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It's the 22nd episode of That Awkward Moment, it is has been one helluva ride since the begining, the days of sickness and numbness; the series still came through and I say kudos to everyone who had stood by overtime. As i write the 22nd episode i am down but that won't stop me! To get a glimpse into the past episodes kindly click on the image-links below;

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"A SAVING GRACE"

We all have heard one story or another where some people's lives were almost lost, Where miraculously this folks look death in the eye and gave it the Middle Finger. This is one of those stories; similar to the story of a young soldier in WWII who came back from the dead thanks to a small Bible he had carried in his breast pocket which had stopped a German Bullet just few inches away from his heart.

Edgar was a teenager, a very hardworking boy on the quest to help his widowed mom raised his two baby sisters. His dad had died from work accident which claimed over three lives at a Gold mine about 3 years ago, this had automatically graduated Edgar into a responsible boy- Man!

Like all messed up insurance and Death benefits packages around the World, Edgar's mom; his family is yet ti get the due compensation from the Gold Mine since his father's unfortunate demise. This had forced the lad to take up after school work to help his mom who works in a Resturant in other to give Edgar's two little sisters some standard living. So as the Mini-dad, Edgars job is simple; take the girls to the junction where the school bus picks them and drops them off, take them after school each day to mama's resturant while he heads off to a nearby store where he works to as a sales rep.

As a hardworking lad, he use to follow his dad to the mines to do some overtime work while he was still alive. Just few months into his 14th birthday, but Edgar is now a grown up man who thinks about home and his family in his every choice.

At 14, he has an average body. Though a football player during his high school sport season, but yet to attain that full masculin of a man. He seldom has fights with his mom when it comes to lavish spending of his salary, that part yet to sink in his head as he often forgets not to overspend on Games and sport shoes. But boys would always be boys is want mama always say at the end of every similar arguments. The little girls are just 7 and 4 years, so on weekends Edgar works half day to babysit his precious sisters.

Edgar's mom was a religious woman, though the death of her husband had somewhat disorganised her faith but not completely. On Sundays, they all attend the Church few blocks down the street, during hardship before Edgar became a teenager; his dad car had to be sold for the family's upkeep. So on Sundays, the whole family takes a stroll to and from the church. Of course this os fun for the girls but for Edgar it is not fun, seeing some of his classmate and streetsmate in cars makes him sad.

During winter, Edgar's mom caught the flu and was sick for almost a week. Edgar had to work overtime and even on weekends to get more hours payment for the family's upkeep till mama gets back in her feet he always tells the girls each time he comes home late and the little sisters are worried.

On a sad weekend, before his mama recovery, Edgar had to rush to the store to get some groceries. Opposite the Store was a local bank and the bank was been robbed. Nobody knew because everyone in the bank had been held hostage.

One of the robbers popped his head out into the streets and shot several warning shots in the air for people to disembark and clear the road for their escape. With that,
one of the police close by fired a returning shot back towards the bank and this got the 9 men gang angry and they all came out shooting in all directions. About 5 people had been shot and killed in the shoot out, including Edgar!

More cops had reponded and in the police bank robbers cross-fire, two of the robbers had been killed but with 7 civilians dead and over a dozen wounded. Edgar's mama had seen everthing on the news, she had grabbed the two girls and was racing towards the store for a chance if her boy was still alive.

By the time she got there, the bodies had been packed in body bags. One of the lady cop was pointing at Edgar's mom over a small size body bag, she yanked the Police tape with do not cross the line off as she dashed towards the body in the bag. The police officers were holding the little girls as they screamed in tears looking at what seems to be their big brother's body as mama was not crying bitterly shaking the body bag with only his face visible.

As the cops try to take her away from the body bags, she was yanking hard at it till a had sneeze came from Edgar from the bag;
"ACHOOO!"

For the split of seconds, everything paused. All eyes turned as Mama and son grabbed each others hands looking straight in each others eyeball.

That morning, Edgar was about reafmding his small Bible when mama called for him to go get the groceries at the stall,
he had put the small Bible in the front pocket of his winter coat and the Bullet pirece through almost and only bruised his chest!

That was what saved Edgar, saved from the bullet just like many before him in the past!

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FOLLOW-UPVOTE-RESTEEM AND MAYBE DROP A SUPPORTING OR CONTRARY COMMENT.....It's your friendly Neighbor @oluwoleolaide for Steem-Lagos-Nigeria-Africa-World!

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Badge courtesy of @jodi.pamungka Animated Footer by @rituparnaghos