I regret getting into that car that day but I was desperate. It was raining cats and dogs and I had stood at the stage for what seemed like hours without getting a bus. I was shaking in the cold when a seemingly Good Samaritan noticed, stopped his car by the side of the road and invited me in. Naturally, I was hesitant. Taking a lift from strangers had gone horribly wrong once before. I ended up being robbed and dumped in the middle of nowhere. However, I had very few options that day and I was willing to take the risk just to get out of the rain. Besides, how was I supposed to know that the man was a cult member who wanted to recruit me?
I always thought cult members were weird and broke people but Henry proved me wrong. Nothing about him would have made me suspect that he was in a cult. He was sharply dressed and drove a nice car. Additionally, he had a pretty normal personality. He talked about his favourite football team and how he was looking forward to a match that evening.
“Do you watch football?” He asked to break the silence.
I laughed then replied, “Not really. I’m more of an F1 fan.”
“Really? That’s interesting. My favourite football team is playing today. I want to go and watch the game at K1. Do you mind joining me?”
Thankfully, I was still a bit cautious about overly generous strangers so I declined his offer.
“I have to finish up on some work.”
“No problem. There’s always next time.” He answered. “Can I have your number?”
I felt like the least I owed him was giving him my phone number. So, I gave it to him and dropped me off at a stage where I could get a bus headed home and we parted ways.
Everything had happened so fast that I didn’t have time to think much about the events of that evening. As soon as I got home, I started preparing dinner and settled in for the night.
However, I got a call in the middle of the night that jolted me out of my sleep. I didn’t recognize the number so I ignored it and went back to sleep but the caller persisted and I picked up eventually.
“Hello, beautiful.” The caller said.
“Hello. Who is this?”
“You didn’t save my number? It’s Henry.”
“Oh, Henry. Why are you still up?”
“I’m driving home right now. I just came from watching the game and catching up with some friends.”
“That’s nice but I need to sleep. I have an early day tomorrow.”
“Okay. I just wanted to say goodnight.”
“Okay, goodnight,” I said and hung up then went back to sleep.
When I woke up, I remembered that I had received a call in the middle of the night but I wasn’t sure whether I was dreaming or not. I checked my phone and confirmed that I wasn’t dreaming. Henry had called me in the middle of the night, indeed. I saved his number so I would know when he called.
The day went by as usual but I kept feeling like someone was watching me. Additionally, I thought I saw Henry’s car parked outside my office but when I approached there was nobody inside.
I didn’t hear from Henry for a couple of days and I assumed I would never see him again. However, a week after we met, he called me and asked me out on a date.
“I thought you would buy me coffee to thank me for giving you a lift.” He joked.
“Of course I will.”
“I’m just joking but I would love to take you out for a coffee date.”
I agreed without thinking much about it. After all, Henry hadn’t given me a reason to doubt his intentions.
I met him the following day after work and we went to a cafe near my workplace. Henry was unusually quiet and simply asked what I wanted to eat.
“I’ll have fries and a burger,” I said to the waiter.
“Bring me a cup of tea please.” He said.
“That’s all you’re having?” I asked.
“Yes. I’m not a fan of junk food. I like African food.” He said.
“We should have gone to an African restaurant then.”
“Don’t worry, I’m good.”
He was silent again but stared at me as if he wanted to say something.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Do you go to church?”
“Yes, sometimes.”
“Okay. What about your parents?”
“Yes, they do.”
“Which church?”
“Catholic.”
I thought it was strange that his first question was whether I went to church but assumed that he was religious.
“You know, I saw something in you. God led me to you that day. I think you should come to my church.” He suggested.
“Your church?” I asked.
“Yes, it’s located in Kitengela. Would you be interested?”
“I’m not sure about it.”
“If you feel scared coming alone, you can bring a friend.”
There was something about Henry. He didn’t say much but he was very convincing. I went home and thought about it. The following day, I decided to go to his church but called a friend to accompany me.
When we got to Kitengela, I called Henry so he could direct me to his church. I followed his instructions which led me to a huge mansion.
“Is this the church?” My friend asked.
“Yes, this is where he told me to come.”
“We knocked and the gateman opened the door for us. Henry met us at the parking lot then we followed him inside the house. There was nothing inside that looked like a church. On the contrary, it looked like his personal house. We were offered food but we declined since I started to get suspicious.
“Where’s the church?” I asked.
“This is it. I open my house to all my congregants. You can come here anytime you want and you’ll be taken care of.”
“Is this a cult?” I whispered to my friend who smiled and then shrugged.
“You have a beautiful home, Henry. What do you do for a living?” My friend asked.
“I help people like you. Do you mind if I prayed for you?” He asked.
The moment we agreed, three women came to the room and stood behind us. Henry started praying loudly and I kept looking at my friend trying to figure out how we could get out of there. After nearly an hour, the prayer ended and they offered us a glass of juice. Once again, we declined.
“We have to go,” I said.
“Okay, but you’ll come back, right?”
“Yes, we will.”
To be honest, I felt tempted to go back to Henry’s church. I felt more at peace there than I had ever felt in my life. However, I knew that those were signs it could be a cult. I didn’t want to take my chances so I never went back.
Check out How To Tell If A Cult Is Recruiting You And How To Avoid It
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