Tag: Fiction
-
The Outcast (Page 31)
One day I returned from school and discovered that we had a visitor. But this visitor was unlike the others we’ve seen so far. This guest seemed to be everywhere…in the kitchen, living room, even in the bedroom of the head of the house. Who could she be? Then I heard the teenager call her…
-
The Outcast (Page 30)
My new house was a relatively quiet one. The only mouth that spoke there was the head of the family. He speaks all the time and when everywhere was quiet, you knew he wasn’t around. It was a house of a man, his wife, a little boy (his nephew) and a teenager ( his niece).…
-
The Outcast (Page 29)
I still remember the first day I stepped into that house. It was a Sunday evening. We had finished taking supper and dad asked me to pack my belongings, he had spoken to an old friend and I could stay with his old friend to write my final exams. It would be just for a…
-
The last time we saw him
They said it wasn’t his time. That the accident abruptly ended his young life, and great dreams. They said the incident wasn’t normal. That was why the night he was proclaimed dead, no one could sleep in his house, as an invisible hand scattered bowls and plates in the kitchen, opened and closed doors in…
-
The Outcast (Page 28)
It wasn’t long before our luxurious life in the city started dwindling. It started with our driver. They said he had attitude. Or perhaps our parents couldn’t afford keeping him any longer. What does it matter? The dog wasn’t liked. Did it matter what bad name he was given or what river he going to…
-
The Outcast (Page 27)
On Monday, we started school. Our new driver drove us to school, but dad went with us to ensure that the teachers recognized us and allowed us into our various classrooms. Mom prepared some rice and beef stew. By now, we had new lunch boxes and she served us. We were to take the rice…
-
Life humbles the young and foolish.
I knew a lady who operated a bar right behind my window. “If you make a complaint at the police station, they will shut it down. It’s against the law to set up a noisy business where people live.” a friend told me one day when he came to visit. The landlord overheard him but…
-
The Outcast (Page 25)
We were returning home in the car of dad’s friend who had done a lot in the background to make our admission into the new school a success. While the two engaged in chit-chat, I surveyed the neighborhood in which the school was situated. Burma Camp. The name of the vicinity. Soldiers lived there. An…
-
The Outcast (Page 24)
My first day at school. I repeated the words slowly to myself, wondering exactly what it meant while staring at the foolscap sheet on my desk. Could it be the first day I started schooling as a child, or my first day in their school? It could not be the latter. I was trying to…
-
A lot has changed
Giovanni, a lot has changed since you left. Mango Street is no more what it used to be. Remember the spot where Alima and Saada fought one New Year eve? We woke up one morning to find a thief lynched and tied to an electric pole there. We did not know how the whole incident…
