Chapter one: The Wayward daughter

“For it is not good for this man to be alone, so I will make him a helper who is exactly like him.”

In this story we learn about the life of a young girl by the name of Calibre, who lived at Johannesburg with both her parents, Mr and Mrs Handbag, along with her younger sibling.

Calibre was an intelligent woman. She never did some of her grades but skipped them because she was extremely smart and intelligent, and with that being the reason, she did her grade twelve at the age of 16 years old. She came 1st position in the entire province of Gauteng when she completed her matric, with five distinctions and two level six, her father was very happy, because for once, his daughter made the entire community to speak well about him.

Although the young lady was intelligent and determined to the verge of obstinacy, she was so wayward and uncontrollable. She would live her life according to her own rules and morals, but not those of her father, Rev. Handbag. Her family would always wonder and ask themselves when she ever got the time to study and produce such wonderful results, yet she hardly spent even two hours with her books.

Calibre’s teenage life was a devastating life, and for a young girl like her, she should have done all her grades and even fail some of them. She was into parties, clubs and vibes, not to mention the love she had for boys, and not just boys, but boys who were about twenty to twenty-one years of age.

For the past five years, she has had her parents a laughingstock in their community. Neighbours and church members from the church that her father conducted always had Mr Handbag’s name on the tip of their tongues, saying, “how can a preacher teach us on how to control our kids, yet he fails to guide his own daughter?”

But all of that changed when Rev. Handbag’s daughter was awarded a scholar ship to go and study abroad, a car that her mother took and an amount of 300 000 by the provincial department of education in Gauteng. The entire community was tongue tied when she appeared on television, it was then that Rev. Handbag knew that the hand of his God was upon his family, for He had set up a dinner table for Rev. Handbag in the presence of his enemies and accusers.

On the day she was on her way to Harvard University, a higher institution in the government of the US, her father bought her a gift and handed it to her before they went separate ways at the airport. Before that, her parents where on a seven days fasting and prayer, praying for their wayward daughter, Calibre, to receive Christ and find salvation. The gift she took from her parents was wrapped in a red cover and it had a white ribbon on it.

They said their goodbyes as they watched their daughter entering the air way, “God, guide her, do not let her actions cross your will.” Said Rev. Handbag to himself with glassy eyes and tapping his big belly. “Fear not for her life, father, for the Lord paves her ways”, said Rev. Handbag’s wife, Mrs Handbag as she leaned closer to her husband’s shoulder.

*******

The 18-year-old Calibre entered the airplane and had a seat next to a handsome young man. After her matric, she took a gap year doing research about what she wanted to study, and that also helped her to wait until she was eighteen to get a passport to the US.

“Hey, I’m Ebenezer.” Said the young handsome man next to Calibre, as he brought out his hand to give her a handshake. The black suit he wore matched his glossy shoes, that made him look more like an agent with his giant and muscled physic, his shirt exposed his well- built chest, and you could see the cross neck lace he wore.

“What are you? An FBI going back home?” Asked Calibre with a smile, showing off her beautiful white teeth along with her dimples. She pushed her long black her to the back of her left shoulder and responded after the laughter they both had, “I’m Calibre, nice to meet you Ebenezer.”

Calibre was charmed by this handsome young man, she could not keep her eyes to herself but she would now and then take a look at him and just to see if he was looking, but Ebenezer was deeply buried in the book he was reading, that his focus was on his novel not anywhere else. Calibre took off the white fluffy coat she was wearing, she really believed in her techniques of charming every guy with her chocolate hairy skin and her breasts.

The red dress she wore was a short sleeve dress, and it exposed her cleavage so well. She really hoped that her moving would cause Ebenezer to look at her, but all the young man did, was to push his reading glasses with his index finger closer to his eyes, and he continued reading.

It was then that Calibre thought that she was not that much of a catch, since the man next to her could take his eyes off her, worse, he only looked at her once. She reached to her handbag for her red lipstick so she was to renew the one she wore on her lips, she came across the gift her parents gave her, she then ignored the issue of the lipstick and was curious to know what was wrapped in there, thus she took it out.

She unwrapped the gift and she saw it was a bible, “Umhh, really now?” She said. It was then that Ebenezer took his attention to her. He looked at her and he saw that she had been gifted with a bible and she was disappointed.

“From a friend?” He asked.

“No, it is from my parents,” she said with a smile, but one could invoke she was faking it.

“You must be happy,” said the young man, he could see that she was disappointed, but he was just looking for her answer.

“Maybe,” Calibre said while burying the Holly book back into her handbag.

“No..no..no, take it out,” the young man spoke as he touched Calibre’s arm while closing his novel. She took it out slowly and looked at Ebenezer.

“Now I urge you to open the book of Proverbs 31 verse 30,” said the young man. Calibre looked at him with a smile but in her thoughts, she was like, “ow God, I hope he is not a preacher cause if he is, I will be damn charmed than I am right now,” she opened the book of proverbs and the young man looked at her with a smile and he blinked, nod his head slowly and humbly said, “read Calibre.”

And the verse she opened read as follows: Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Calibre looked at the clouds through the window as she smiled, biting her fingers after reading that verse. She looked at Ebenezer and he smiled at her and said, “you beautiful and good looking Calibre, not to mention the callipygous part of you. But all that is deceptive, yes you might have some man look at you, but if they come into your life and do not find the inner beauty that we all find in Christ, then you are just an empty vessel meant to be used by anyone however they liked, and be thrown away, but a vessel filled with the Holly spirit, is precious in the eyes of the Lord.”

“Excuse me,” said a flight attendant next to them, “can I get you anything to drink?” “Bring me scotch on the rocks, make it two rocks.” Said Calibre. “Anything for you, sir?” asked the attendant. “I will just have an orange juice,” Ebenezer responded.

Calibre looked so embarrassed when the young man ordered an orange juice, she could not look at him. She quickly snapped her fingers and the flight attendant came back to her again, “I am so sorry but, can I just have what he asked for?” “So I should make it two orange juice?” “Yes please,” said Calibre.

“You know you did not have to do that right?” Said the young man, “you cannot change yourself, only God can,” he continued. “Well then I bet He’s doing that right now, because I never cared how anyone sees me,” said Calibre with confidence.

“How old are you?” Asked the young man, “Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Calibre said.

“Attention passengers, the flight will be landing in Boston airport in just an hour.” Said the pilot.