That week was abnormal in many ways. For one, the sun feared opening its eyes; any time it tried to peep, fog forced it back. One could not tell whether the fog was man-made or natural. For another, it appeared to squeeze life out of beings. The [...]

The early morning sky brooded at 3am and Ojotule’s heart was a beehive of activities. For 30 years, she had wallowed in confusion, anger, and now a deep-seated sadness; weariness that nothing could shift. As Ojotule approached her destination, [...]

Her life was a series of shadows, each one cast by a regret too deep to forget. The mistake she made years ago clung to her like a relentless specter, whispering in her ear, draining the color from her days. Then, one morning, she noticed a red [...]

It crashed on its back, its legs up and wriggling. I found myself envious of its natural voluptuous gaster—my body was eager to fill out in the right places—as it twisted its thin waist this way and that way, struggling to get back on its feet. [...]

It is day three hundred and sixty-five of being a thing that hurts in the life of the one person I love. Fernando Pessoa was right when he said: the inventor of the mirror poisoned the human heart. My existence is contradictory against nature, [...]

I have a blazing smile, and a penetrating gaze. When we were young, my brother liked using some words in his sentences. We could be having a reason to celebrate and he would go, “I hope this will not turn out to be a shattered, scattered, [...]

‘What can I do? I’ve tried everything,’ said Isabella, her voice choking with sobs. ‘Have you tried nothing?’ Asked Dr Matthew with a kind smile ‘What do you mean?’ ‘In the four months you’ve been working on this musical composition, how many [...]

He latches the solid wood door behind himself and sends his jacket flying onto her armoire. He nonchalantly glares through the dark to make up how she must be lying on the King-size. With his right foot, he shoves off his brown oxford shoe off [...]

Khaya looked at the bright blue coffin, wondering why anyone would choose such a tacky colour to be buried in. Coffins were supposed to be dark, elegant and made of mahogany, not something her 8-year-old son could have coloured in. Her stomach [...]

I looked in the mirror and admired the pretty beads in my hair. I positively looked like a child with my Minnie mouse t-shirt, wide-legged blue jeans and braids adorned with beads of multiple colours. I must confess, I had missed wearing beads [...]

Mother never buys me any toys. I cry until I sleep. When I wake and remember what I was crying about, I wail some more. I understand now that she had the option of getting me a toy or feeding us. She chose what I could easily forget about. [...]

“You might want to check this out!” Lydia’s partner who was still in utter shock had called her in. And when she came around, she realized that the woman who had been reducing the population of twins over the past few years was her long-lost [...]