Imole Olusanya

Omitoro was once a thriving kingdom in Yorubaland, renowned for its deep-rooted traditions. Among these customs, one stood above all: whatever the town crier proclaimed had to be obeyed without question. Disobedience invited calamity, so the town crier was always thoroughly briefed before he ever lifted his gong to spread news across the land. During the reign of one mighty king, Omitoro was blessed with twin princes, Fade and Bade . At that time, the town crier was a modest and responsible man named Awire . His honesty and skill in delivering messages earned him the unwavering trust of both the king and his people. The entire kingdom admired him. The king’s sons, however, were a different story. Born into wealth and privilege, Fade and Bade grew up believing the world lay beneath their feet. Their arrogance dismayed their good-hearted father, as they treated the common folk with little more than contempt. Awire, like many others, was not spared their scorn. The princes often mocked ...

Ever bustling city life! The strident voices of the conductors of commercial buses could be heard afar off. No matter how sultry the weather, there were always hawkers advertising their goods. The traders who had stalls and umbrellas were fortunate, those who had kiosks were more fortunate, and those had shops, built or rented, were the most fortunate. Children who should be in the classrooms could be seen hawking oranges, sweets, buns and sachet water. Those who had been fortunate to be sent to school by their parents and guardians would also choose to roam the streets like orphans, in their school uniforms. At Orita Meta or Bere, you could even see some of those sagged off children dancing to the tunes of music on the streets, in front of beer parlours, shirts tucked out of their shorts or trousers. In the streets, you would find students who had reached the secondary school class smoking cigar. If cigarettes get them nauseous, they could have a sachet of alcoholic drink while their ...

Tara had always loved Jones, her brother's new friend. He had always been nice to her and was always with the smiles that could speak a thousand words. She waited for him to tell her how he felt about her but for months he never did. It was Tara's birthday and she thought that Jones would let her know his feelings for her that day. She brought her male friends to the party to make Jones jealous; she wanted to nudge Jones into action. Tara's friends knew that she had fallen head over heels for Jones for months and they decided to help her. However, Jones did not seem ruffled by all they were doing to make him feel jealous and Tara almost lost all hope. The party ended and there were loads of gifts for the celebrant. Tara and her friends went to work, searching for Jones' gift. In the end, they founded it; a white flower. It was not her wedding day and she was not bereaved. To her, and to what she had been told and been made aware of, in such a situation, it could only me...

The time had come to start my journey. I leaned out of the window, waving as long as I could while she disappeared into the distance. She was out of sight and she would be for quite a long time. All I had with me afterwards was her images on my phone and more importantly, our moments together that had stuck to my memory. The bus had just gotten to the first checkpoint when my phone rang. When I checked the caller ID, it was her. “Hello, maami.” “Hello. How has the journey been? Where are you now?” “I'm having a pleasant ride and presently, we're at the first checkpoint. Bother yourself not, mum. I'll phone you immediately the drive is over.” “Alright.” As promised, my mother was the first person I phoned as the journey ended. She sounded relieved. A lanky lad was waiting for me at the car park by a black Toyota Sienna. He showed me his identity card and I confirmed that he was the one sent to pick me up. I entered the car and the ride started. During that shorter drive, I p...

“My dear child, I know you had your doubts about your birth. I couldn't tell you while I was alive so I left you this letter. Your real parents live in...” I stared at the unfinished letter in shock. How was I supposed to find my true identity? The contents of the letter were not surprising to me but my father had left me a puzzle to solve without any piece already solved. I ha tried to discover who my biological parents were when he was still alive but whenever I asked questions about them, my father gave evasive answers to my questions. I started my findings immediately. I checked his chest of drawers and shelves but nothing helpful was there. My father had a younger brother so I went to ask about my biological parents but he was not helpful either. My father had not confided in anyone about where he got me from. Although my mother had died seven years ago, I had to ask her relatives too. That was not helpful either. She equally did not confide in any of her siblings. At that poi...

 I happened to witness a crime. I saw a man tamper with the parts of a parked Lexus RX in the parking lot of the bottling company where I worked. The owner of the car was my archenemy at work. He was a friend of the chief executive officer and he got my position on getting employed. He did not even think of how his being employed got me to leave the seat of the financial manager for him, he was specifically cruel towards me. I knew he abhorred me because his friend, the chief executive officer, praised me in his presence for taking care of the position better than him when I was there. He hated me till he finally found a way of getting me out of his sight forever. He plotted against me and that made the enraged manager order me to leave the company. However, on getting to the parking lot, I found a man doing something to his car while looking around once in a while. I watched the man leave and I immediately left where I was hiding. Despite having worn a cap to cover a large part of...

