TEARS OF A BLEEDING HEART- EPISODE 1

THE STORY OF MANSA

Life they say has its ups and downs, but with Mansa’s life, she has only seen sadness and grief. She grew up in an orphanage and at the age of 17, she was adopted by Rev. Bernard, a wealthy Pastor with a large congregation and branches all over the nation.

Rev. had a beautiful wife and two sons –Derek and Chris who lived in the United States.
Indeed, Mansa was really blessed with the gift of vision. This made her foster parents more fond of her. Rev. actually thought Mansa was a gift from God. He groomed her to be very prayerful and spiritually strong. Mansa was also blessed with real beauty. She had a dark skin tone that was perfectly smooth. She led the prayer group in her foster church, as young as she was. Unfortunately, Rev. died… and trouble began for Mansa. His death remained a mystery as no one knew the cause. They were in church and he was in the middle of a sermon when he suddenly had a heart attack. He passed on before they could get him to the hospital.

Due to this tragedy, Rev. Bernard’s sons who lived in the States came down to the country with their mother. That was the boys’ first time seeing Mansa. Like every Christian family, they embraced her as a sister. However, a few months after Rev’s death, an unusual incident occurred at church that got people talking I'll about Mansa. Mansa met Elvis who was with her at the orphanage before she got adopted. They were both orphans and to Mansa, Elvis was a brother. Mansa was ecstatic to see him… She jumped and hugged him at the entrance of the church, right in front of everyone, including her foster mother and her two sons Derek and Chris. She got even more excited when she saw that Elvis had come with his own car. Life had smiled well on Elvis and he had done well for himself. He had moved to town not too long ago and decided to visit a nearby church not knowing that this was the same church where Mansa and her foster family worshiped. After the warm hug, they continued holding hands as they talked and tried catching up on old times. Their gestures however got pretty much the entire congregation talking. Most people felt they were being inappropriate. Mrs. Bernard and Chris were no exception. Chris especially, being the eldest son, got very upset about Mansa and Elvis. “Mummy, who is that guy Mansa is talking to?” Chris asked his mother while they all waited in their car for Mansa. He was interrupted by Derek who felt Chris’s question was out of order. “Seriously, Chris, you are asking this question? Let the girl be! I believe they know each other so it’s fine” Derek said. “Derek, go and get her! She can’t keep us waiting like this” their mother instructed. Derek immediately got down from the car and walked towards where Mansa and Elvis stood. Meanwhile, Mansa had invited Elvis for a prayer meeting later that evening. Just as Elvis accepted the invite, Derek joined them. “Excuse me,” Derek said. “Mum wants us to leave so I guess you guys need to wrap up.” “Sure Derek. I’m sorry for keeping you all waiting. I totally lost track of time. Anyway, meet Elvis, a long time friend of mine. Elvis this is my brother Derek” Mansa introduced both men as they shook hands. Derek then walked Mansa to their car while Elvis went back into the church premises. That was when he realised that people were murmuring. As soon as Mansa got into the car with Derek, her foster Mum asked her a direct question. “Who was that guy you were talking o?” Mrs Bernard asked. “Mum, he is an old friend of mine, from the orphanage” Mansa answered.

“It doesn’t look like that to me! Mansa, be very careful” Mrs. Bernard cautioned in a very angry tone. “I’m sorry mum, it won’t happen again,” Mansa said as they set headed home. Derek thought that his mother had over- reacted and felt bad about it. Later that evening, Elvis showed up at the prayer meeting as he had promised Mansa. Chris was supposed to come take Mansa home and he was running late. She tried severally to reach him but his phone was switched off. Elvis then offered to drop Mansa off. She initially refused but as it was getting late and it didn’t look like she had much of an option, she changed her mind and accepted the ride. Elvis drove off with her and soon they arrived at the main entrance of Mansa’s house. Mansa gave Elvis a goodbye hug and thanked him for his kind gesture. Little did she know that her foster mother was watching them from her window? From where she stood, it appeared by Mansa and Elvis were ki**ing…