JULIE

Julie She was about five or six years younger than me. Twenty-three or twenty-four, I am not sure. She never told me her age, but I knew she wasn't born before 1989, the year I was born. She was thin, with a voice that sounded like the high-pitched screech of a car coming to an … Continue reading JULIE

What I Chose Not to Do at My Weddings

I wasn’t expecting to get married this year, 2025. I wasn’t expecting to get married EVER. Why? Because I didn’t want to. As a little girl, I never fantasized about having a husband. And yet, surprise!  Here I am, married, and blinking like, “Did I just...?”

MORIBUND

Moribund My mother is dying. One day last June, a friend told me that a person’s eyes turn white when they are on the verge of death. I remember because she used the term moribund. My mother is dying, but her eyes are getting darker. The room is hot. This room, contaminated by the smell … Continue reading MORIBUND

AND JUST LIKE THAT… IT IS A WRAP!

Written By: Fortune Aganbi Wow! I cannot believe that in a few days, we will be saying Goodbye to 2022 forever! What a year it has been. 2022 meant different things for many of us. For some, it was the best year of our lives yet; for others, it was the worst. However you feel … Continue reading AND JUST LIKE THAT… IT IS A WRAP!

THE VISITS

By Fortune Aganbi Photo Credit: PacificPress via Gettyimages They visit me every time. Sometimes it’s the man. Sometimes it's the woman. Sometimes it's the Thing that restricts my airflow and squeezes my navel. Sometimes it's a song that sings darkness, reminding me I'm in the future, perhaps somewhere in 2050. They all fuck me. The … Continue reading THE VISITS

DEAR LAST BREATH

By Fortune Aganbi The day I learned the meaning of the word "abnegation", I was thinking of stars. Not stars as in heavenly bodies, but human stars. The likes of Beyoncé and Cristiano Ronaldo. When a human being is called a star, the connotation is that the person is very successful and accomplished. And I … Continue reading DEAR LAST BREATH

THE NIGHT & FOREVER JOURNEY

The Night & Forever Journey Despite the high level of insecurity plaguing my country Nigeria, I still travel at night. It’s because I am a man who has ‘strong-head’, a word my countrymen use to describe someone who is irredeemably obstinate. A suitable synonym would be ‘coconut-head’ and that’s what I have: a big hard … Continue reading THE NIGHT & FOREVER JOURNEY

BRIEF NOTES ON FRIENDSHIP

By Fortune Aganbi Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good and alike in virtue; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good themselves. Now those who wish well to their friends for their sake are most truly friends; for they do this by reason of own … Continue reading BRIEF NOTES ON FRIENDSHIP

THIS IS HOW THIS MAN DIED

His eyes opened inside a coffin. And his eyes opened to total darkness. *** He felt unbelievably hot, and for the first few minutes, he was completely unaware of where he was. At first he thought he was in his bed, but when he tried to move his hands and legs, he found out that … Continue reading THIS IS HOW THIS MAN DIED

RUNNING

RUNNING by Fortune Aganbi Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myselfI am large, I contain multitudes.– Walt Whitman, Song of Myself. My name is Fortune Aganbi and because it's my birth month... *** Growing up, I realized I run away from pain a lot instead of processing it. If something bad happens … Continue reading RUNNING