Creator's World

       Mina looked at the pink baby in the bassinet near her bed. This was not her first child, yet, the feeling was alien to her. It was as if she had not only recently pushed the baby out of her. She could not form any bond with her newborn and she didn’t know why. She felt… empty.           She knew the routine of taking care of a newborn: breastfeeding, cuddling, diaper changes round the clock, she knew them all, and she did them almost mechanically. But deep down, she wished she didn’t have to.           That was not how she felt with Skye, her first son. She had felt overwhelming love for him from the moment he had been placed in her arms. She had not wanted anyone else to hold him for too long. She had invested so much of her emotions into Skye that, looking at little Curtis, her newborn, it seemed she had none left for him.       ...

                             The sun streamed into the room, hitting Japheth squarely on his face. Since when did the sun get to his bedroom so brilliantly? Then he felt it – no, her. He felt her weight in his side, where he had tucked her to sleep the previous night. Ah, Japheth sighed and closed his eyes again, last night. He had no words to describe last night. Jasmine was a phenomenal woman. The things she did he had never imagined them possible with any woman. And of all the impossible things that happened, he had spent the night!             Just then, he felt the vibration of his phone. What he saw on the screen made him wince: one call and message each missed. From the same contact. That was disastrous. As if it wasn’t enough, a call came through from that same contact. He glanced wistfully at Jasmine sleeping in his side. Slowly, he extri...

  As I held my newborn baby in my arms, I could not help but sigh. My wife, Tabitha and baby were safe at home. I had sent her to the Central Hospital about a week ago to deliver our baby, much to Tabitha’s displeasure. She had complied, however, and had stayed in the hospital till she was delivered of her baby. I was happy to see them again. But that scar… I couldn’t bring myself to look at it yet. In fact, I couldn’t bring myself to look at Tabitha in the same way ever again. I felt so betrayed by that scar!             Prior to her pregnancy, Tabitha had been porcelain perfect: not even a hint of an injury could be seen on her body. She was perfect, and I had gloried in that perfection. She had all the curves to make other women green, a dazzling white smile to put the sun to shame, and a musical laughter which could clear the darkest clouds of depression. Tabitha was the perfect hourglass. I had always been proud to be se...

            “You and your baby are going home today, Tabitha. Aren’t we glad?” Dr. Tablus asked me cheerily.             Yes, I was. This was my first pregnancy and it had taught me a lot of interesting things, the last of which has changed my perspective about having children forever. I had a smooth pregnancy, I mean, no morning sickness, no loss of appetite, no crazy cravings, I had that pregnancy glow which made many people compliment me every time. I was strong; I could walk the distance and carry loads that were safe for pregnancy. I only went to the hospital when my antenatal visit was due. Everything was great until my due date came. And passed. And I had still not delivered.             I remember my midwife recommending a hospital stay until I had delivered, which I had been against. I mean, if my baby was rea...

  It was the day after the heavy rains. The sun seemed cheerful in the blue sky, the clouds – a scattering of white and grey columns – floated lazily across the sky. It was a lazy day; even the wind blew lazily. Marcus Smith brought out his plastic chair and went straight to the summer hut in the middle of his compound. It was one of those days when he could just sit and enjoy nature uninterrupted by work or some people’s drama. He sat in the chair, stretched, and smiled. It was a good day to be alive! His smile had not lived sixty seconds when he heard his phone ring. He sighed. Why had he not turned it off yet? He wished the person wouldn’t bother calling again as he didn’t answer. Rather unfortunately for him, the caller kept calling. Finally, without checking the caller ID, he answered, and almost immediately wished the phone would explode. “Why are you avoiding me, Marcus?” The unwelcome greeting sounded over the connection. “Good day to you too, Sonia,” Marcus replie...

Google image Melissa stared at the image in her inbox. It was a wedding invitation: of David and a woman named Catherine. She was not surprised that he was getting married; far from that. She was, however, surprised that she felt hurt and betrayed. She could feel her heart ripping apart the longer she stared at the invitation card. She laughed mirthlessly at her own reaction: how could she feel betrayed? David was a flesh-and-blood man, she knew that. He had needs that must be met. What did she expect, that he would pine for her till the end of the world? Ha! Melissa tried to fathom why it hurt her to see that David had found someone else. It had been five years since they ended their relationship, or better, since she had called things off with him. She had even gone ahead to get married and have two healthy children with Morris. It was funny that she felt hurt and betrayed. Or, could it be that she had not gotten over David completely? Melissa shook her head at that thought...

THE LIVING SOAM By: Emmanuel Coleman This morning, when I bought my copy of the Daily Graphic, his picture was boldly displayed on the front page. I haven’t seen his face for the past twenty years. When I read the headlines it said: CONTRACTOR CONVICTED FOR CAUSING FINANCIAL LOSS TO THE STATE. The story said he had defrauded the state of over fifty-five million dollars for contracts he wasn’t awarded and never performed. The judge sent him away for a whopping seventy-three years in prison with hard labour. That was as good as a life sentence. When we were in the second term of our first year in Bishop Lawrence’s Boys Secondary School, Kwesi Enu joined us from another school. He became both my class mate and dormitory mate. He was a lively little chap who most of the time wore a self-satisfied grin on his face. In no time he became one of the most troublesome juniors in the school. In fact not a single day would pass without my friend getting into one form of trouble or the o...