Short Stories

Featured in Short Stories

Screenshot_20230211-202828_Chrome-76a29864

Photo Credit: Jonathan Borba  Bolanle walked to the veranda of the last floor of Block K in her hostel. It was the only floor that...
woman-7206528_1280-c1200fc9

Jeluosy, a feeling I felt only on Christmas due to the fact that most of my friends always received what I wished for. Usually they...

Latest posts

images (1)-ce2f1fc0

There was no love lost between mother and daughter.It had been that way since dad eloped with the maid.The runaway father of one… once a...
Untitled design (1)-2c3cb74a

Writing Prompt: Write your own myth to describe what happens to people when they die.   MR NIGER D That was the mnemonic we were...
images (1)-bfe0bd0d

I did not hear the bullet eject, the Colt 1911 semi auto pistol.Only felt myself being lifted up and off my feet.Then i hit the...
cozier-feat-0597d764

“Arike, ayè mi tèmibámi!” Those were Papa’s last words to me, knowing fully well I couldn’t understand the language he spoke. Growing up as a...
1655719054302-b4337760

He shot her thrice at close range.Right in their living room.Then picked up his mobile phone and dialed 911.The voice at the other side sounded...
72C2A8A5-135C-461D-9551-4A2748FCE68E-a70b2219

On a very sunny Wednesday morning after you received yet another rejection mail, you sit at your makeshift home office staring at your outdated MacBook...
FB_IMG_16550913486868231-71407b98

I grew up in love with my mother, her sweetness is simply beyond this world but my father, who’s quite frankly, nothing to write home...
istockphoto-1277764674-612x612-05369713

Outside, the clouds rumbled. The air was cold and had a delicious earthy smell. “Tonight will be such a great night,” I said in a...
AD032AD5-3A20-42C7-A71D-9949D3326325-848fa810

The muffled sounds and the continuous loud clinking of ceramic plates downstairs woke me up from my sleep. The morning sun from the window was...
images (24)-d1185b79

 Sergent Jamal walked into the detention room with disappointment in his eyes. It was a hot afternoon and he had been involved with an unnecessary...
IMG_20220606_194813_414-ed550e0f

If you look for me, you would find me in odd places staring into space. Maybe I’m thinking, maybe I’m just lost. Do you know...
Muhammadtaha Ibrahim Ma'aji-088d61af

“I love to put my phone on flight mode especially if I do not want to be disturbed at all by calls or messages.” Collins...
images (9)-c7caa62b

Nature has its way of consigning people into perpetual damnation. It rears its head in a pretext of predestination and uses fate as its weapon....
images (11)-c6a4d420

Once known by the alias.“Ijebu Baale waya”.The “waya” part of said pseudonym.An urban definition of one who defrauded others via the internet. Scheme after successful...
images (10)-523a589c

People hung around in irregular clusters. Conversing in hushed tones that sometimes rose excitedly in arguments.  Arguments that centred around the COVID-19 global pandemic and...
download-10a30879

We met on my birthday. The 19th day of the last month in 2010.At the Mozida night club. A walk down from Tropicana hotel extension.Sabo...
FB_IMG_16222171734776398-3e739484

A benevolent fate bestowed on this multi linguist.Whose proficiency in major Nigerian languages.Proactive persuasiveness.Street smarts and an industrious indefatigability. A chance to rise from relative...
images (6)-618a5006

I bumped into this ghost from my distant past.A ghost that once held power over life and death a little over a decade ago. At...
WhatsApp-Image-2022-02-21-at-11.44.11-AM-1-d825324d

Yesterday, Kolapo came knocking on my door. “Gbam gbam gbam” “Eh Eh Ade!” His knocks were heavy missiles. The vibration of my door woke me...
42Consent_Sex_SarahArifin-739ad98e

You just finished secondary school. Elated, you’re sure of your admission into a university. You’ve worked so hard and you couldn’t be more proud of...
IMG_20220224_171836-8257665a

I felt like I might pass out. This was something I got from my human side. I felt exhaustion and pain as quickly as humans...
IMG_20220224_171836-c348e01f

The beautiful plump locust trees stood at different corners of the house. The colorful daisies sat, embellishing the grand house in an elegant fashion. I...
ebb63e33c5de297a9c44fea3d50ba9f9-0b64f6d2

