Last year , a missionary came to my church in Toronto. He talked about the mission to the First Nations. The stories he told left my heart broken. The conditions he was describing seemed impossible in Canada yet it exists, in Canada and in the US. Yesterday, for some weird reason, I started praying for these people. So lost, so beautiful, so […]

We bury her in a white dress. Her mother insisted. It was one of those dresses women buy and never end up wearing. If I close my eyes long enough, I can imagine her in it alive.   “Isn’t it perfect?” She had asked one too many times as she modeled it for me after bringing the dress home from the store.  I was […]

18/08/1975 Dear Mum, I can’t believe I am here. It is everything you said it would be. First day I arrived felt like a homecoming. I could hardly sleep that night. The next day we went on a school tour with a student guide. It felt like I knew this place better than he did as we walked us through places […]

There is shame everywhere. Shame in her mother’s kitchen where she makes meals for the children of whatever sibling has come visiting their grandmother. Shame in the only bathroom in the house where she is bathing and her mother walks in to use the toilet noisily with no apologies. Shame in waking up from nightmares on the couch she fell asleep […]

  This story needed a happy ever after. So I have given it one. I loved Ropo like no writer is allowed to love her characters. I loved Sallie too. Todd, I really didn’t know. He was just there. So this sequel helps me know Todd. And I have discovered that this is a little family I will always love. […]

Sometimes Jenny is a boy. A boy named Juwon. You of all people should have known better to fall for a Jenny, to fall for a Juwon. The first time you saw Forrest Gump was with your cousins. Your parents had left you all to go on a couples’ trip. Your oldest cousin who was 16 was supposed to be baby-sitting […]

To understand this better, you might need to find out more about the holiday Rosh Hashanah. What can  I say, I am a woman that knows a little about a lot. 😉   Our first date was a complete disaster. From the beginning to the end, ‘wrecking ball’ kind of disaster, throw it in the trash, ‘never go back’ kind […]

She knows that she is dreaming. She also knows that when she awakens, nothing will be the same. “Nnedi, Nnedi, say something,” the man beside her pleads. But there is nothing to be said and even if there was, she is in a dream and it won’t matter anyway. He moves away from her and gets up from the bed, […]

  I have caught the travel bug. Sigh. I cannot complain though. To have the opportunity to travel to places I have read about is a privilege. I don’t take it for granted. Mbanu! PS. I am trying to choose between Malaysia and the Philippines for my next trip. Suggestions, advice, tips are very welcome. In the meanwhile, Pura Vida baby. […]

Grief has made her even more beautiful. As if such a thing were possible. And if it were, there would be no one who it could succeed with better than Mally. Her huge eyes don’t blink for long periods. They show life only when the children come in sight. As for her smile, it is a mere shadow that peeks out of the […]