 The realisation drove me out of my reverie. For years, I harboured the thought of leading; didn't we sing 'We're the leaders of tomorrow'? When I learnt who he was, I felt caught in the snare of daydreaming. My mare lasted years. When I was struggling to study, he was flown overseas. Those days, I followed his father like a thrown kite with no certain destination. When I was toiling in my fatherland, he was flexing and flaunting over seas and from coast to coast. And then I, with my brothers, friends and those like-minded fought his 'incompetent' father and all like him and we won and their years were over but then, it was the turn of we young minds to rule. And then we young minds who had strategized taking over were pleased, our faces were as bright as the sight of sunset and we were ready to make every wrong right. And then I stepped out and a lot of folks with me, and I canvassed for votes and he stepped out too, against me and he canvassed for votes.  And ...

“Please just fire me!” He was as shaken as any tree shaken to its roots. The storm had gotten too strong. He cried harder. Like a ballet dancer on her pointe, his life had taken a fast turn, a sharp twist. The previous day, he had reported a theft in the company where he was working. He had reported his senior who was the head of his department and his colleagues who were asking him to take part in their evil plot. Reporting them, to him, was the best to do and it led to the culprits being sacked. — A snitch does not belong here — That was the note he got after being praised by the managing director of the company. Some of his remaining colleagues ganged up on him and pasted the words aforementioned as a sticky note on his desk. The next event was to be called upon by his boss who looked terribly vexed. “Was this your initial plan? To make a fool of me?” He was clueless – his boss's words were like a subordinate clause followed by a comma so he anticipated the main clause. His bos...

 

  The email he received today is marked urgent. But it's from a friend who died two years ago. He checked the sender of the email for the umpteenth time and it was his late friend. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if it was a dream but it was reality. He read the mail and reread it. It was a mail only he could decode.  Mbf, life's given me a hard kick, but you've always known that I am stouthearted. To avoid chaos, meet me at ofs, bring ofm along, dress in ofa. Ftn mins. His lips quivered in shock as he read out the mail, decoding it.  My best friend, life has given me a hard kick, but you've always known that I am stouthearted. To avoid chaos, meet me at our favourite spot, bring our favourite meal along, and dress in our favourite attire. Fifteen minutes! Sweats drenched him! He was sure that he killed him. Even though it was in anger, even though it was anger that blinded him, he killed him! He killed his best friend. He was there at his burial! Now, this is the end of ...

  The footsteps following me sounded closer. I ran through the empty corridors of the hospital, my heart pounding with terror.  I turned a corner and stopped short. I had reached a dead end. The pursuer arrived in a hoodie. I could not see his face but I did discern that he was a man of my age. He stopped almost a yard away from me and chuckled. "What were you thinking? That you can escape death?" That was when I knew who he was. His voice was not just familiar. It belonged to my friend, my childhood friend. "Jacques?" I asked in bewilderment.  He pulled the hood off his head and my gaze rested on his unfriendly gaze. I shook my head, trying not to believe the vivid truth. "Jack, don't tell me that you were the one who attacked Jones. Don't tell me that, please don't."  We were three. We were as thick as thieves. I, Jones, and he. We grew old together and we loved one another greatly but...  "I did! I attacked Jones and I'll make sure ...

  Jealousy comes in rank. People get jealous and it is normal but there are just the abnormalities to it. It is normal to have that feeling when you watch a friend of yours go big and become the centre of attention while no one notices you. Jealousy is natural but the inability to keep it in control is dangerous, not only to others but to you too. Mide got work with a top modelling agency. She got employed with three other ladies and in just a few months of starting, she hit the top. Mide had everything that would help her. Her success was natural. She had beauty and though not rich before, she became not only rich after getting to work as a model, but she also became famous and influential. She became a model for many manufacturing companies, especially cosmetics. It was at work that she got her lover and life smiled widely at her. Pero was a senior of Mide at the agency. Mide met her there and surpassed her. She had given Mide every support she could give her but watching Mide hu...

I was in heaven. I was in the care of my creator. He showered me with all his love and attention but over time, I had to start my journey to the world. I had to choose a family. My creator showed me a lot of families to pick from. They all wanted a child. The first couple were not married and were practising extramarital affairs. I refused to be their child. I refused to be regarded by the world as a bastard. The second couple had a lovely home. They already had two children. I loved the family because I thought they would shower me with love and I would not be lonely. I would have siblings to play with but then I saw how they scolded one of their children and praised the other. It happened that they preferred one. I refused to join such a family. I feared being treated as they were treating their other child. The third couple was newly wedded and their marriage was the talk of the town. They were rich and deeply in love but they seemed not to be hasty about having a child because they...