The first time I saw Donald was in my office. I was running late to work on that day which was unusual as I try to keep up with time in every area of my life. But as unscripted as life could be, my car tire went flat barely twenty minutes after driving out of […]
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Touché! That had to be his favorite word. I remember him saying it more times than he said any other singular word. “Touché!” He wrote to me when I accused him of being too direct in his texts. That word and nothing else. But that was Alexander; that was the way he communicated. He wasn’t […]
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2008. Susan Ayankele’s slender figure sat nervously at the edge of Mike’s Vitafoam mattress, dropped on the bare floor of his apartment. She pressed her lean legs together and exhaled heavily. Here she was, a nineteen year old, hundred level student in the apartment of a popular final year boy. She would be the envy […]
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*LIFE AS I KNEW IT* Stand in front of a mirror, raise one arm high overhead, with four middle fingers flat, move gently in small circular motions over the entire breasts… That was the instruction on the leaflet. They had been sharing those two-page leaflets around my office for weeks. The cancer awareness group who […]
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KWALE, 1993. Thunderstorms rumbled outside the thatched hut of mama Awele as the rain heavily pattered down to the old roof and unto the sandy ground. Every family in the small village was taking shelter in their huts. While some slept from the cold and relaxing feeling of the rain, others warmed their afternoon meals […]
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Midnight. Rosemary stood still by the white door, trying not to breathe too hard. The hallway, dimly lit by the recessed light reflecting from the antechamber, stood still with her. She could hear the clock ticking in the distance – tick tock, tick tock, reminding her of the twenty minutes she had spent standing by his […]
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I dream of you. I wake up and pick up my phone to text you. My finger hesitates over my keypad, heavy with doubt. I think about the things you didn’t say, the things I’d said and my heart races dreadfully. There’s an uneasy lump in my throat as I deliberately type out my heart – […]
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The sun was scotching hot. I stood aside with my two year old twins and we watched as the Police and Court bailiffs brought out our property one after the other and filled it in their van. They were executing the judgment of the Court, they would auction off our property to pay the Landlord […]
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PRESENT-DAY. Mike hadn’t come home in the past weeks, I kept calling him, but he won’t pick up my calls. I got a blue tick every time I sent a WhatsApp message – he was reading them, he just wasn’t responding. I moved through the motions with every day that went by, I was beside […]
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In the summer of the Year 2017, my family and I moved to the suburbs. Dad had just bought a house there and I was ecstatic. Mum didn’t seem to like the move so much, she missed the city life, but I didn’t mind at all. I liked the quietness, there were no cars horning […]
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Uchenna’s palm felt numb from holding the tumbler. He took a sip from the glass, but it didn’t soothe his senses anymore, the drink had gone warm. He pulled his weight forward, placing the tumbler on the table in front of him. He had just spoken with Pearl, he almost could not believe it! She […]
Continue ReadingUchenna took a sip from the tumbler in his grip. He shut his eyes as the chilled orange juice traveled down his dry throat. It had been a long day at work, and Holland’s summer had him feeling clammy all afternoon. He slid further into the couch, enjoying the refreshing feeling of the drink when […]
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The sounds of cutlery clinking against plates rang through the medium-sized dining room. Happy chatter and laughter echoed through its warm gray walls. Colorful dishes adorned the long marble tabletop, filling the air with a sweet aroma. Kayla put a little bit of everything on her plate, determined to fill her stomach with the dishes […]
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