The young lady rattled the bars, “no be me steal am na! Oga Police!” She yelled. Someone hissed loudly,”na who come steal am na? Abeg...
istockphoto-1158778974-612x612-573c4b5b

The sounds of shuffling feet, turning pages and the occasional shout from someone’s room disturbed the quiet atmosphere of the reading room, just the way...
pexels-renato-danyi-1096925-3373e9fb

  “I can paint houses, cars, pots and pans, clothes, floors, furniture, even people. Just name it, I can paint it”, she said proudly in...
sitting-with-the-worries-of-an-uncertain-future-picture-id1309050890-b174d859

It was a cold Tuesday evening, like every other evening in June but colder. Felicia rubbed her warm palms over her forearms soothingly, leaving a...
Screenshot_20200421-102614_Instagram-fb4b66ff

Each Christmas while I was much younger I always found it more special to do my holidays at my grandmother’s in Kafanchan. Kafanchan was a...
download (2)-9006357d

Nkpulu-oka in igbo means ‘corn seeds’. It is also the name of a popular African wrapper design, what we would call ‘Ankara’. Nkpulu-oka, the wrapper,...
fc09480ab84de2989d73923db149c7e3-78393b19

Her house did not seem like hers. Did another room just appear or was it always a three-bedroom flat? The pattern of the curtains was...
Gone

***   He rushed out of the hospital headed to no particular place. His legs could barely carry his heavy body laden with fear of...
images - 2021-12-14T105023.850-4a31ae0b

Tuesday 26th December, 2006 12:40 pm Eke Market Day. Strangers were ahead of me making hand gestures and screaming some unintelligible words. Children were jumping...
Kindred

Orié stood there, giving all the rights he could own to the wind, letting its strong wafting force hit him from all sides of the...
60 sides of pain

Ikemefula sat around his compound with his father, who had aged but stood strong, like old wine. Next to him was his younger brother, Obiora,...

Brittany wouldn’t lie that she was heartbroken for sometime. She could feel her heart bleeding every time she cried. She was hurt. Why would he...
CollageMaker_20210411_152119837-a4a5af2f

The photo album glistened in the poor light. A delicate dark hand turned the first page. The clear wallet showed the picture of a man...
Dexter's storyverse

‘You could become stronger.’ The first time he brought it up, the boys from Class A had beaten you up in a way likened to...
image-13fe49f0

 On some days, he comes home drunk with happiness. On some days, he comes home drunk with the smell of Gina’s bosom. And on some...
inbound7261880501214718102-d3cfb3fc

The early birds chirped on the window ledge ushering in a new day. A dog barked from a distance. A car engine started and revved...
images (2)-dd7b071a

A staccato burst of gunshots shattered the bustling atmosphere. Sending frightened bystanders scampering for safety and in the ensuring melee. 3 maroon colored sports utility...
FB_IMG_15868763379973332-85b5e6a8

Imagine you vowed never to love again because someone you once loved dumped you and left your heart broken.Then, he came with a flag to...
Bible-Verses-About-Gods-Love-For-Us-7043afdc

        Ruth had completely zoned out thinking only of how to escape from the kidnappers den.The smell of the poop lying unperturbed five inches away...
2103605-HSC00001-7-5214c4d4

“God”, she muttered under her breath with eyes squeezed shut. The pain was becoming unbearable and she couldn’t stop herself from screaming.”shhhh” the nurse placed...
536C50D1-3A37-4C69-B994-51C8465AB0D9-71d75258

I remember the twinkle in your eyes when you called me your little star I remember the reassurance they communicated like you were always going...
68045E38-DD02-4E4A-B477-7682B9F50CDE-7ef594f7

I  think about you everyday But for some reason today is heavier than most Are you maybe thinking about me too? I miss you so...
joshua-davis-Z0U5hXqo_yk-unsplash-76f471a3

Dear Diary,  The day is bright, is bright and fair Oh, happy day, the day of rest, The day is bright; it’s bright and fair...
IMG_20210830_202602676-9083341a

I kicked hard languorously in an unknown small dark room, I had been held captive in the “unknown home” for months. The hope of freedom...
446313469c3332beb4f24b262a1fbfa1-5ceb37b1

