A body has been found. I, Detective Constance Nkosi, loom over the body of a young female, dumped in a field near a quiet street. Between the smell and the state of the body a foul taste fills my mouth. The forensics team scamper about, looking [...]

A catalyzed, malnourished, and self-evident coldness from the grief of his father’s recurring waist-down paralysis he accidentally encountered before the toll gate massacre, and his brother’s death after the toll gate massacre – a disastrous, [...]

Master Odinaka kept suppressing the impulse which had begun to transform into an overwhelming force with every passing second, and coercing him to go berserk. Even as he tutors the I-want-to-know-more SS2 class – as they are widely known in the [...]

As Wura settled in for a chilly night, the last words from her husband reverberated in her mind. He’d phoned earlier that day pleading for forgiveness and promised to be home the next day to make amends. But for Wura, it was difficult to silence [...]

The first time I knew you had changed shone from your response to the biology teacher’s question: Why is the reproductive system the most interesting topic in Biology? Why are both Intelligence and Stupidity hereditary? You’d not question a [...]

It was inevitable: the putrid smell of carrion flowers often reminded me of the fate of my inner childhood. It all began on the day Papa died. I had returned from vacation from Auntie Esewie, my mother’s younger sister’s house. Auntie Esewie, a [...]

A cold morning is the time you wear an extra layer of clothing to work – it could be a raincoat, a sweater, or a suit but not if you work in a hospital. A health professional would wear their ward coat from home. I was on mine, and the [...]

This evening, Maria watches her daughter like a hawk watching its prey. As Nene plays with other kids, fear tightens her chest like a rope, making it harder and harder to breathe. Despite the child’s joy-filled squeals and giggles, Maria can’t [...]

It was a dark stormy night when something fell into my deep waters. Swiftly I swam with all my might to reach this tiny unknown bundle. I was surprised to find a wooden boat slowly sailing above me followed by the wailings of a woman. Slithering [...]

It rained grief in Idoani; the day Mr. Dawap died, and the longest, largest, and fruitless tree was down. Under the tree were lengthened wooden chairs, before his death. The administrative block, structured for tenured principals – the kind and [...]

She stood engrossed by the closed classroom door while her fingers clutched a pile of books. Immaculee, the Rwandan college girl’s pencil skirt and tight-fit blouse gave her the looks of a mature woman rather than an adolescent. It was not a [...]

When we all struggled to mention America, Canada, Australia and other foreign countries, Nyambeche shouted Rwanda. A handful of us turned to her with what-did-you-just-say eyes as if she’d grown a third eye on her small but smooth forehead. Even [...]