The Spirit of Love

By Shine Dee

The Spirit of Love is a fictional romance about two young couples. They both experienced deception and betrayal by close friends.

Dela, the main character, experienced so much before deciding to follow her heart and finally choosing her soulmate.

The journey was bumpy, but at last, true love prevailed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664160835

Book preview

The Spirit of Love

Shine Dee

Copyright © 2021 by Shine Dee.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/30/2021

Xlibris

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www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

PART 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

PART 2

Chapter 9

PART 3

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

PART 4

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

PART 5

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

PART 6

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

I

dedicate this book to the memory of my beloved sister Victoria

and father Christian. May their souls rest in perfect peace.

The Spirit of Love

The Spirit of Love is a fictional romance about two young couples. They both experienced deception and betrayal by close friends.

Dela, the main character, experienced so much before deciding to follow her heart and finally choosing her soulmate.

The journey was bumpy, but at last, true love prevailed.

PART 1

Chapter 1

In a few weeks, examination period would be here. Examination fever hung like the plague and most of the final year students were doing poorly. The rest of the student body was on Easter holiday, creating an atmosphere of emptiness on campus.

Dela had always made sure that she shared the good tidings of Easter at the family house in Osu. The temptation to follow tradition was irresistible, but thoughts of the pending examination were too frightening to force her off campus.

Dela stayed at the school. On Good Friday night, the Gbedemah house had a party. Dela wanted to attend but Mawuli was miles away from her.

She sat at a desk in one of the classrooms with Emefa and some upper-sixth form students. She, however, was not able to concentrate. She stared lazily at the ceiling the entire time. Suddenly, a hand reached through the window to touch her. It was Kafui, the assistant house captain of Gbedemah house.

She went out to meet him when he extended an invitation to the disco. Why don’t you leave your books for a while and come to the party for a change?

It was a challenging moment for her because she was taken aback by his invitation. Although she was close with him and his family, she did not want to ruin the relationship by getting mixed up with him romantically. So sorry, she said. I’d love so much to go with you, but I have a splitting headache.

You’re able to study with a headache? he asked.

Yes, I am, Dela said curtly. He knew that Mawuli’s absence was a roadblock in his quest to take her to the party.

He was not satisfied and tried a different route. How about saying hello to an old acquaintance who wants to see you?

And who would that be? she demanded, surprised.

It’s none other than Senyo, my brother, he responded.

Quiet, soft spoken, good-natured Senyo as she knew him to be long ago, sent her thoughts back to the free and good old days of childhood. She doubted that she would be able to recognize him. She thought it would be a good idea to see each other after all this time. However, she was firm on her stance not to take one step away from the classroom block.

Can you please come? Kafui urged once more, smiling.

I can’t move about with this headache. Please ask him to come over if he really wants to see me, Dela suggested. Kafui gave in with a nod and left. Dela wasted no time in briefing Emefa, who was having some difficulty with an essay in French. Annoyed, Dela rolled her eyes and quickly continued with her studies.

Dela was so restless and nervous that she decided to get some fresh air outside. Outside, she quickly surveyed the southernmost part of the compound. A figure quickly emerged from her left. She stopped walking and waited. The figure approached her wearing jeans and a multicolored T-shirt with the word LOVE printed boldly on it. Around his neck hung a beautiful necklace, a very broad smile on his face.

He happily embraced her and called out her name. He realized that she didn’t recognize him, so he introduced himself.

Senyo? Dela blurted.

It really was Senyo that stood before her. Dela leapt with joy and called Emefa out to introduce them to each other, which drew the attention of some of Mawuli’s friends. They began to tease them. For some time, she ignored them. Dela became so annoyed, that she made up an excuse to leave. He turned down flatly her request to leave so soon. He was full of confidence, ready for a new relationship.

She followed him through the corridors. He stopped and suggested they join the other students at the party. She declined his offer and urged him to proceed with the walk. They talked about school activities and the upcoming exams. He was preparing for the A-levels.

Despite the change of topic, she was still nervous as her heart continued to beat rapidly. Her legs felt weak, but the conversation with him pushed her on. She really enjoyed his company.

He stopped several times to look into her eyes, which gave her butterflies. It was after they parted ways that she realized she wanted nothing more than to be near him.

Memories of him lingered on throughout the night. She tried to get him off her mind but was unsuccesful. Not even the goodnight kiss he requested, which she bluntly turned down, could be forgotten. She regretted refusing the kiss because of the way he reacted. M

He called after breakfast the next day to say hello. He went beyond that by showing up, but she ignored him. She accused him of disrupting her sleep. He wanted to know how he did that, but she was reluctant to share her feelings.

Am I to blame? he asked anxiously.

Well forget it, she replied.

He offered her a charming smile, catching her off guard. He quickly followed it with a peck on the cheek.

I’ve got math class. I will see you later, she said and left.

After supper, he called after her.

Dela got to the classroom, where the math lesson was already in progress. She was rebuked by the bald middle-aged teacher and shyly took her seat.

Classes ended for the day and she reported everything to Emefa. Those classes weren’t compulsory, so she didn’t understand why the teacher embarrassed her when she came in late. She guessed he might have seen her with Senyo that morning. She didn’t understand. Emefa reminded her that the teacher would often stare at her during class.

They laughed and proceeded to dissect Senyo’s motives.

I’m afraid my heart has succumbed to the pressure from Senyo’s advances. I’m afraid I . . . well, I don’t know, Dela confessed to her friend Emefa. Emefa was surprised. She didn’t expect Dela to give in to any man while Kobla wa such a big part of her life. She was struck by Dela’s plans for marriage.

Mawuli, a year ahead of Dela, lives in the town nearby, while Dela lives in Accra during the holidays. They only hung out when school was in session. As such, he was just her close friend and study mate. Nothing serious ever happened between them. The real problem was with Kobla. Kobla was her steady boyfriend. He was older and more stable. She told Emefa it wouldn’t work with Senyo and that Kobla would never let her go after fighting for so long to win her love.

Dela, the choice is yours. Senyo is very handsome, but that reminds me of the adage ‘beware of beautiful things.’ As for me, there is no room for such beauties in my heart.

But Yaw is not ugly?

Senyo is beyond handsome, Dela. Anyway, let’s forget about that and talk about something else.

Dela didn’t go to supper, so Senyo sent a note through Kafui and Emefa.

Dela,

I’m sorry for hurting you. Please forgive me. I am sensitive as well, I didn’t know we had that in common. I will wait for you at the tennis court at 7:00 p.m. I will leave tomorrow morning. Please make it a point to be there.

Cheer up, girl!