Warrior

The battle had been long and bloody.

Burdened by weariness, the warrior finally sank to his knees and with a clatter, his sword fell from his hands. From a face full of lacerations, contusions, and bruises, blood oozed from various places. He had fought valiantly but was now overwhelmed. For every foe slashed down, another five had mushroomed.

The warrior was tired and had lost every will to continue the fight on these earthly shores. Throwing away his helmet, he unclasped his dented breastplate. The end had come, and darkness beckoned. Bending his neck, he waited for the welcoming hack that would finally bring him an eternal reprieve.

Like a wheat field before a scythe, the legions surrounding him parted in a susurration of hushed voices to allow their commander through. The towering one-eyed veteran chuckled and bared coloured wolf-like teeth over the warrior.

Slowly, he stretched forth his hand. His minions understood, and in response, two of them scrambled away in excitement.

While they waited, a river flowed down from the peak of the mountains inhabited by immortals. Human eyes could not see it, but it rumbled and echoed through time and space until it splashed and watered the arid heart of the warrior.

The flow broke out into streams of distinct voices and each reverberated within his spirit.

“I was impotent and my wife was barren. But I hoped against hope and finally possessed a bundle that made me laugh.”

“For my colourful dreams, my brethren sold me down the river. I knew incarceration and limitations, but ended up a monarch in the greatest country in the world.”

“In one day, I lost all my possessions, but my Redeemer lives. I got double!”

“Though an expert, I woefully failed in business more than once. But, I became the leader of the greatest movement in the world.”

“Though a crown prince, I became a fugitive. At the fullness of time, I returned to the land of my birth and comprehensively defeated all I ran away from.”

“After being coronated, I faced a long wilderness journey. After all my oppressions and humiliations, I assumed my rightful throne.”

“Though I experienced a spectrum of excruciating pain on a wooden beam, the worst agony of all was when my father distanced himself from me. I became a pariah both in heaven and on earth. Yet I finished my course, drank the cup of affliction to its dregs. Afterwards, I rose to unimaginable glory.”

The voices coalesced into a mighty roar in the warrior’s mind. They coaxed him until energy surged again through his being, and his hands crept towards his sword. Enclosing the pommel, he leapt to his feet.

“Not today!” he shouted. “Not today, fiends of hell!”

In a blur of light, his sword descended, and the commander’s head flew off. It landed at the feet of the minions carrying their leader’s enormous sword of decapitation. They were still shrieking in surprise when they died.

As he slashed and hacked, the warrior sang.

He didn’t stop singing, even when his enemies were all crumpled at his feet like broken stalks.

Listening closely, the words of his song were, “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!!!”

 ©️Ekpo Ezechinyere 2021

Dr Ezechinyere is a visual storyteller, an author, blogger and screenwriter. Medical doctor by training, writer by passion.

He empowers people to live inspired through his blog-site www.drekpo.com and other social media platforms.

Using the instrumentality of stories and creative writing, he brings the bible into high definition reality by emulating how Jesus used parables to drive home enduring truths. I am delighted to have him drop by thewellspringplace as a guest blogger. If you enjoyed this piece, don’t forget to comment below and share this post. Shalom!