SARAH (Tender Beauty)

EPISODE 4

John slept on his extra-large bed in a similarly big room, pondering his plans for the evening. His thoughts kept telling him it wasn't a good idea and was too dangerous, but he disregarded it.

Sarah had caught his eye at his father's birthday party and he had fallen in love with her right away. He had boasted and assured everyone that she would be his lady soon, but despite his best efforts, he had been unable to persuade her to smile in his direction for the past month.

His phone began to ring, and when he realized it was Sarah's father on the other end, he took it up right away.

He hung up after a few minutes of talking and had a genuine reason to smile. When he dialed David's number, he was almost instantly picked up.

He abruptly hung up after saying, "There is going to be a change of plans, meet me here in thirty minutes."

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SAMUEL POV: 

As Jack and Samuel walked home, Samuel was preoccupied with the damsel in blue gown and was unusually quiet. Jack remarked on this and laughed about it, but Samuel replied he was just stressed out.

When Samuel returned home, he made a mental point to relax thoroughly in order to eliminate the recurring notion, but when he opened his wallet, a passport slid out, and as he picked it up, his dreams reappeared.

He gazed at Helen's passport, which he had taken her to photograph approximately a year earlier, and all he wanted to do was work till dawn to avoid sleeping and having nightmares.

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MR. MARCUS POV:

Mr. Marcus smiled as he set the phone on the table. ‘Now everything is going according to plan,' he thought. She would accept the difficult route if she refused to choose the easy route.

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SARAH POV:

After the show, I walked onto my always silent street at 9 p.m. I had been thanking God the entire time since my ministry had gone so well. I pushed any thoughts of Adam out of my mind as I headed home, since I didn't want him to ruin my day.

People around me expressed their gratitude after the event, and the coordinators handed me an envelope that I hadn't opened yet, along with a bag that I assume contained beverages and other items. "Miss Sarah?" remarked an eighteen-year-old girl as I walked out of the church.

“Yes?” I asked as I turned around.

"Please ma, I adore your voice, your song, and everything about you, and I'd like to have you as my mentor, please?"

"For starters, I am not ma," I joked, "you may call me Sarah, and why not, I would be delighted to be your mentor."

She was overjoyed and leaped on me, later apologizing as I laughed. We swapped phone numbers later, and she promised to call me.

I was about to enter my compound when I made a mental note to write down all that had transpired today in my diary; the day appeared to be a fortunate one. I walked into my house and was immediately seized from behind. "I'm in trouble," was the last thing that came to mind before I fell unconscious.

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TONY POV:

Pastor Joel yelled out, "Mr. Tony."

Tony gently opened his eyes and noticed a ceiling fan as the first thing he saw. He reflected, "I don't have a ceiling fan in my residence."

"Are you all OK, Mr. Tony?" Pastor Joel inquired, his face concerned.

When Tony turned to face the voice, he saw it was Pastor Joel, and he felt even more perplexed. Is it true that I've come to seek deliverance? He was puzzled, but as he sat up and realized he was on the altar, everything that had happened, including why he was there, became clear. "Pastor, I am not okay, in fact, I am distressed," he remarked, looking at the pastor.

Tony was taken to Pastor Joel's office, where he told him about the happenings of the previous two days.

"You have to be strong for yourself and for your friend," Pastor Joel groaned and told Tony.

Fear is implanted in our hearts by the devil in order to cause us to distrust God.

You need to be close to God now more than ever because only God can help you survive a coma."

Tony sighed and nodded before joining hands with the pastor for more than 20 minutes of prayer. Tony left that spot with the assurance that God would do something remarkable.

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HANNAH POV:

She was really concerned since she had promised to call her around 10 p.m., when she was confident that her father would be sound asleep, to finalize their plan.

Sarah had explained everything to Hannah, and despite Sarah's dislike of being a burden, Hannah had persuaded her that moving in with them was the best alternative. Since she was the last child and the only unmarried child in the family, she had always wanted her around. She had been lonely, and Sarah, her best friend, had come to see her a couple of times, and she had thoroughly enjoyed her company.

