Olú Abíkóyè

Day 8: The Non-Whisperer

I practically begged her to spill the beans. She resisted like a champ, and when she finally agreed to tell, she made weird sounds in my ear – ‘SwishSwooshWhiffWhooshWhizz’. Ahan! what is ‘SwishSwooshWhiffWhooshWhizz’?  I was like, ‘Stop blowing breeze and talk!’

Day 7: Tower of Babel

In my head, I started to make a checklist of my woes… the gen goes off at midnight, the bloody tap in the bathroom does not run, and my daddy is out here chanting Tower of Babel like a dark mantra, What other absurdity could unfold at this point?

Day 6: Mary’s break-up line to St. Joseph

Mary, tell me you don’t want to marry me rather than say you are pregnant. What have I done to you that you reject me so? Mary, grappling with the changes in her body, seemed exhausted with Joseph’s inquiry. Her intention was merely to provide information, to prevent Joseph from branding her a fraud later on.

Day 5 – My ode to Fear!

Embrace the fall, the fumble, the stumble,
For in failure’s dance, resilience will not crumble.
Whispers of defeat, echoes so discreet,
Rise once again, success to sweetly meet.

DAY 4 – Can you pray?

Two days later, my friend, attempting to bring a truce, asked me if I could pray because I never joined any of their prayer meetings. However, I was quick to shut them up on the evil spirit plan. I first did the sign of the cross, thanking my stars that these people deleted me based on all my colours-in-between.

Day 3 – were you a truth-teller as a child?

At times, I’d wait for my mother like a hawk. As soon as she arrived, I’d play back every single thing that went wrong from the moment she stepped out of the house until she returned. My mother’s sister knew I wasn’t just as intelligent as my brother; I was more—I was downright dangerous.

Day 2 – My mum remains the unbeatable champion of all time

During that particular year, my mother could have petitioned for me to be transported on an ostrich’s back if it meant I’d participate in age-appropriate activities. I just couldn’t fathom why children were subjected to so much. I mean, my class teachers were already pushing their luck by urging me to study every day; why add this stress labelled ‘extracurricular’? And birthdays, don’t even get me started on the fuss over parties.

Day 1 – Spit-Proof Grace: My ‘Desculpe, Obrigada’ Moment

As usual, it was quiet and serene until I was jolted out of my thoughts by this grumpy woman who brushed by me hastily and attempted to spit at me, but it fell on the floor right before my feet…quickening my pace till I caught up with the woman just by the traffic light that made us stop before the road to Madalena’s church. What I really wanted to do was spit at her face, but what I found myself doing was saying, ‘desculpe’ and ‘obrigada’ in succession, meaning ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ in a weird circle of politeness.

Boundless Love

Dear Diary, it’s all about boundless love September 1, 2023 Today was a truly beautiful day in church. It was the 8 a.m. mass, and something extraordinary unfolded before my eyes. As I took my seat, a group of five people walked past me and took their seats in one of the front rows before

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The Hands of God

Dear Diary, March 22, 2023 The hands of God! So, I stood near a girl waiting for my order at the Cafeteria. By mere coincidence, our hands were placed side by side. She is the whitest of the whitest girl I have ever seen in my life. Sooo white I almost compared her with a

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