It was in a little town called Gargue, off North of the Atlantic. I remember the rains had graced the earth that morning, and a...
Screenshot_20210608-193611-1312e78b

I was on my normal daily call with my mum when she gisted me about my baby brother-yeah, baby brother because he is my brother...
Vestiges of Love

“By the power and authority vested on me, I now declare you both as husb………” The priest hasn’t finished saying these words when two strayed...
Screenshot_20210817-214946~2-0f543a66

Sade looked at nothing in particular with a faraway look in her eyes. Her hands were clasped together on her knees with back bent. Her...
istockphoto-1275830905-612x612-1b42d0f3

The hospital shouldn’t have felt as grim and soulless as it did, but it felt that way to me. The warm smiles and comforting faces...
photo-1573662766191-066ba9570a4b-62f88d44

Oga Driver, I trust you’re reading this note in bad health or you’re bedridden and someone is reading this to you. You’re taken aback? Don’t...
eye-2555760__480 (1)-dc20809e

They said when he was born, his cries echoed through the small village of Ideka. It was shrill, piercing. They had never heard anything like...
night-forest-theme-vx14

University of Ibadan. 2006. The night was quiet and still except for the sounds of insects mingled with that of other nocturnal creatures lurking in...
4467BAE3-6FD8-438B-8877-CF801B054E9D

“A beautiful day indeed “ Stella stepped out from the cab going to see her boyfriend of seven years and ahh she couldn’t wait to...
images (2)

TᕼE ᗷᑌᒪᒪᗪOG ᗩᑭᑭᖇOᗩᑕᕼ One of my favourite quote has been, “𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔” You are not a...
niklas-wersinger-Lagi4DWvXpc-unsplash

It was after Louise marriage to Reuben that the real him became evident to her. That hidden part of him, cloaked and wrapped up by...
images

Suleiman walked to and fro of his room, muttering to himself. His stomach grumbled, he was hungry. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, yawning...

He did not hear the forced recalibration of a Colt 1911 semi auto pistol’s bullet eject it’s host.Only the impact of being momentarily jerked up...

            THE SHEPHERD(Do you know the shepherd?) It was on Friday, and you know the usual vibe and mantra that follows after close of work;...
ice cream bowl

The plan with Kayode was that the babies wouldn’t come till the third year of marriage. Part of the plan was also to have loads...

I’m staring at my reflection in the mirror and can only imagine the amount of girls, women who are like me; struggling and trying to...

I met Ifeanyi in 2016 at the Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan. It was one of those days when I went to the library...

A SHORT FICTION Richard sat on the white, high-backed, plastic chair on the veranda, stretching his injured foot forward and making it parallel with the...
Yellow Brown Bird Illustration Little Childrens Book Cover (2)

1 “Selére, hurry up with that basket you’re weaving. I want you to go and buy me a new calabash.” Her mother called out. “Yes,...

It’s not that I didn’t hear the stories, I did but myths are not real. They’re takes made up by people to scare other people....

The putrid smell emanating from a nearby house nauseated her. She covered her nose in disgust as she navigated her way through the narrow path...

It was on February 26th and as usual, all four of us headed straight to my house immediately after school hours. My house was just...

They say that it starts to hurt less when you find a way to laugh about it; that when it becomes a joke to you,...

1. The sweltering heat of a tropical African night came alive with the buzzing tunes of Mosquitoes, that hummed and fed on sweaty bodies, while...

                  Oníkálukú jèjé ewúré Ewúré, ewúré Oníkálukú jèjé àgùtàn, Agùtàn bòlòjò Olúrónbí jèjé omo re Omo re...

    “Mushin Olosha! Mushin, mushin wole!!” hollered the conductor who draped on the yellow bus horizontally stripped with black. I had boarded the bus...

The young miss squared her shoulders as she walked singularly on the red carpet amidst deafening applause and standing ovation. Flashes of light from cameras...

As a Nigerian youth you walk the streets of Nigeria with the fear that one day you will encounter them. The men in uniform: black...

The first time I saw mother’s eyes swollen like an overripe avocado, her skin accommodated colours from pain, her body revealed scars from severe whipping....

It’s time for the bride to walk into the church. I’m beaming with joy. I walk the aisle with my father as the hymns remind...

