Category African contemporary

Dad’s Passing

I lay wide awake in bed, heavy with exhaustion but unable to slip away. The wailing kept me awake—an unsettling sound so broken and hollow, like a woman in excruciating pain; it seemed as if someone was seeking an end,…

Nine Lives

Nine lives by Rachael Asikpo
Nine days for the thief and one day for the owner of the house... The words surfaced from nowhere and germinated in the back of my mind like unwanted weed. I wasn’t sure where I had heard them but it was surprising how it emerged when it was least needed. I even mentally began to count how many times I had stolen from the kitchen to be sure I had not exhausted my nine lives.