In a village named Saint Estate, five young girls known as believers – Prudence, Felicia, Samantha, Busi and Portia – attend church service almost every day. They walk roughly two kilometres from their homes to the church. On their way back they have to pass through a dark bush.

Prudence is a girl from a rich family. She is forced to attend church because her friends are attending too. She is a girl who loves things, she carries her Apple phone to church and she’s always on Facebook.

Felicia is Prudence’s sister, and is two years younger than her. When she tells her classmates she says, “I attend church because I get lonely when my sister is not around.”
Samantha is the most pretending person amongst the five. Busi is the poorest girl; the only gift she ever got was a Bible from her mom. Portia is the daughter of a priest. She hates church the most…

One day on the way back from church, after they have just passed through the dark bush, they hear a girl screaming in the middle of the dark bush. They run away and tell their parents about it. In the morning, a girl’s body is found naked. She had been raped repeatedly by different men and then stabbed to death…

The girls’ parents are concerned and come up with an idea that there should be transport for their daughters. Busi’s mom tells the other mothers that she will not be able to pay for her daughter and Busi will have to stay home. Busi never agrees to that, she holds her Bible tight.
“I will continue walking as I was walking before. The God I am serving has been with me, why would He leave me now?” she says. All the mothers glance at each other upon hearing such words from a young girl. They promise to pay for her, too.

Every day, Busi comes home from school, does all homework, practises calculations, helps her mom with cooking, and then reads her Bible. When the transport arrives, she is well prepared to go. At church she participates in almost every activity and other parents see potential in her. Most people are amazed by her dedication to the church and start to praise her work. This makes the parents of the other four girls jealous. The parents stop paying for Busi’s transport.

The following day when she arrives at the point where the taxi always meets her, the taxi comes past her and doesn’t stop. She is surprised and has a lot of unanswered questions. She walks back home depressed and tells her mom. Her mom had seen it all coming, she tries to make her daughter stay, but Busi grabs her Bible and says, “Mom, God shall never forsake, God shall never leave me like my friends did. I’ll see you when I come back.” She leaves her mom though her mom is worried sick.

Busi gets to the church late and goes to the priest. She stands in front of all the church members and asks forgiveness for being late. The priest appreciates her doing so but the other parents are angry that she managed to make it to the church. Busi can tell there is tension between her and her friends. After the church service, she just walks quickly back home. As she approaches the dark bush, a police van comes up.

“Hey young girl, what are you doing here at this time?” The policemen ask.

“I am going home, from church,” Busie says.

“Have you heard about the tragic thing that happened here?” ask the policemen.

“Yes. But with God by my side, I shall get home safely,” Busi says as she walks into the dark bush.

The policemen decide to step out of the car and follow her. As they are entering the dark bush they hear Busi praying very loudly: “Lord forgive them for not knowing what they are doing.”

When the police light up their torches, seven men are standing there unable able to move or talk. Even when the police come closer, still the men are unable to move. The police search and cuff them all. They are still shocked and wonder if Busi was a real a human being or a ghost? The police take her for her statement and call the media. In the morning she is all over the social networks and media. Everyone wants to meet her.

On the other side, the other girls want to be friends with Busi again. She forgives them but turns their offer down. She says it is clear that she cannot be friends with them again. The police department wants to thank her by giving her all her wishes. All she asks for is a school uniform, textbooks and a new Bible. But the police department insists on building her family a new and better house next door to the church and she is told to work at the SAPS after matric!

The end

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Tell us what you think: Have you had people try to discourage you from doing what you love? How did you deal with that?