Heyooooo!!!!!😋😋😋😋Wassup my beautiful people😙😍Happy New Month!!💃💃💃💃💃 How Christmas preparations going!!!!I can smell chicken already 😁   Its gonna be a detty December 😂😂😚As much as...

  Against the run of play, our hostel was been enshrouded by a mysterious wind of quietness these past few days thanks to my roommates....

The sky held an empty glow over the earth. The night was silent except for the fluttering of a black-brown bird soaring the sky. The...

NIGHT.He watched as the day went into setting mode, the clouds is gradually withering its brightness. The sun is moving farther towards the west. The...

Magun Two weeks ago, I discovered that the countless dates, the occasional cinema outings and midnight rendezvous had all been for nothing. My girlfriend of...

MY FUNERAL The bells were too loud and the choristers were going on and on, I have never been to church and honestly if I...

  She ran through the bush, fighting with the thorns and sticks that blocked her way. Her whole body was on alert, her eyes had...

The clinically ruthless elimination of the familial victims, left all in awe of the frail felon, who now stood unflinchingly erect, unbowed or uncowed by...

  The bespectacled Caucasian male approached the cubicle that housed a wooden workstation.In a shared office at Otigba Street, within the famous Computer village ICT...

He awoke.Head aching and swirling from the exotic mix of last night’s free flowing booze, recreative drugs and very loud music.Groggy and shivering from the...

Mistakes. They boarded a korope at Ola-iya junction, in Osogbo. They were sitted at back seat, the guy spread out his hands so the lady...

I finished my algorithm assignment, slammed the textbook shut and pushed my reading table aside when a familar Voice breezed my ear. “Pray now”, faint...

                                                               They say to travel is to take a journey into oneself; perhaps to attain self-forgiveness, or tranquility of mind. Where else is better...

Broken HomeI had met Dayo at a conference meeting my company held some years back at Delta State. He walked up to me so gentle...

           He sits on the patio,feet on the table,with a cigar between his darkened lips. He’s nothing like an ordinary man....

Back at home as the door slowly opens, a slouched figure appears… a dejected soul not because of the rigors of being a single mother...

My babies😊😁How did your week go??It’s Friday I knowwww😄😣The beggining of weekend😍 Music to my ears people.Enjoy the weekend wella ooo. ♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧♧ My somto monto...

Yooo😄 Im currently eating Ewa Agoyin and Bread(it’s beans😂with some kind of yorubanised pepper).People this beans is maddd oooo…my mummy 😣😋😍. Just incase,you need a...

Bliss.This life is beautiful. This life is Good. This feeling is ecstatic. Right now, I have zero worry. No complains except Mama’s own about my...

Wake. Hustle. Eat. Hustle. Sleep. Repeat. Eating could mean 0-0-1, 0-1-0, 1-0-0 or, on a very good day, 0-1-1. Welcome to Lagos, the center of...

People hung around the environment in irregular clusters. Conversing in tones that rose and fell with excited arguments. Discussions centering around Covid19 pandemic and it’s...

I saw you today, Remi. There’s a stall that stands between the fisherman’s spot and the Oak tree that is the center of the village...

Swinging a black disposable nylon bag. She stepped out of the air conditioned ambience of a busy banking hall. At the popular computer village… Ikeja....

Its Friyay💃With the cool breeze,i welcome us into beautiful weekend.This weekend has a lot of beautiful suprises😉So girdle up and explore😁. (Sounding like a Yankee😉)...

“…he’ll take pity on you innocents suffering for his crimes and confess.” The twins were not so young that they couldn’t understand Martha’s sarcasm. They...

“Happy Sunday” was the greeting that came repeatedly from Martha’s neighbours as she returned from church on Sunday. The Sunday might be happy but she...

Yo 😉Im currently listening to Beautiful People by Chris brown and I’m feeling the Lazy Friday vibes. My muslim people…Barka De Sallah❤To think i have...

The sewing machines in Bella’s Fashion School buzzed as trainees put their feet to the pedestal, producing a brilliant cacophony within its walls. Biodun was...

African children have different kind of dreams:Noble, high and lofty, some as thick as a beamVarying descriptions and modified themes,Some probably have an happily-ever-after trim...

“Babe!! You won’t believe who I saw today” I sang into the phone as Lola, my best friend answered. “Who is it this time? You...

