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 air was so bitter that it choked. Life seemed to had given up living in the hell of a world. On the contrary, guns and other massive weapons yelled at each other competing on who was mightier.
Another abnormal thing about the week was that the ever-jovial flowers just stared at the wind; they never danced, neither did they shine bright. Mornings were so hopeless that Joan lifted up her head and dropped them back with no resistance. Artificial birds filled the air with their frightening sounds.
After several unsuccessful attempts, she lazily dragged herself towards the pond. Joy, her younger sister, had fixed her motionless eyes on the water. Even after dropping some twigs as she normally did, the water remained undisturbed. The gluttonous tilapia had no appetite nor the power to scramble for food. A mixture of oil spills and algae made the water surface appear nauseating.
‘Let’s go,’ was all Joan could manage.
‘Where?’
‘Somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, just not here.’
Shoulder to shoulder, they walked towards the city. The ever bright and welcoming woods were skeleton twigs. The sweet undergrowth seemed to have left in a hurry without saying good bye. The streets were scarier than the horror movie, Wrong Turn. Souls gave up and flew from their bodies.
‘Oh! Nooo.’ Joy exclaimed.
‘What?’
As if some ghost was hanging on her throat that no word could escape, she lifted her hand. It rose as if it never wanted to. Joan sent her eyes towards the direction and saw it all. With her camera, she captured them shoot the head of state. And a white dove flew past.
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Omondi Owino is a blogger, author, poet, critic, and educator with working experience in all learning levels, having taught at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of education. He specialises in literature and is an assistant lecturer at Rongo University, Kenya. He draws inspiration from the vigour with which his learners struggle to be their better selves. In his free time, he reads to quench his insatiable thirst for books.
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Read – Sunrise – A Flash Fiction by Christiana Agboni – Nigeria
