Miracle
By Tope Folarin
A boy learns what miracles mean to his community during his first visit to a Nigerian church.
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Plot Summary
A boy visits a Nigerian church for the first time. During his visit, a blind prophet comes to work miracles on members of the congregation. The blind prophet gives a speech telling the congregation that they must believe and pray harder than they ever have before in order to receive their share of miracles. The prophet tells someone to come forward and a light shines around the boy. The boy joins him on the stage and the prophet knocks off his glasses. The prophet asks how long he’s had to wear glasses, and he tells him since he was 5 years old. The prophet says the boy has become too comfortable with his ailment of poor vision and he will heal him, but the boy must believe in the power of God in order for it to work. The prophet presses his temples and the crowd prays intensely for the boy’s vision. When the prophet finishes, the boy still can’t see anything but he realizes that an entire community’s faith is riding on this miracle. The prophet holds up a series of numbers to test the boy’s vision. The boy squints and makes out the figures of the prophet’s fingers, calling out each number correctly. The crowd erupts in praise. Later, the boy’s father places his glasses in a brown paper bag on his nightstand, telling him that he should keep them as a symbol of the power of God. The boy wakes up the next morning and can’t see anything until he puts his glasses on.