Trapped 2

…Continued from last week

Morning came.
She convinced herself that perhaps everything had been a nightmare after all. She went to work determined to resign immediately.

Before she could print her resignation letter, her boss walked into the office, smiling warmly. When she reached Celia’s desk, she paused. Then she quietly asked whether she had received the envelope. Celia’s blood turned cold. She didn’t answer. Her boss simply nodded and continued walking.

The resignation suddenly felt impossible. That night, Celia visited a church instead of going home. She believed that if she stayed inside a ‘holy place’, she would not dream but she was wrong. She slept off and found herself inside the same conference room. The meeting had already started. Everyone watched her. The silver bowl was there with a piece of paper inside. Celia looked and read the words…”Your answer is due now”

She woke up on the church floor screaming. The Senior Pastor and workers rushed toward her. She decided to tell the pastor everything. She had barely begun explaining when the lights inside the office flickered.
The pastor suddenly froze.
His expression changed.
He stared past Celia’s shoulder and he whispered…
“I know her.”
Then he passed out.

When he regained consciousness, he looked at Celia with complete confusion.
He did not recognize her. He could not remember seeing her before. He insisted they had never met. It was as though every memory of their conversation had been erased.

As Celia quietly stood to leave, something caught her attention.
The pastor raised his hand to adjust the sleeve of his shirt. For a brief moment, his left wrist was exposed. There was a small, unusual mark on it.
Celia froze.
She had seen that mark before. It was the exact same mark on her boss’s left wrist. She stared at it in disbelief. Her heart began to race.
A terrifying thought entered her mind.
She had come looking for help, only to find someone who bore the same mark as the woman she was trying to escape.
Without saying another word, Celia turned and walked away.

When Celia returned to work the following Monday, she sensed that something was different.
One of the desks was empty. The employee who used to sit there was absent.
When she asked where he was, someone said he had accepted a wonderful opportunity overseas.

At lunch, Celia secretly searched for his profile online. Every photograph, every social media account, every trace of him had disappeared. It was as if he had never existed.

Celia knew she had reached a point where fear was no longer an option.
This battle had to be fought and won.
She refused to become part of a group she had never chosen to join and no one would force her into a blood ritual against her will.

Instead of running from the problem or looking for someone else to fight for her, Celia took time off work and decided to engage in spiritual warfare.
For three straight nights, she stayed awake praying. Whenever sleep tried to overtake her, she resisted it. She filled her nights with praise, worship and prayers. The fear that had once controlled her slowly disappeared. In its place came an unusual boldness.
She made up her mind that no matter what happened, she would never surrender.

On the fourth day, she returned to work.
The atmosphere in the office was completely different. People stood together in small groups, whispering.
She soon learned that Madam had been hospitalized.

The previous day, she had attended a business meeting with some prospective clients. During brunch, she had accidentally swallowed a fish bone and was rushed to the emergency unit.
Everyone initially believed it was a minor incident. Then the doctors began discussing surgery. The office remained tense as everyone waited for updates from the hospital.

Suddenly, Edna hurried into the office.
One look at her face was enough.
Madam was dead.
No one could believe it.
Some employees burst into tears.
Others stood frozen in disbelief.
The woman who had built the company, mentored them and led them for years was gone.
Celia was stunned. She was shocked. She was relieved. And deep within her heart, she quietly celebrated.

For the first time since receiving the black soap, she felt as though the heavy chain around her neck had finally broken.
As the days passed, confusion spread throughout the company. Madam had never revealed how the activities in the spiritual realm were conducted. She never appointed an assistant. She never named a successor..No one knew how to continue what she had started.

The nightly meetings stopped.
The strange dreams disappeared.
Celia didn’t wake up exhausted anymore.
The office slowly returned to being just an ordinary workplace.
One after another, employees quietly resigned. Some disappeared without saying goodbye. Others admitted they no longer felt the strange pull that had once kept them there.

Within a few months, the company that had once been the envy of many began to fall apart. Clients withdrew and contracts were cancelled. The business eventually shut its doors.
Celia never spoke about what she had experienced. No one would have believed her anyway.

Months later, while walking through a crowded market, Celia glanced at a woman selling black soap. As the woman reached for a bar, the sleeve of her blouse slipped back, exposing her left wrist.
Celia froze. There it was.
The same strange mark she had seen on Madam’s left wrist.
A chill ran through her body.
Was the woman connected to her former boss or the Pastor? Or was she looking at an entirely different cult? Celia quickly turned away and disappeared into the crowd, praying she would never find out.

Years later, the scent of black soap still made Celia’s heart race. It was no longer just soap to her. It was the smell of fear, sleepless nights and a chapter of her life she prayed never to relive.