“Have you ever just sat down to think of how different you would be in 5 years to come? How sophisticated and famous you would...

The smiles never left, in the day, the night, in anger, sadness,my family always knew how to bounce back smiling ❤️I love that about my...

  My mother is afraid. I can see it in her eyes. The silent prayers she says when she thinks no one is watching? The...

The filament bulb lit the room, giving the white shirt on John a faint orange look. He bent in front of the broken mirror, combing...

Tadashi has grown old searching for her purse containing a number of valuable items such as ATM card, spare keys and some thousands of naira....

PROLOGUE “Mum, does God still exist? “ Tehila asked while sitting on the kitchen island and fiddling with her teddy bear. Her legs bounced unsteadily...

It was Monday again, Betty’s most hated day of the week, and she definitely wasn’t looking forward to it. She never could understand how the...

Along the struggles and plight of life,lies a path,narrow and appealing,a path which only the brave dare to thread, feared by many;overcome by few.  Mama...

Funny how intrigued I had been to leave the house. I pictured life as an unbelievable factor as I walked through the street in search...

“Hush, my child! You have to go through this too. I can’t help it.” “But mama, it hurts.” “I’m hurting too, baby, I am. I...

   They both stagger into the room; he, chanting the lyrics of afowómutí, and she, slurring incoherent words. I curl up in my corner, and...

A loner I was…. threading through a path. People call it risky; I call it the happening. Lost in my thoughts,  staring into an abyss,...

“NOT one, not two, not three, but five!” Meme shrieked while she flung her five fingers at Sani’s face. He knelt on a mat holding...

  Mama birthed this. This Utopia. I remember she would raise her voice at me in our dim lit brown marbled kitchen and my 8...

carry yourself to the oceanthe ground has become too harddrown your yesterdays,baptize their sins– Ijeoma Umebinyuo This morning Ugo fucked me on the kitchen counter...

   Nothing has changed in Grandmother’s home; one still risks slipping on the oil-smeared tiled floors and the curtains still drip with slimy water. These...

  THE LAGOS HUSTLE As a new comer, I decided one morning to start relieving people’s frown I kept smiling down the Lagos road A...

The rain started abruptly but my legs weren’t willing to run for cover. There was something about that window that had kept me staring. It...

I eased down on the rock and listened first to the blood spilled on the soil of the south, to the cries of the orphaned,...

Torukro delightedly removed her overall dress and walked straight into the beach in her two piece bikini. This is the moment she’s always dreamt of....

It was like a waged war. I was the battlefield and the warriors had no allys. They arrived, bearing clubs and spears of different kinds,...

I know a selfless woman. A woman who puts herself last just so others can feel better. A woman who is hardworking, strong and most...

I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.Sigmund Freud COMPOSITION ON MY MOTHER Dear Mr Adeyemi,...

I’m across the sea already, on a voyage to the other side of life, where rejections are for the wrong doers and happiness doesn’t have...

One drunken night some three months ago, I cheated on Maxwell  (my present boo) with my ex at a mutual friend all night birthday party....

“Excuse me ma, we have a problem”“What is it?”“Our buyer just changed his mind”“Take me to him” The young woman and her secretary made their...

The theme was danger.I was decked in red, prepared to fish. He could hardly go unnoticed from where I was seated. Draped in his signature...

Jide clocked ten yesterday. The night before his birthday, he couldn’t sleep well, he kept thinking of what it would be like to be ten,...

I reclined on the mattress to induce myself to sleep, so as to curb the rumblings in my stomach. Suddenly the left hemisphere of my...

Over the years I’ve come to realize that real friendship is built on respect, a common bond, and shared memories. A true friend will accept...

Ages had gone by since I had last been in here. The curtains still had the gold trimmings she had refused to remove even after...

My superpower is writing. Yes, you read that well writing is my superpower. When I was little, I cannot remember who the man was but...

Dear reader, True happiness should come from within and staying happy is a choice. There are alot of negativities in the world already. I learnt...

I was sprawled out on the couch, listening. Her voice was so soothing, as though a jar of honey was broken over all that was...

I I drew the duvet up to my neck and sighed; not because I was tired or to welcome my much needed rest but it...

The day’s work has finally come to an end. But, Nosa sits back in the office with intents to spend the night. But, luck isn’t...