Operation Track Down

Pastor Jay and Stella lie leisurely on the floor, their heads on throw pillows while they sip fruit drink as if picnicking at a beachfront. After seven days of fasting, they look more like cartoon characters—fat heads, pointed ears, and eyes that pop out of sunken sockets. Their faces light up weakly as Rev Gbenga and Risi step into the house. But those sharp eyes radiate peace, surreal peace that shows the mountain experience truly worked. Pastor Stella scrambles to hug little Nike, who cannot wait to be with her friends upstairs in their own world.
“What was the mountain top like?” Rev Gbenga asks as they settle down.
Pastor Stella quips, smiling at her husband, “We wanted to build three tents up there, one for the Lord, one for Pastor Joel, and one for myself.”
Rev Gbenga laughs. “Risi and I were lost up there; never desired to come down.”
“Did what?” Pastor Jay and Stella exclaim, eyes wide open.
“We couldn’t have let you fight alone.” Risi smiles softly at Pastor Stella.
Pastor Jay jumps up. “Who are my brothers? Who are my sisters?”
Pastor Stella points at Risi and Rev Gbenga. “Those that love my husband and me as Christ loves us all.” She does not know what to do with Risi—hug and kiss her, sweep her off her feet, or graft her onto herself. She just cuddles her, pecking her all over. “Anyone that lifts my hand in battle is a friend and sister forever.” She fetches some packets of fruit drink from the fridge, and disappears into the kitchen. Risi follows, taking her drink along. A few moments later, Pastor Stella pops her head out of the kitchen, and throws an inviting glance at her husband.
Pastor Jay says, “At the Lord’s Table, Rev Gbenga, that’s where the victory will be sealed tonight.”
They all settled at the table.
Pastor Stella whispers casually, grinning, “We saw Jenny. She mobilized her hordes of hell to kill.”
Risi looks at her, wide eyed, and looks at Rev Gbenga. “We saw her, too.”
The dishing spoon drops from Pastor Stella’s hand. “Saw who?” She turns to Pastor Jay and back to Risi. “What happened?” she asks barely above a whisper as if conscious of Jenny’s presence.
“Weird red eyes, menacing look! Accused Gbenga of thwarting her plans to deal with Pastor Jay.”
Rev Gbenga nods.
Pastor Jays reflects briefly and raises his two hands. “We’re at the Lord’s Table to seal our victory over the enemy. The problem is not Jenny but the devil that uses her to kill, steal, and destroy.”
Rev Gbenga agrees. “Let’s move forward; our victory in Christ is a done deal.”
Just done with clearing the table, Risi and Pastor Stella come out of the kitchen. But instead of joining others for chats and chops, Pastor Stella floats straight to the grand piano.
Pastor Jay screams. “Hold her, or you all will sleep here tonight.”
“Great!" Rev Gbenga says. "She will take us back to the mountain, or bring down the dew of heaven.” .
Deaf and dumb, Pastor Stella mounts the piano. Her Grammy fingers glide across the full scale, not guided by whim, but by a hand from above. Risi eyes Rev Gbenga, who whispers to her, “Her name is Star.” Within minutes, Pastor Stella carries everyone and soars higher and higher until creeping tears gently caress her angelic cheeks and drop on the black and white keys. A stream of tuneful melody flows down and saturates the house: a song she received while on the mount of God.
When first we met,
  You turned my life rose.
In those brown eyes,
  I saw bloom of love.
With vagaries of weather,
  The rose began to wilt.
Here, we begin again
  In God’s loving care.
The night listens as Pastor Stella’s fingers pour a grateful heart to God. Soon, Pastor Jay’s head falls back towards the piano. Risi’s head drops on Rev Gbenga’s laps. The children’s snore adds a part to the musical harmony. Suddenly, Risi exclaims in her sleep, and ruffles the quiet, causing Pastor Stella to step down to an evergreen, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”.
Risi opens her eyes, calmed in awe of some strange presence. Blinking at about ten times per second, she cranes round the room. “Are they gone?” she mumbles. Rev Gbenga joins her instinctively; and whispers with voice fainter than the landing sound of a feather, “Who are they?”
“A host of Angels—10,000 times 10,000. You saw them, didn’t you?” She looks at Rev Gbenga with mild surprise, and then glances at her watch: ten minutes before midnight.