She had spoken with her parents, who had given their permission to their idea.

She checked the time and saw that it was almost 12 a.m., which made her even more concerned. She considered calling Sarah's father to inquire about Sarah's location, but she quickly cancelled the call and took up her phone to ring Jack's number.

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SARAH POV:

When I opened my eyes, the structure in which I was standing began to change color. My eyesight stabilized after a few minutes. Because the room was so dark, it took me a long time to notice anything significant. I remembered my k********g and double-checked that I was totally still. I heard a snoring sound ahead of me, which I investigated as closely as I could and was not shocked to see two men. I remembered being drugged, but either the drug wasn't too strong or God designed me with extra stamina for situations like this. I tried to stand up when I discovered they were fast sleeping, but my legs were shaky. As I pushed my weight up, I summoned all of my willpower. I wavered but didn't dare to collapse since I didn't want to give myself away. I saw that my shoes were missing, but I didn't give it any thought. As I tiptoed out, I noticed my bag was quite close to one of the guys, so I made a cross sign and bent down to pick it up. I froze as I was lifting the bag and it accidentally hit the guy who was lying near it. The man turned and, much to my relief, changed positions as he slept on. I slammed the door open because it made some strange noises that made me think someone had woken up, but I didn't hear anything. I snuck out of there with my heart in my mouth, hoping no one was watching, and praise be to God. I was barefooted and racing towards the road in seconds.

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JACK POV:

Jack checked on patients as he strolled throughout the hospital. He went to the hospital after leaving Samuel because he was working the night shift tonight. He wasn't dizzy because of the little sleep he'd gotten during the day. He noticed someone who looked like Samuel as he walked around, but he dismissed it. He knew he was in Samuel's office as he passed by and saw the light on. Samuel was seated in his chair, skimming through some books, when he opened the door without knocking.

"How did you end up here?" Jack inquired, genuinely perplexed.

"I need to check on the patient in ward C," Samuel said, "just what you're doing here."

I had just returned from there and will be returning in an hour to confirm that he was still stable.” Jack glanced at Samuel for a few moments before sighed and sitting down.

"You're putting too much stress on yourself, Sam, why are you doing this to yourself?" he enquired

"I'm not doing anything, Jack," replied Samuel.

“You need to quit blaming yourself for what happened to Helen,” Jack said as he rose up and approached Samuel. Take a look at yourself; you appear tense and drawn. He sympathized and remarked, "You need to sleep."

Samuel was irritated by pity, so he erupted.

“I don't require sleep. I need to stay alert since closing my eyes will just make my situation worse, and please don't fuss about me; I am not a child.

"I can look after myself," Jack muttered and walked away.

Samuel called out "Jack."

Samuel returned Jack's stare.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous."

Jack nodded, and as he was about to walk away, his phone rang, and he turned to face the caller.

"Hannah?" he inquired, shocked. He looked at the wall clock and realized it was nearly 12 a.m. He took a seat in the corner and picked up the phone.

He shouted out, "Sweetheart?"

"I apologize for bothering you, Jack."

Hannah remarked.

"Are you okay?" he said, sensing something strange in her voice.

Hannah revealed everything, including the fact that if they did nothing, Sarah would be pushed out of the country by sunrise.

Jack listened intently and said, “Can you sneak out of the house without being seen?” when she was finished.

"OK, I'll be there in fifteen minutes max," he stated when she replied affirmatively. When I go to your street, I'll call you.

Please, honey, stay inside your compound and not outside; I'll come get you and take you to her house. We'd talk about how we're going to get her out of here."

"Thank you, dear; I apologize for the trouble," Hannah said, relieved.

Samuel began his own round of inquiry as Jack hung up the phone. Samuel insisted on following Jack after he explained everything to him. He set away after persuading him that his skills would be more beneficial in the hospital.