Story Archives

· Jul 24

JAMB Broke My Heart

My Mother Says I Was Born for Books There was never a question of what I would be when I grew up. “Doctor Ayomide Alade. Surgeon. Maybe even neurosurgeon. You know I was slicing up turkey at age six, abi?” I used to joke. But the real reason everyone thought I was built for greatness?...

2

Linda Okore

· Jul 23

My Father’s Secret Wife

Ibadan in December is both dust and joy. The red earth rises as children chase one another barefoot through the compound. Aunties arrive in loud wrappers and louder laughter. Firewood crackles under big pots of jollof rice. Everything smells like home and memory. I hadn’t been back since July, and the house already felt…different. Mama...

Joe

· Jul 23

Love in Borrowed Time

Lisbon hummed with life outside the rain-splattered window. The bookstore was warm, cluttered, and smelled of old pages and espresso. Elise reached for a worn copy of The Little Prince — and so did someone else. Their fingers brushed. Her heart skipped. “Oh—sorry,” he said, smiling like he’d just stolen a star. “You first.” “You...

Katie Jackson

· Jul 23

When the House Went Quiet

The last thing Harper Young expected on a Monday evening was silence. She stood in her foyer, still in her scrubs, grocery bags digging into her forearms. The door shut behind her with a soft click. No bark from Jasper. No thudding footsteps from Jake upstairs. No hum from the dishwasher she’d left running. The...

Joe

· Jul 21

The Last Message

It was 7:43 a.m. when Amira’s phone buzzed three times. She rolled over, groggy and disoriented. Her eyes blinked at the screen: 3 new voice messages from a number she didn’t recognize. Unknown numbers usually meant spam or work. She played the first one without much thought. “If someone finds this… I’m sorry. I thought...