Tag: Short story
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The road to Damascus -page 8
It’s Friday night. Tired of being indoors with annoying roommates so I step outside to catch some fresh air, and suddenly remember the little park on the campus of a university behind my hostel. Lovers and benches. Singles like me are certainly not welcome into such spaces, yet I impose myself. In a far corner…
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The sign
I couldn’t wait to get home, to showcase my new cooking skills, the various local foods of diverse African nationalities my travels had made me discover, and the genres of African music we were not used to hearing in our country. I have always thought a home should be a place of love, where family…
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Sunday night drama
I turned to find mother crying. I did not understand why. But I always kept the incident in my heart, together with the storyline of the movie we were watching that day. When I was a child, every Sunday night there was this programme on television by name “Akan Drama”. It happened that on one…
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Her name is Samira
My weakness was that I couldn’t be discreet. Which was why when I fell in love with the cook, the affair was like an open secret. Was it love? I couldn’t tell what label to put on a mixture of lust, loneliness and desperation. She didn’t resist my advances, neither did she give me the…
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They all know
From the moment the cup is handed to one of them, they all know that the recipient is going to be the hitsong maker of that year. They never had disagreements among themselves like other categories of artists were fond of doing on social media, and were always cited as role models, until a video…
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Her late husband
She believed he always loved her. They had little misunderstandings like every other couple, but it was never the kind that escalated into an acrimony that involved the external family, something that threatened a breakup. And many could attest to how he was so fond of her. He wasn’t a billionaire, but he did everything…
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The new preacher
I stared at the WhatsApp post for a while. Of course I recognized the face. An old classmate. Lost touch with him since we completed school many years ago. Here he was, on the WhatsApp status of a close friend, posing as a preacher. I found it hard to accept the change. That boy has…
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The night before the excursion
The night before that excursion, Ghana played against Uruguay, a key match in the 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa. The Black Stars of Ghana had built up so much hope in the public and in many Africans. They were the only African team that had not being knocked out yet. There were even…
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One Sunday evening
It was a Sunday evening. I was alone in the room. The lights were off, and I lay on the floor, half asleep. Then came a knock on the door. Wasn’t expecting anyone, so I wasn’t particularly bothered about waking to see who it was. Besides, my roommates had gone out. But the knocker was…
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The Outcast (Page 51)
Sometimes when a circumstance wants to strangle you, it invites you in slowly, tightening its grip on your neck gently, gradually. Soon, you find yourself gyrating in pain and regrets. Level 100, we were seduced into believing university life was cozy. And that, like a bus, we could waste away precious time and still find…
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A visit to Lomé
They say maltreatments at one’s current place of abode or work is sometimes the mighty finger of God disguised as a mean boss or guardian, nudging one to upgrade, break camp and advance to some new place, higher heights. Usually sounds a nice philosophy to share but hard living it. I had plenty of misunderstandings…
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The wedding at Baaltazar
“I paid 10,000 cedis to rent this place for the wedding reception.” the groom told me. “Wow! That’s a lot of money.” I remarked. In my mind, I was calculating how many months it would take me to raise that amount of money. At least 12, if I were determined to keep my salary whole…
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A lesson well learnt
The first time Mina moved into her hostel, she noticed the cold attitude of her roommates. It was as if she needed to pay them to respond to her greetings based on the number of words in their responses. One was actually sitting on her bed and the reluctance with which she stood up was…
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The comeback
Was she sorry for what she did? A question that constantly roamed Joe’s mind and wouldn’t settle. Where could she be now? He hoped time will teach her a lesson. Time was a fertile ground on which character took root and bore fruits – some a hundred fold, some fifty. He prayed her harvest will…
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Kaiza
A limited market. That’s what this country is. The more people are pumped into the system, the the more the market becomes choked; everyone will eventually go broke. But these idiots don’t realize that. They claimed they’re giving the next generation a chance. Kaiza has always been in his corner, minding his business. He’s the…
