IMAGINE telling your wife that the guest you brought into your house to live with you for a few months is the devil Lucifer.
That revelation is bound to cause friction and uneasiness in the household.
This is the same ordeal that Vione farmer Manasa Bukasasa had to go through before breaking the “real news” about his guest to his wife Timaleti Bukasasa knowing full well that he had lied to his wife about the identity of his guest.
Mr Bukasasa found the perfect time before he told his wife the real identity of their guest.
“Being a typical iTaukei housewife, she turned to me and laughed thinking I was playing a sick joke,” he said. “I think she did not believe me at the time because all the miracles that this man was doing was only witnessed by me and not my family.
“To my family, he was just an ordinary human being who was normal apart from the weird fact that he never removed his sunglasses and had his dinner at midnight.
“During our stay, we started calling each other ‘arua, an address of brotherhood especially between strangers especially in Cakaudrove.”
Gift from the devil
Mr Bukasasa’s days with Lucifer were filled with trips around the island and other times consuming conversations which ensued during these trips.
“Food was something that we brought from the supermarket with ease without having to sweat for it as Lucifer would perform his miracles to pay for our food,” he said.
“Our meals were expensive with my wife preparing the hearty meals from breakfast, lunch and of course dinner which took place at midnight.
“Being the church elder of our Christian group on Taveuni, I did not even know or realise that my guest was the embodiment of evil as he claimed to be because everything was just normal.
“Towards the end of the three months we stayed with Lucifer, he had asked me to walk with him outside the house one night after dinner at midnight.”
During this walk, Lucifer then stopped Mr Bukasasa and stretched his hands out to him telling him to receive a gift that he wished to give him.
“As he opened the palms of his hand, I could see a pearl swimming in a pool-like structure which appeared to be springing from his palm,” he said.
“Lucifer told me not to be afraid and as I watched the pearl, which seemed to be floating in his hand, he said he would give me the pearl which he claimed he had given to two renowned iTaukei men.
“He explained to me that the pearl was the source of the two gentlemen’s strength, wealth and wisdom but was taken away from them because they did not stick to their covenant, adding that I could have it all too if I agreed to a condition.
“Lucifer handed me the pearl and explained to me that it would give me anything I desired in this world but that he wanted the only thing that I treasured the most on this earth.”
Smiling away, Mr Bukasasa thought that he would give Lucifer his horse which he treasured the most.
“When I told him that he could have my horse. He turned to me and said, ‘No, I want your child, the one that you treasure the most’,” he said.
“I said to him my favourite child of all of the six (at that time) was the youngest, a girl named after my mother.
“I then asked him if I had this entire thing what would I earn after I died, to which he had no answer.”
Rejection
At Mr Bukasasa’s question, Lucifer stretched his hands forward and took from him the pearl, telling him that the deal could not happen.
“He then told me to return home and pray hard and to seek God because his end was near when he would be cast into the bottomless pit,” said Mr Bukasasa.
“Lucifer then handed me 20 cents and told me use that miraculous coin to get everything I wanted from the shops.
“I used the coin for a while getting everything that my heart desired.
“My shopping would range from $400 at the lowest to $1000 in one visit to the shop,” Mr Bukasasa said.
After handing him 20 cents, Lucifer then reminded Mr Bukasasa that he was committing witchcraft if he was following him around, reminding him that he was not following the will of God.
Separation
After rejecting his offer, Lucifer then told Mr Bukasasa it was time for him to leave as he had executed his purpose for the trip.
“A week later, we then farewelled him as a family, holding a farewell dinner for our guest,” he said.
“The next day, Lucifer instructed me to take him to the Lovonivonu jetty where I saw him off to his destination, wherever that was.
“The jetty was full of people and I stood from a distance as he walked towards the sea into the water until he vanished towards Korolevu (an island off Taveuni).
“What astonished me was how no one recognised whatever was unfolding at the jetty as people were too engrossed with whatever they were doing.”
Meanwhile, Mr Bukasasa’s wife, Ms Timaleti said it was strange to her to find the giant of a man crying during the feast as he could not control his emotions.
Ms Timaleti said her children started giving her weird looks as they saw their guest crying with his sunglasses on.
“One thing I noticed during his stay with us was how Manasa had forgotten completely his role as a church elder,” she said.
“He was more engrossed in the time he spent with our guest, who I came to realise later was really the devil.
“I was becoming more worried about our spiritual life and was a bit relieved when our guest left.
“During his stay we never went to church on Sundays and we always stayed home which was worrying me a lot.”
Part 1: Living with the ‘devil’
* Tomorrow: Prophesies from a stranger.
* Sunday: What do the churches say?
