young adult stories

The Colour to My Night Sky

You, yourself, as much as anybody else in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. ~ Buddha. I was my father’s favorite child growing up. I don’t know why he enjoyed…

The Beautiful Ones Are Now Dead

The news reached our ears in the middle of summer. Dorothy Wogu killed herself during the midterm holiday. It was only a few weeks before our final exams in high school. The…

When Life Gives You Lemons

On the day I learned about it, I knew my life was about to change forever and there was no turning back. The unforeseeable dark future that stood before me was indeed…

Face Mask

Mommy says, “When I was a girl. People didn’t say bad things about the dead. They’d go like, ‘No oh! That person don die. Abeg, make we no talk about am.’ So…

4th of September, 1992

The last time she saw her mother, she had had her head buried between her laps, with her right hand sticking out of the space between her right leg and thigh. Clutched…

Market Runs

When I woke up this morning, the only productive thing I hoped to complete before the end of the day was brushing my teeth, but then, my aunty called and sent me…

The Cafe

“Hi.” “Hello.” “Do you have a minute?” “For?” “Uhh…now that you ask…” “Yeah. I thought as much.” “Yeah…” “I do have a minute though, but I need to know why you need…

Living While Dying

“For as long as I can remember, I have not been living. I fear that I have only been existing. Inside of me, something is missing; something really big and really important…

The Terrorist’s Hideaway

“Tell me, what use is the government if they cannot even give us good roads?” The woman said as she crossed the road with her daughter, trying her best to jump over…

At Twenty

Her parents were already frustrated with her situation, but in fairness to her, she was not trying any less than her best. When the temptation came to be angry at how her…