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My Dad Refused to Raise a Crybaby
One evening, I was doing my work as usual and heading to where my father was sitting when he spotted me from the middle of the room and roared. "Are you not ashamed of yourself, ehn Chioma? Your younger brother will beat you every time and you'll be crying? Will you go and beat your own back?!" Chai, My tears seized immediately as shame washed over me. The next day when the little demon found his way to my side, I bounced on him and dealt with him until he was the one doing the crying. The disrespect from his corner reduced from that day henceforth.
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Sometime in My Future
Whenever they see one, they'll scream and run around like drunkards. One will try to force her small head through the window panes but it will stubbornly not let her through. So, she'll run to the balcony and climb the railings smiling into the sky. An action that will earn her a swat on her buttocks.
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Cheers to My EFCC Mum
I was sitting in front of my mum only some hours ago. I had a packed travelling bag with me as we had one of our "talks." I had had this our regular event pushed to the last minute until I was ready to leave through her doors. I came, as usual, to bid an official farewell when mum eyed me. "Sit down and tell me where you said you are going again?"
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From the Girl That Kissed Satan
A few days to the end of May that year, I happened across a wild rumour that the sixth day of the next month would be the last day on Earth. Apparently, writing the figures for that day would be 6/6/6...
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An Eclipse Story: My First Experience with Blindness
On March 29, 2006, an uncle was taking me and my brothers to school when he shared some information with us. "There's going to be an eclipse of the sun today", he said. When we asked what that meant, he said the whole world would be covered in darkness during the daytime. Wow! Then he added that we must not look towards the sky throughout the day or when it was happening or we could go blind. Another wow! My head was swimming with the information and excitement. The only issue was that the moment he said that, I who had not had the slightest plan of looking up suddenly…
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“Tick,” Says the Clock (a short story)
"But mummy, please let's start packing now." This was the third time the second tallest amongst the bunch was repeating the exact sentence. Bolu looked at the owner of the voice without seeing him. She had thought the day she lost her husband would be the worse day of her life. Today was actively competing with that one. The words of two weeks ago replayed in her head. "I am not running a Charity organization here. This is the 5th month since you've been feeding me excuses. I too have children like yours. If 'please' could fill the stomach, I'd never be hungry again!" She and her children sat facing…
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Dear Parents, We’re Not Happy
I was at a youth gathering when one of us suddenly stood up angrily to face one of our supervisors. Even if this lady had successfully stopped the tears in her glistening eyes from falling, we could still see the distress written clearly on her face. Here's what had happened: Though she had already missed the initial five days of the training due to work, she still pushed to join us for that Saturday's last practical session. It was all going well until the evening when she received a call from her mum asking her to return home immediately as it was getting dark. Her mum had called this supervisor…