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, ...