofi came on the first bus from Ibadan.  He wore his UNIBADAN t-shirt and carried pure water.  “You look tired,” he said and hugged her.  “I am scared,” Zara said.  “Then be scared with me,” Kofi said.   They took a bus to *Abeokuta, Ogun State*. 2 hours.   At the river, people were washing clothes.  Zara stood at the edge. Her wrist was burning.   The water moved. A woman rose from it.  Golden skin. Hair full of cowries. Eyes like honey.  “I am Oshun,” she said. Her voice was like music. “Goddess of Love and River.”   Kofi held Zara’s hand tighter.   “Why me?” Zara asked.  “Because your heart is clean,” Oshun said. “But you are not the only one chosen.  A boy in *Port Harcourt* was chosen by Fire. His name is Emeka. He is angry.  If he finds you, he will try to hurt you. Learn fast. Choose peace.”   Then Oshun sank back into the water.   On the bus back, Zara leaned on Kofi.  “What if I fail?”  “Then we fail together,” Kofi said. “And try again.”   *Emeka*  Three days later Emeka came.   Zara was closing her shop when the air turned hot.  A boy stood across the road. 19 like her. Red eyes. Burn marks on his arms.   “Zara Okoye,” he called. “I’m Emeka. Fire sent me.”   People started running.  Emeka threw a ball of fire at her shop.   Zara screamed. She didn’t know what she was doing.  She raised her hands. Water burst from the gutter and killed the fire.  Steam everywhere.   Kofi grabbed Zara. “Run!”   They ran through Yaba Market. Emeka was laughing behind them.  “I’ll find you! Fire always finds water!”   That night there was no light in Lagos. But it wasn’t NEPA.  The sky had thunder with no rain. Wind with no breeze.   Mama Ife called them.  “The gods will meet in 3 days at *Osun Sacred Grove in Osogbo*. You must go.  You must speak. Or there will be war.”   *The Sacred Grove*  The journey to *Osogbo, Osun State* was quiet.  Kofi held Zara’s hand the whole time.  Emeka was probably going too.   The Grove was old. Bigger than any building. Drums were playing.   The four gods stood there.  Oshun by the river.  Shango with lightning.  Ogun with iron.  Oya with wind.   And Emeka, with Fire behind him. Angry.   “Speak,” Shango boomed.   Zara’s legs were shaking. She looked back at Kofi. He nodded.   “I’m not here to choose one of you,” Zara said. Her voice was small but clear.  “I’m here to beg you to stop fighting.  Water needs Fire to be warm. Fire needs Earth to stand on.  Earth needs Air to grow plants. Air needs Water to give rain.  You need us humans. And we need you. Please. Choose peace.”   Emeka shouted and threw fire.   Zara didn’t run.  Her 3 circles glowed. Then a 4th appeared.  Water rose. Earth rose. Air circled. Fire bent around her but didn’t burn.   A bright gold light filled the forest.   When it faded, the gods were on their knees.  Not to worship Zara. But to understand.   “You are right, bridge,” Ogun said.  Emeka was crying on the ground. “I didn’t want to burn things,” he sobbed. “Fire told me to be strong or I’d die.”   Zara walked to him and held his hand. “You can be strong and be kind.”   *After*  Things got better. Slowly.   The gods stopped fighting.  Emeka moved to Lagos. He stayed with Zara and Kofi for a while.  He got a job as a welder in *Agege*. He used fire to build things now, not destroy.   Zara’s bag business grew. She called it _Zara & Co_.  She hired 4 people. She started selling online. People in *America and London* bought her bags.   Kofi graduated. He got a job at a tech company in *Lekki*.  He proposed to Zara at *Elegushi Beach* with a 5,000 naira ring and suya.  “Marry me?”  “Yes,” Zara said and cried.   They had a small wedding in *Surulere*. 100 people. Jollof. Music. Dancing.  Mama Ife sat in front and clapped.  Emeka was best man. He didn’t set anything on fire.   Zara looked at her wrist. The 4 circles were still there.  But now a 5th tiny circle was in the middle.  Mama Ife said, “That is Love. That is what holds everything together.”   *Two Years Later*  Zara and Kofi lived in a 2-bedroom flat in *Ikeja*.  They had a baby girl. They named her Ife. Meaning Love.   _Zara & Co_ was big now.  Emeka and Zara started _The Bridge Foundation_. They helped children who were different.  They told them: “You are not bad. You are just chosen for something.”   Sometimes at night Zara would go to the river and Oshun would talk to her.  “Thank you, daughter.”   And Zara would smile.   ...Because the gods chose her.  But she chose love.  And love chose her back.  *Zara and Kofi: The Early Days*  Before the gods, before the mark, there was just zobo.  Zara first saw Kofi at *UI Gate, Ibadan*. She was delivering 20 Ankara bags to a boutique in *Bodija*.  It was raining. She was running.   “Ah!”  Hot zobo poured all over a boy in a white shirt.   “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Zara grabbed tissue from her bag.  The boy laughed. “Chill. It’s just zobo. Now I smell like hibiscus.”   He had dimples. And kind eyes.  “I’m Kofi,” he said. “You look like you’re fighting the rain.”  “I’m Zara. And I’m losing.”   Kofi helped her carry the heavy bags to the boutique. He didn’t ask for money.  