How do I tell my child that the moon, sun or other celestial bodies don’t follow us home at all? His image of his mother would be tarnished forever and I do not want to be the reason for that. He still asks for her at night. These days he sleeps in my bed because […]
The stars glittered relentlessly overhead. He looked at the time and smiled at me. We had been outside for two straight hours now. I threw my head back and made to lay on the grass. He rolled his index finger around mine, took a breath and sighed. “Do you know that I love you?” “Mfa.” […]
The journey home is surprisingly quiet amidst the street bustle from pedestrians and drivers. My father’s eyes are fixated on the road, body stiff and upright like he is permanently attached to the steering. I and my sister sit at the back with the elephant in the car squeezing our faces against the window. My […]
His eyes opened slowly. He blinked away the blur and rolled his head over on the pillowcase he had drenched in sweat and beef-scented drool. He’d laid still for a while before he jerked off the sofa to look for his phone. “Oh shit. Where’s my phone?” Wiping the drool off his face, he searched […]
To him, I was the sky But he was only an eagle afraid to fly. – JasmineTheJewel
“Let me have my school bag!” Emeka chased his oppressor with fear as solid as a rock in his heart. He had never stood up to any of the big boys yet here he was, in pursuit of the notorious Jid. They ran across what was left of the football field after Reverend Uzo’s family […]
Binta sat cross-legged at Uche’s feet, head bent, cringing from the pain she’d been enduring for so long. “Relaxers were created for a reason, Ummi.” “Team natural for– ouch,” Binta cried. “..for life, with eternal pain.” Uche let out a sinister laugh. She enjoyed teasing her friend about her coarse hair. Virgin hair she called […]
Ikeja had only been this quiet once. The first time was eleven years ago when I cried as my father threw I and my mother out of his house because my little brother had our neighbour’s dentition and facial features. We’d lived at Surulere until she died and I had to learn how to feed […]
Koko paced the courtyard in half circles, like a lion ready to pounce on its prey. The west wind blew fiercely, carrying traces of salt and ashes. Earlier that morning, Koko and his men had attacked Ojika’s vineyard and set fire to it. His workers were not spared. Everyone and everything was burnt to the […]
Took me a lot of courage to post this! — Hey everyone! #Inktober2018 is almost over and I’ve been using the prompts to write secretly, (yes I know it’s for artists 😒) and I have decided to share the pieces with the world. Starting tomorrow, November 1, I’ll be uploading one post daily based on […]
“Trix, wetin do your eyes?” “Na pepper oh. I bin take pepper hand rub my eyes by mistake.” “Every day pepper pepper. And you no be Yoruba.” I smiled and pulled out a chair. I looked at my cheap wristwatch. I was twenty-two minutes early to the afternoon lecture. I whispered a short prayer and […]
Maybe one day, the ocean of life will wash me onto the shores of Western Nigeria and I’ll twist my tongue to learn their language. I look forward to learning to speak like I’m learning to walk. Crawling until my feet can comfortably grip the grains and stand in the beach sand, long enough to […]
“Lucas is a sore loser. He called the other day and tried to talk me into taking him back. Guess what I said?” “What? Tell us,” Hannah yelled. “You said yes, didn’t you?” Everyone leans forward in their chair, eyes fixated on the girl speaking so loudly about her former lover; everyone expect him – […]
Improper shadows of distortion form from the black light cast on the other side of her soul. The ground exhales air and blue butterflies at sunset occupy the misty sky. The trees appear as if they are stretching out, pulling up their roots and sinking them back into the soil with pleasurable ease. The nerve-wracking […]
Cut off by walls of bleak hostility, pressed down by hostile authority and shut up by unauthorized intrusions. Motionless in gray-scale, unimpeded motions of her heart send fragile rhythms tremoring through her flesh. Gracefully, as her mind breathes in deeply, fantasies course easily through it. She feels as if there is an overweight feet-dragging pachyderm […]
