And Then You Died
I had promised to cook you a nice meal when you got out of hospital. But the next time I saw you, you were in a casket. All life having left you. All promises having gone with it. No more words. No more laughter. Nothing left.
Stab Me, Baby
I should have known my place. I am sorry. I should have remembered who I was dealing with. A respectable member of society. A suit-wearing family man. You. A loving husband. A caring father. A friendly, likeable, law-abiding, church-going member of our community. How stupid of me to forget that? Can you believe me? I hope you can forgive me. […]
Lie To Me
Tell me that I’m beautiful. Stroke my cheek and tell me that my face doesn’t look ashy. That it doesn’t need some color because it has enough color. It has enough color, honey. That it doesn’t feel dead against your touch. Feel the baldness of my head now. Forget the veins that are sticking out, and imagine that you’re stroking […]
She’s With Me
I would kill for her. No point lying to you. I have killed for her. I open my eyes to find her face barely an inch away from mine. I could have been woken by the sound of a police siren, or gunshots being fired, or the Muezzin calling fellow Muslims for prayer, or screeching brakes from some drunk driver […]
Ask Me About My Marriage
Go ahead. Ask me about this man that I loved so much, enough, in fact, to agree to marry him just so that I could spend the rest of my life with him. The rest of my life. Isn’t that something? And I did it young too – on my 28th birthday. That was pretty young for a generation that […]
If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late.
This can only mean one thing; there is a dead body somewhere. And it is mine. I wish I could say that I am sorry. That I should not have done this. That I should have been strong-er. Bold-er. Or (more) vocal about what ails me. I wish I could tell you that I will miss feeling the sun stretching […]
Stained Sheets
The white sheets have blood stains on them. I leave the bed and head to the living room downstairs. I find him, sitting on the couch, his hands cradling his head. The heels of his legs move up and down as if afraid to touch the floor. He is shaking. He is mumbling something. I watch him get up and […]
Can You Hear The Drums?
It is 4.17am. There is a drum beating somewhere. My eyesight might be failing me, but my hearing hasn’t bailed on me yet. I can hear it loud and clear. It beats continuously. Dam daram…dam daram…dam daram… 4.22 am and it is getting fainter. Maybe ‘whoever’ is getting tired? The beats are weaker too. Dam…da-ram…dam…da-ram…dam…da-ram No it is loud again. […]
Happy Birthday Penny – Part IV
A normal birthday in my books, begins with the husband giving his wife – the birthday girl in this case – a kiss very early in the morning. You pull her from her side of the bed to yours therefore cutting short her snoring. Getting the covers out of the way, you pull your body slightly above hers, making sure […]
Happy Birthday Penny – Part II
“Why are you doing this Penny? Why?” You know why. Now go to sleep. I am not sleepy so I pop sleeping pills. You do what Penny tells you to do – this is the last thought in my mind before I drift off to sleep. Tomorrow arrives. Penny arrives with it. I wake up to find her seated at the […]
Happy Birthday Penny – Part I
I see her more than I would like to. Not that I don’t love her. No. I love her to death. I like spending time with her, looking at her beautiful face. I want her to always be with me. Yet sometimes, I am not sure if I want her by my side. She is my wife, my Penina. I […]
Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Did you know that words can come alive? That they can levitate from its source to smack you in the face, to soothe your tired soul, to pat you on the back or to sting your eyes ever so painfully? Did you know that words can be used as a very lethal weapon? Even to wage war? Did you know […]