Wrong Associations: Dinah’s Story ... by Bola Ojieh

She looked left and right just to make sure her father or any of her brothers weren’t coming that way. She was the only girl amongst 13 children in a polygamous home. The over-protectiveness she received from her father and brothers was getting on her nerves and she just wanted a moment of freedom with no one by the corner watching her every move to make sure she made no mistakes. Today is the day she had chosen to exercise that freedom. She would attend a party for the first time. She was invited by the city girls, who she thought were really nice and friendly. This is not her first invitation. She had been forbidden from honoring any of the others, but of this one, she told no one.

Today was her golden opportunity, so she tiptoed carefully with her party dress wrapped in a cloth under her arm. The city girls bought it for her. Although she thought it was quite revealing, but isn’t that what was in vogue? Who cares? Everybody at the party would probably be wearing the same type of clothing, she thought. There would be lots of food and wine and music, too. Those she would definitely enjoy, her invitees had said. The Prince of the country would be attending as well. She would love to see him. She felt so elated that she almost burst with excitement. Just then, she sighted her city friends waiting for her at the agreed meeting spot. They were so gorgeously dressed, only that they looked somewhat like… harlots.

The party was heated, and there was so much carousing. She felt uncomfortable as she sat at a corner in the large party hall, wanting to leave, but she didn’t know her way back home. And her friends seemed to… blend so well into the riotous atmosphere and were very busy chatting with several of the men. They were the life of the party. Then, she felt someone sit down beside her, and turning sharply; she saw it was the Prince himself. One of her friends had shown him to her earlier. He was so handsome and elegant, every girl’s dream. His mannerism seemed calculated.

“Will you like a drink?” he asked, holding up one of the two cups of strange wine in his hands. She wanted to decline but was compelled under his intense gaze to take the drink, and she did so with a smile. He smiled back at her, and there was something about that smile that was unsettling. She sipped from the drink tentatively and was a lot more confident when she realized it didn’t taste so bad. The rest of the activities of that day happened in a blur.

She woke up with a start and could feel sweat rolling down her bare arms. BARE ARMS! Then she realized that her whole body was bare under a blanket. She realized yet again that a man lay beside her on a bed in a strange room. It was the Prince.

He, too, woke up and grinned at her.“How are you this morning?”

The horror she felt was indescribable. She wanted to scream and cry or hide in shame. Did she sleep in a man’s room overnight? Her father would definitely kill her. But wait…

“What am I doing here?” she asked, dreading the reply. “Did… did you touch me?”

His face became serious.

“Look, I’m sorry and I’m ready to marry you,” he said, sitting up. “I will go to your father today and ask for your hand in marriage.”

She thought he was insane. He couldn’t be serious. Her brothers, she knew them, and she knew they would kill him. He can’t marry her, not after what he had done.

“You can’t do that,” she said.

“I can and I will,” he said, rising from the bed. “I will ask my father to go with me this moment.”

Then he arose quickly and dressed to leave the room. She watched every one of his energetic movements and thought it wasn’t such a bad idea to marry him, but she knew her family would never agree. After he left, in came servants sent to attend to her. She felt sorry for herself. Her life was ruined. She should have listened to her father and brothers, now she had brought such shame and ridicule upon them and herself. She hadn’t meant things to turn out like this. She was to go quietly and come back quietly. No one was meant to discover this. She was sure the whole city knew about it now and her father… he must have heard it too and when her brothers return from the field, they would hear too. She covered her face with the palm of her hands in shame as the servants laid out a fresh change of clothes and prepared a shower for her. Her honor, her honor, was gone.

Three days later, she was alone in a new chamber, her chamber, when she heard the sound of weeping outside the house. It was loud and piercing. The sound of women in great distress and she knew her brothers must have come for her, but not without shedding some blood. Oh, how she wished she had never left her father’s house and gone to that insidious party.

***

I coined this story from Genesis 34. It perfectly pictures the temptations that young people face today, the temptations to explore and try out life in a different world, especially without protective parents and relatives. Know this, young man or lady, that your association makes or mars you.

Do not associate with those who will take you away from the environment of God’s protection. You may live to regret it if you don’t take heed. Life in the city may not be as pleasant as it seems. The only way to avoid wrong association is to abide in Christ Jesus. Always remember this advice in Proverbs 1:10: “My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.” (NKJV)

Bola Ojieh

Bola Ojieh was born and raised in the Eastern part of Nigeria. She teaches in a secondary school and works closely with young people. She took an interest in stories and writing early in life. After her salvation experience, she began writing stories that would glorify God and spread the Gospel. She has retold a few Biblical stories and other short stories centered on the youth and faith. She is married and lives in Nsukka, Nigeria with her husband.