Jane Frances

  Dreamstime.com It's a tale of  huts and thatched roofs, of narrow village paths and clear streams. She walked one of the paths now barefooted; not knowing exactly where she was headed, she picked up her pace as she went, the red mud flying and plastering on the edges of her wrapper.  She looked behind her, is he awake now? searching for her? The man whom she was given to, the custodian of the ancient gods. Could he smell her, sniff out where she was? She started to shake visibly. Run! She cried. Escape or die trying. She began to run; tearing away from her the beads around her neck and waist and wrists, it was an abomination but she didn't care now. She had to get away from him. Oh, how her ribs hurt. She began to lose her breath, and just when she thought she would fall, she saw Him. She came to a halt, panting heavily. It was not the custodian. This man seemed to be a Traveller. He did not look like men from these parts. Yes, he had to be a Traveller, but again, he w...

  istock.com Emesia, Ife di oku ga aju oyi. Nwayo ka eji alacha ofe di oku. Aku fesia odalu awo. I have come to believe these sayings. I own them now like personal property. Yes, this wisdom concerning patience and the need to persevere in difficult times.  I remember those years so far gone that they seemed like many centuries past. Years that bore sad times, very dark times; days with heartbreaking memories. There had really been no future to hope on, everything had been pitch black, coated with soothes of wretchedness. How did he come to this? To what he is now? Sometimes, all it takes is a tiny little act of believing here, and a step of faith there, he heaved with a smile. "Mister, you seem pretty relaxed for a first time flyer, could never be me in a million years"  he  snapped out of his thought then and glanced at a fiftyish woman sitting beside him. "Oh Ma'am, I think I'm probably too excited to care about all else" he smiled at her, his eyes gliste...

  Unsplash.com Vera my sister, wonders shall never end. You Know I've always told you to "taste" the things you hear, haven't I? "Come closer" (looks around cautiously). "You remember that Carpenter that stays at Varma junction? Mr. Jo, the one whom you told me is a wife beater? Of course you remember him, he is your friend's husband after all. "A misfortune called on him, or should I say, another misfortune". His wife told you? I see, but did she tell you what really happened? An accident you say( lets out a throaty laughter) may God forbid the devil ( runs her hand over her head in a swift circular motion, then snaps her fingers) Accident indeed! That friend of yours is a carmeleon. There was something about her that didn't quite sit well with me. I mean, those marks on her husband's body were too many to be ruled as work hazards; yes, even for a Carpenter. Vera! The wind has blown and exposed the fowl's buttocks. Calm down, ...

  Gettyimages .com Girl you had it coming. What! don't give me that look Bisi. Someone has to tell her the truth, if she cares to listen. I mean what were you thinking, following Zags to his personal residence for what? Some silly tutoring session! Come on! everyone knows that guy is good for nothing, you knew this too Angeline but chose to turn a blind eye. (Wiping away relentless tears). Oh, I told you so Angeline. Uduak, this is not a good time, I really think you sh....Bisi, let me finish!  Angeline, I told you he was up to no good. I mean, he brought out the worst in you. I saw you gradually trash every principle you had, because of him. A guy who wouldn't care less if you suddenly vanished. It was all a game, Angeline. A bet to catch the 'biggest fish' in the faculty. You told me he was a changed person,  but you never once admitted to how much he's already changed you, for the worse.  Remember the day I told you he still hung out with the gang? the same gang ...

Gettyimages.com  She hated this path and wondered why he would want or even let her walk them this time of the night. It was eerie now, probably owing to the stories granny Odo had told about it, stories she heard while growing up. They had made such a mark on her that she had avoided it for the past seventeen years of her life.  So, it was either the stories were getting to her now or she was just being paranoid. Pufff, it wasn't like some spirit was actually going to take her away or something, right? She thought rolling her eyes. She pushed the thought away and tried to cheer herself up by thinking about Kalu, the fine man she was meeting up with. She gripped the handle of the burning lamp tighter and smiled.  Although she didn't quite know why the path got quieter and quieter as she walked on, nor why it seemed to get broader and broader, she kept walking, all the while filling her mind with thoughts of Kalu and his charming, hazel eyes. She hastened when she saw the ...

  From where I'm sitted at my family's verandah, I hear the caretaker tell someone that he'd be traveling soon, oh, today he says. But, there is something he doesn't know. There's going to be an accident. How do I know though?  Well, I just know, I saw it , somehow. I may not have seen what it was crawling on my skin, the thing that made me knock down my walking stick. But I saw it.  I can't see the children running past me now, but I know.  The night when robbers stole the landlord's T.V set; I saw them. What they had were toy guns as they left their hideout, and headed for the landlord's flat. I can recall the color of their shirts, one, two, three, four, five of them; no matter how faded they were. The morning that Mama Chi gave birth, I knew she was not carrying a baby like she thought, but twins. Two girls. I have lost count of the times I have known things like this, but never told anyone. "Mr!" I shout, a little louder than I had wanted ...