[STORY] THE FORBIDDEN LOVE (Season 02, Episode 06)

Episode 06.

THE STRANGER IN COURT

[ Fafa’s POV]

The police have arrested me without a warrant. A lot of
onlookers were around when the police officer handcuffed and took me away to the crime office. I was put in a police van and ‘VROOOMMM’ he drove off to the police station.
The District Crime Officer Superin
tendent O’neil Acheampong said I have to be detained at the police cell to assist with investiga
tions into the case.
For some strange reasons, I was locked in that small cell for two weeks.
The walls were thick with a metal door welded firmly to a pivot hinge and supplied in a substantial steel frame. The police cell had only one small window. A perfect reflection of the real prison which awaited me if proven guilty by a court of law.
It was no brighter inside than the gathering gloom of dusk, even at midday.
I struggled to cope with the musty smell of the floor and the general chilly atmosphere and aura surrounding the cell.
My pains were exacerbated by the bed , which was just a plank of wood on creaky legs, an unguranteed monument, with no mattress, no cushioning and only one worn-out blanket. “Wake up, lazy bone,” one of my inmates commanded. I turned round. My inmates were about ten. They looked at me with curious expressions on their faces. The leader of the inmates asked me, boy, “what have you done?” I looked at him without talking.
He asked me again but I decided not to talk. Before I realised, he descended on me and started hitting me. He commanded the other inmates to beat me for choosing to ignore him. Somehow, I developed some kind of inner resistance to their hostility. Their beating didn’t reach the core of my body, needless to say, I still suffered body pains. In that painful moment, I thought the world was crashing on me. No two way about that. With all these happenings , where else could I find solace than in the word of God.

My lord and my God ,
I felt nothing but hurt and pain.
I feel so broken, my heart is torn apart, shredded by the scheme of the wicked one.
All I can do is wait upon your abundant mercy
Wait in this desolate place,
I believe and have an unflinching trust in you that somehow you can meet me and touch me with the anointing of your holiness
I feel too weak to go on.
Drained of all energy I am like a shell, living, breathing, yet so empty. All I want to do is give up.
Give up in this heartbroken time,
And believe that somehow you can restore me.
I find this sadness overwhelming, and too strong
Like wave upon wave of emptiness
All I can do is wait upon your salvation.
And rest within your suffering and hope that through you – Your love, your forgiveness and your strength – I will wake to a new day
A new dawn for my heart and my life.
Amen.
I was in the prayer mood when Suddenly, the door creaked open and a police officer walked in. “Hey, man, Step out,” he said without any sign of respect. But why will he respect me when I was considered a criminal?”
I turned round and saw my tormentors. They just stopped and gazed at me, as if it is a mesmerism.
I was ushered into the office of the District Crime Officer Superinten
dent O’neil Acheampong. He said a prima facie had been established against me that I contributed to my mother’s demise and thus I would be sent to court the next day.

~The next day~

~In the court room~

I was sleeping on the bare floor when two police men came in abruptly saying, : It’s time for court, Murderer!Wake up.!!!! Your judgement day has arrived.”
I was Handcuffed and marched into the Police van.When we got to the compound of the court, I was shocked to see a large crowd. They stared at me in sadness and surprise. My eyes landed on my siblings Senyo,Ganyo and Ablavi.
They were sobbing uncontrollably.
We walked to the court room.The crowd in the court room was even more than those outside.
The Judge and jury entered the court room .The Court’s clerk ordered the Court to rise. All the people in the court rose to honour the presence of the Jury.
After the judge sat down in his seat on the elevated platform,the people in the court were also asked to sit down.
It was the state against me.
The court clerk searched through the dockets and brought out the case file. He said, “Case Number 22. THE STATE VRS FAFA AMENYAGLO.
I was sent to the witness box and made to swear an oath. After the swearing of the oath, the case was read:
“About two weeks ago, you had a verbal exchange with your mother who was advising you against your relationship with Abena, a girl you met at Winneba. You got annoyed and push your mother into a well which resulted in her death.”
I was asked if the allegation levied against me was true. I said they were not. I was then asked to recount my own version of the crime I was accused of. After that I was crossed examined.
My siblings were called in as witnesses. To my utmost surprise Senyo and Ganyo told the court I pushed our mother into the well. Ablavi however said our mother slipped and fell into the well while talking to me.
The state lawyer crossed examined my siblings and left.
The court’s reporter sat near the witness stand in the courtroom and recorded everything that was said during the trial or introduced into the court as an evidence by typing it on a stenographic machine.
The case was adjoined for a few minutes. The jury decide the facts in the case, and applied the law on which the judge has instructed it.
Then the court reconvened.✳
There was silence at the court. The judge was allowed to give his verdict. He said, “Investigation has been done thoroughly and we have had enough evidence which can help us take a stand on this issue.

VERDICT : Having considered all the statements and evidences put before me carefully, I hereby, concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Fafa Amenyaglo is found _____.”
Quite suddenly, a strange man entered the courtyard and said, “my lord, may I take a few minutes of your time as what I’m about to show you can have substantial effect on your judgement. ”
Though the Jury was quite irked by the stranger’s unconventional interruption , he allowed the video to be marked as an exhibit. He then adjourned the case for an hour.
Then the case was reconvened. The jury said,Having considered the latest evidence put before me carefully, I hereby, concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Fafa Amenyaglo is found NOT guilty of the offense levied against him.
My two brothers Ganyo and Senyo were charged with perjury and fined Ghc 3000 each or risked 6 months in prison. I couldn’t see my brothers ended up in jail despite their false witnesses against me. I paid the fund and they walk away in shame.
I knew they were angry and blamed me for the death of our mum.
It appears a lot of people in the crowd wanted the jury to pronounce a guilty verdict on me. When it turned the other way round, they were highly disappointed.
I searched for the strange man to talk him and show my gratitude but he was nowhere to be found. He seems to disappear.
I walked home a free man to relax after being in that dirty cell for two weeks.
An hour after my relaxation, my sister knocked on my door.
“Brother!! Brother !!!”
“Ablavi, what is the matter?”
“You need to start running now, a large crowd is coming to lynch you.
They said you told the stranger to bribe the judge to set you free and that it’s because of you our mother is dead.”
Quickly, I took my wallet, opened the door, thank my sister and broke into a run. I heard the deafening sound of the mob in the distance. I ran and ran until I could hear them no more.

To Be Continued…. . . .

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