The gorgeously dressed guests were meticulously arrayed in St. Albert's Cathedral to grace the wedding ceremony of John Chris and Doris Tochi. It was already 30 minutes past the scheduled time and guests were uneasy. The groom kept glancing at his wristwatch and wondered what could have kept his bride. No one knew where Doris was.
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Back at the hotel, Doris tried to hasten her bridesmaids' preparation. They all agreed to not take any calls even though they knew it would cause panic. Finally, they were ready to leave for the church. Doris and her friends walked down the stairs towards the cars. She made sure all her bridesmaids had entered their own cars before walking towards hers. Then it all happened.
Doris opened the car and put her left leg in. Before she could lift the other leg, a car appeared out of nowhere and rammed into the door. The car door in turn crushed Doris and instantly, her right leg broke in two. The force of the accident threw her forward, slamming her head on the edge of the door.
The impact made a gash on her head and blood mixed with grey matter began to seep out as she was completely pinned to the door. Her white gown turned blood-red. Doris' body was battered and torn beyond recognition.
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Somewhere in the church, the choir had begun another round of praises. The guests were dancing away their worries as the couple's parent went out to make calls.
In front of the hotel, people ran towards the cars. They were just too late. The other car had stopped but the driver was in shock and there was no moving her from the steering wheel. Hadiza, the chief bridesmaid, boarded a bike and headed towards the church.
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As the choir rounded off their ministrations, Hadiza stumbled into the church shouting, "she has died. She is dead."
Everyone in the church stood up. Between sob and hiccoughs, Hadiza explained what happened and the whole church was thrown into confusion.
Then Mrs. Chris dropped dead, her already frail heart unable to bear the terrible news.
On that day, there were two crying parties.
John did not know who to mourn. He did not know whether to cry for the wife he never had or his beloved mother. He just sat down at the altar, his jaws balanced on his open palms.
The tears, never stopping, flowed down his cheeks.
Lovely ❤️❤️❤️