I looked into the mirror and saw my twin sister’s ghost dancing on my face four months after she died. We didn’t share a face, but I could see her in mine, she could see me in hers. I’d taught my eyes to focus on anything but the reflection staring back in mirrors. That day, I was careless.
Glitches
Mpho watched me through the windows of the sky-blue phone booth outside our school gate. She twirled the handle of an open bright red umbrella to the left, to the right, to the left again and leaned in. “Remember what I said,” she told me, in a low, slow voice, as if to a child. […]
Every Day is for the Thief: On Meeting Teju Cole
I met him in 2013, with many admirers – new and old, riding on the fame of Open City. Teju Cole speaks to convince. His speech filled with pauses and precise anecdotes. He knows his way around words and understands how to convince and also ease you into his POV. His eloquence and carriage became […]
Scribbling
I remember when Malova ran away from home. It was the only time I ever saw my father cry. He was filling up the bathtub with water for me. I would have a bath early in the evening, after which it was Eric’s turn. My father broke into sobs as the warm steam filled the […]
Conflict: A Battered Life
“Mawu! Run!” “Run fast, Mawu!” “Faster!” Ladan, Mawu’s best friend, shouted impatiently while holding out his hand to pull Mawu onto the rickety old truck meant for transporting animals. This was their only chance to escape and leave this godforsaken place. The scorching savannah sun blurred Mawu’s vision as he ran. The land was as […]
Looking for Uncle Daniel
Uncle Daniel never came to my mother’s funeral. She died in 1994, long before the mobile phone made its appearance in Nigeria, so word took longer to travel. We had to wait ten days to bury her, as I had to make my way down from Jos, where I was in boarding school. You would […]
Day Zero
Please restrict yourself to two minute, stop-start showers. Collect your bath and basin water and use it for flushing. Only flush when you really need to. Wash hands less frequently – use sanitizer instead. Don’t leave the tap running while you brush your teeth. Evenings, in the townships, children’s feet skip in the street weaving […]
Moon Secrets
She sits down on the sofa, exhausted, and turns on the TV. Much against her character, Goitsemang has grown to like reality crime shows, especially ones about serial killers. So she’s happy to see one is starting. She doesn’t dig too deep as to why she enjoys learning about killers. Maybe it’s a break from […]
Green Shirt
You are eight years old, Nonso is twelve and you both live with your Grandmama inside her small flat where the walls are unpainted, and the floors are rough, gray and untiled. The flat is one of four in a house with no running water. And every morning there’s a race for who gets to […]