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The new place
For a moment I thought she wasn’t going to pick up. Perhaps she’s not around the phone. As I psyched myself to give up on dialing her number, I was picturing where her phone could be. Maybe in the kitchen or bedroom, and she’s probably on the compound, busy with some activity. Oh! And then…
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A journey through a dark school
Those days our village had no electricity. In each home were lanterns we bought kerosene to power. For big events in the village such as political rallies, funerals or mega religious activities organized at nights, generators were used to light the settings. One night, we ran out of kerosene in our house. Usually, it was…
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Sumaru and Jango
At night the two maids retired to their room. Daytime they were donkeys. Nighttime, they were masters of themselves in their own room, where they could fart and sleep naked as they pleased, and eat whatever they could sneak out and buy. Or, if they were broke, confine themselves to whatever their Madam served them.…
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The Outcast (Page 20)
I sat by the window. Drawing the curtains slightly, I caught the final glimpses of our town as the bus snaked around the station before landing on the highway. The STC station was a collection of nim trees with a shed under which tickets were sold, where passengers and visitors could sit. Behind the shed…
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The Outcast ( Page 4 )
Our hair was a little over two months, and even lice that had lived in the bushy hair for so long were growing weary of getting lost every now and then in the thickening thicket they once called home. We went to knock on the door of our parents’ room. Without answering, they knew it…
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Enigma
Her attitude towards me and the gift she gave me. An enigma. I was leaving the country. A rather embarrassing exit. Things hadn’t work out like I hoped. But life goes on. As I stood at the bus station, about leaving in a few minutes, I hugged her, said a few final words and got…
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The Outcast ( Page 2 )
Teaching usually started after 8am, right after morning assembly. And the hours before classes started, they were called “silence hour”. During this period, pupils who were present at school were numbered. The teachers on duty for the week would then storm classroom after classroom in the course of the day, fishing out late comers and…
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A moving song
My next-door neighbor. She was humming. A moving song. Never heard her sing. I lay on my bed listening, wondering what trouble kept her awake this late night, singing to herself. Suddenly, something drummed against my roof. Rain! Without warning? I rushed out to take clothes off the line and in the process, bumped into…
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Odessa – Chapter 3: Fire on the mountain
As the setting sun faded in the sky, it dissolved its yellowish colour and sprayed it into the faces of the arrogant mountains that stood up to it. On a small, wooden, black and white tv, the president addressed the nation. The president wasn’t angry. He only struggled to keep his voice down when he…
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Odessa -Chapter 2: Foreigner
The motorbike slipped and nearly spat him into the mud. He succeeded in escaping an embarrassing fall, smiling and scanning around to see if anyone noticed. His eyes met those of no one. He hoped to find an observer with whom to laugh at his awkwardness. Now, he found none and was only smiling to…
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Odessa – Chapter 1 : Cold war ( Continuation )
A new fetish priest was in town. As his way of announcing himself, he built his shrine on a controversial piece of land, a site along the beach on which the president sent soldiers to supervise the demolition of illegal structures, to pave way for the expansion of a road network linking China Town and…
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Odessa – Chapter 1: Cold war
The prophet was arriving soon. The living room was already full of family members. And friends. A few church members were standing outside. And Djhaké had gone to get some extra chairs. Dabali was in the corridor, peering through a cut in the window at the guests in the living room. He had no gift…
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The Widow of no.9 Street Closing Chapter 7: The beginning of the End
Sugar was what she made for a living but sweetness was missing from her life. From the day she discovered he cheated on her, it was finished. Her love for him. Her respect. Her hopes of a sweet marriage. She was a sex expert and he, she thought, knew little about sex positions and a…
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The Widow of no.9 Street Chapter 6: Dilemma
One day, Brenda was broke. She told me on the phone. It was a weekend. “Where are all her callers?” I asked myself. Her phone never stopped ringing. New numbers. New male voices. One of her callers’ name was saved “Love”. If her phone rang late night, you could guess it was ” Love” and…
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The Widow of no.9 Street Chapter 5: Lunch break
