FLASH FICTION: ‘Twin Twist’ – By: Tolulope Popoola

It had four walls like every other room I was used to. Except that one of the walls was made of iron bars. There wasn’t much in the room. Just me, my pride and a mattress that was there before I came. I hadn’t always been there. I was told that it was the place [...]

She was standing in the middle of the street, daring to exist in her micro mini skirt and tight spaghetti strap. She was showing more flesh than clothes, and was more real than artificial, more meat than bone. A selection of eyeballs balancing on the ends of their sockets were staring in awe and immense [...]

Hell. The concept itself is a complete distortion. God’s son never spoke of a hell that burns for eternity. Hell, was a physical location. In the days of old there was a place called “Gehenna”. A pit that was kept constantly burning. A garbage dump near Jerusalem. Dead bodies after battle were dumped there; a [...]

So I decided to start the learning process all over again. I’ve realized that sometimes if I truly want to understand something, I have to let go of all my opinions and preconceptions about it. I have to let go of all my thoughts and expectations; and focus on what it is I’m trying to [...]

It all starts with the eyes. You walk in and your eyes lock. The ‘half a second longer than usual’ almost always means something. A woman has an uncanny ability to absorb a lot of information with a single glance. If you catch that glance, more than once, then she definitely wants you to know that [...]

Crying eyes thought of stars in the sky, wondering why they were there instead of in her eyes where they belonged. She had been told that all her life, “Your eyes look just like the stars”. She knew it was true. She could see for herself every morning when she looked in the mirror, staring [...]

Once you have been to ‘one’ Nigerian party in your life it is safe to say that you will always know the menu. It is an unwritten rule that you can be as exotic as you like, but if your party lacks certain fundamental items, it really isn’t a party. There ‘must’ be Jollof rice, [...]

Lets start with something controversial. Jesus says: Matthew 10:34-37……”DO NOT THINK THAT I HAVE COME TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH; I HAVE NOT COME TO BRING PEACE, BUT A SWORD. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a [...]

The real father of my children stared back at me. Somehow, I found the strength to utter the words. ‘You have to leave,’ I said. ‘I am falling in love with you and it’s tearing me apart.’ A pained look crossed his face. He let go of my hand and swallowed hard. ‘I understand. I [...]

It’s one of those words that we all know about but we have difficulty defining. We know the opposite of stupidity is intelligence, yet we can’t seem to define that either. So we are left in a world where the stupid are often considered to be intelligent, and the intelligent are called stupid. To be [...]

Sit in front’. Madam ordered sharply. Her stony expression did not change. I obeyed, sitting gingerly on the cream leather chair, next to Taofeek the driver. The scars on my back still hurt. Madam spread herself at the back of the car, complete with all her accessories: a large handbag, a glossy magazine, a case [...]

I received the formula a while ago, but I was reluctant to confront the solution. My time had been divided by two simultaneous thoughts that seemed to multiply when I tried to focus. But now is the right time to put two and two together. I began by examining all the empirical evidence. I needed [...]

Having spent most of my life in England and Nigeria I have noticed a few significant differences in the way both countries raise their kids. Talking about the way kids are brought up is often a very sensitive subject. Most of us are familiar with the defensive statement “don’t tell me how to bring up my [...]