Before he left he said, “I sell phone chargers at school gate on Fridays. Come and collect ‘zobo discount’.”   Zara didn’t need a charger. But she came on Friday.   They sat on a bench and ate gala and drank malt.  Kofi talked about his dream. “I want to build an app for market women. So they can sell online without stress.”  Zara talked about hers. “I want 10 shops. So my mom won’t work again.”   At the end Kofi said, “Can I have your number?”  Zara gave it. “But don’t disturb me o.”  “I’ll disturb you with love,” Kofi said and winked.   For 8 months they did long distance. *Lagos to Ibadan*.   Kofi would send her 2,000 naira on bad days and say “buy ice cream.”  Zara would send him pictures of new bags. “Which color fine pass?”  Kofi would say “The red one. Because it looks like you. Bold.”   They fought only once. A girl commented “fine boy” on Kofi’s picture.  Zara didn’t talk to him for 2 days.  On the 3rd day Kofi appeared at her shop in Yaba.  “I came to apologize with suya,” he said. “And to say there’s only you.”   Zara hit him. Then hugged him.   *After The Grove: Learning*  After *Osogbo*, Zara’s life didn’t become easy. It became busy.   Mama Ife started training her.  “Close your eyes,” Mama Ife would say. “Feel the water.”   At first nothing happened.  Then one day at the tap, the water moved without Zara touching it.  “Good,” Mama Ife said. “Now feel the earth.”   Zara learned she could make plants grow faster. She tested it on Tolu’s flower in a pot. In 1 week it became big.   Shango taught her about thunder in dreams. “Anger is fire,” he said. “Control it.”  Oya taught her to breathe. “When you are scared, breathe like wind. Soft.”   Kofi was there for all of it. He would sit and do his coding while Zara practiced.  “You’re like a superhero,” he’d tease.  “I’m just a girl with too much work,” Zara would say.   Emeka joined the training too. At first he was quiet. Ashamed.  But slowly he smiled again. He and Zara became like brother and sister.   *The Bridge Foundation*  6 months after Osogbo, Zara had an idea.  “There are other children like me,” she told Kofi and Emeka. “Scared. Confused.  Let’s help them.”   They started _The Bridge Foundation_.  First office: one room in *Yaba*. Table, 2 chairs, and Zara’s laptop.   They went to schools in *Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Rivers State*.  Zara would talk to the children. “If you feel different, it’s okay.  If you hear voices, if you see things, come and talk to us. You are not mad.”   One girl, Blessing from *Benin*, could talk to birds.  One boy, Musa from *Kano*, could make light bulbs flicker when he was angry.   Zara taught them breathing. Kofi taught them how to use their gift to help people.  Emeka taught them how to turn anger into strength.   In 1 year, 200 children came to the foundation.   *The Proposal*  Kofi planned it for 2 months.  He had no money. His startup salary was delayed.   So he used what he had.   Sunday evening. *Elegushi Beach*.  He bought suya, puff-puff, and 2 bottles of malt.  He bought a ring from *Tejuosho Market*. 3,000 naira.   Zara came wearing jeans and Ankara top.  “Why are we here?” she asked.   Kofi got on one knee in the sand.  “Zara Okoye. You saved the world. You saved me.  You sell bags and still find time to save children.  I don’t have millions. But I have my heart. And it’s yours.  Will you marry me?”   Zara cried. “Yes. Even if the ring is from Tejuosho.”  Kofi laughed. “I’ll buy you diamond later.”  “You already did,” Zara said. “It’s called you.”   *The Wedding*  It was in *Surulere*. Backyard of Zara’s auntie’s house.  100 people. Plastic chairs. Canopy. DJ with old speaker.   Zara wore white lace and green Ankara gele.  Kofi wore black suit and green tie.   Mama Ife danced more than everyone.  Emeka gave speech: “One year ago I wanted to burn her. Today I’d die for her.  And for this man who never left her side.”   Kofi’s mom from *Ghana* cried and said, “This girl has a good spirit.”  Zara’s dad danced so hard he fell down. Everyone laughed.   At night, in their small hotel room in *Ikeja*, Kofi said,  “We did it.”  “We did,” Zara said and put her head on his chest.   *Life Now*  Two years later.   Zara and Kofi live in *Ikeja*. 2-bedroom flat. Small garden.  They have a baby girl, Ife. She has Kofi’s dimples and Zara’s stubbornness.   _Zara & Co_ ships bags to *USA, UK, Canada*.  Zara employs 8 people. All women from Yaba Market.   _The Bridge Foundation_ has 3 offices now.  Emeka runs the *Port Harcourt* branch. He married a nice girl called Ada.   The gods still visit.  Oshun comes to the river with Zara and baby Ife.  Shango sends rain when farmers need it.  Ogun fixed Kofi’s car engine once with just a touch.  Oya came to Ife’s naming ceremony and blew balloons around the house.   Sometimes Zara looks at her wrist.  The 5 circles.  Water. Fire. Earth. Air. Love.   She remembers the scared 19-year-old girl with a candle.  And she thanks God.   Because being chosen didn’t mean being perfect.  It meant choosing, every day, to be kind.   And she did.  THE END. Do you want me to *continue right now and add another 3,000 words* to this same story?