There comes a time you learn to just watch people and not react to many things. You just keep doing you. There are roads to be travelled and mountains to be crossed and plenty of obstacles to be bypassed and ignored. Seated in my office a few minutes to lunch break, my eyes were fixed…
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The Widow of no.9 Street Chapter 4 : Allegations and Alligators
She read me like a book and could tell when I was broke and dejected or when something personal bothered me. “You don’t look Ok. What’s the matter?” She would ask. “Nothing.” I replied. When she guessed it had something to do with money, she slipped a note into my hand when no one was…
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The Widow of no.9 Street Chapter 3: Wrong move
My office was a one-storey wooden structure overlooking Mrs. Stella’s sugar plantation. Mrs. Stella was confident that I had no interest in the new girl. And so, she allowed the new girl bring me coffee in the morning and she didn’t complain whenever the new girl spent her late afternoons in my office when she…
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The Widow of No.9 Street Chapter 2 : Offside Traps
July 3, 9am. A cool Monday morning preceded by a few drizzles. A truck arrives at Mrs. Stella’s house to offload goods ordered two months ago. Usually, Mrs. Stella would yell at a worker mal-handling her goods whenever she noticed one. But ever since she admitted she was in love with me, I noticed she’s…
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The Widow of No.9 Street Chapter 1 : Close Encounter
There was silence after she spoke. I noticed her eyes were fixed on the table before her and she would not lift them to look at me. Her breathing was slow and hard, beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She waited for my reply. I was blank. What should I say? My mind replayed…
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18XX – Part 9 ( Final Chapter)
It is hard to believe Sharon is dead. If her rose flowers haven’t wilted yet, and continue to get mysteriously watered at night, she’s sending a message to someone. And the more I think about the narratives circulating her disappearance, the more mysterious I find that former classmate of ours. The last time I saw…
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18XX – Part 8
I am strolling through the walls of my former school, Martin Fisher Memorial. It’s been eight years now since I left. The school compound looks deserted and old and the classrooms and assembly grounds that used to look very big in my eyes now look very small. I am witnessing a distant present that seems…
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18XX – Part 7
“Bushman,” he repeated the words to himself. She called him a bushman, a good-for-nothing illiterate that she felt ashamed to introduce to her acquaintances. “Wolves live in the jungle. Go there and join your brother and sister wolf in the jungle, bushman!.” Sanaa spat the words one day during an acrimonious dispute between her and…
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18XX – Part 6
It was by accident we discovered the truth. She was in love with him, from the first day she set eyes on him. Her home was hell, her husband a bushman she could not connect with on a deeper level. Then comes this young, intelligent and handsome guy who to her, represents an escape from…
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National Best Witch
“30 minutes more!” The invigilator announced. With a disorganized mind and perspiring hands I tried to complete the nonsense I was writing, struggling to have a firm grip on my pen. “Gosh! I am doomed!” It finally dawned on me. It was like the final seconds to the whistle for a team down by two…
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18XX – Part 5
Many strange things happen in our school. Little did we know that Sharon, a pupil recently admitted into the school, was sent to uncover these mysteries. She was unusually bright for her age and had gained entrance into the school using a fake identity. Unknown to whatever secret agent behind Sharon, our school had specially…
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18XX – Part 4
Deafening silence punctuated by sounds of chalk on a blackboard and the shifting of the teacher’s feet. The brightness injected into the classroom through its door darkens slightly, forcing the teacher and a chunk of his pupils to turn to the door. There stood headmaster Baldwin, his almost toothless gums unable to express the big…
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18XX – Part 3
It was time for our first lesson. And as the teacher motioned for the board to be cleaned, I starred at him, wondering what could have brought him all the way from the south to the far north here with its harsh weather conditions. The south of the country was bustling with economic activities and…
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18XX – Part 2
Whiles trying to take off my bag before occupying my seat beside the class window, I spot an intriguing figure roaming in the woods in the distance. Adrian, seated behind me, tugged incessantly at my shirt. He wanted to show me something hidden in his bag that he had smuggled to school. Suddenly, an open…
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18XX – Part 1
The isolated house on the small hill beside the river and the adjoining forest of dried trees standing far from one another as if at loggerheads, steamed in the pieces of winter dusted off the sky. I fixed my gaze on the vast river that stretched far into the fog, a wonder beyond my young…
Diary of a Wanderer 