MUM My heart drops. I watch as my daughter freezes. She gives no indication that she heard the speaker. Spell barricade, honey. You know it. I try to communicate my thoughts to her. She is staring at something, at nothing. I close my eyes and pray. “Brenda?” the speaker calls her name again, confused. “Don’t […]
BRENDA – PART 6 (SEMI-FINALE)
BRENDA I wake up nervous. I didn’t sleep well all night because I kept having dreams about the Spelling Bee today. The dreams were bad – in most of them, I had embarrassed myself by not being able to speak, or starting to cry. I had woken up a couple of times to pee at […]
Are you Digitally Healthy?
We often talk about well-being, physical well-being, mental well-being, and even emotional well-being. What is well-being? Well-being refers to the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy. That being said, let us consider this thing called digital well-being. Up until a few weeks ago, I had no idea such a thing existed, but the moment […]
BRENDA – PART 5
MUM It is Wednesday evening when I decide to finally talk to my daughter. Three full days after the incident. I was fourteen when I realized I might have anger issues. Prior to that time, I had had episodes of fights with my siblings and even friends which my family had simply attributed to childish […]
BRENDA PART 4
BRENDA An invalid.I have Googled it over and over again since my fight with Mum.Google says:“a person made weak or disabled by illness or injury.” My mum and I have not said a word to each other since our fight two days ago. Apart from the normal greeting, I eat my food in silence, and […]
BRENDA – PART 3
MUM I am at the office when Brenda’s teacher calls. I usually exchange numbers with all her teachers because of emergencies. I want them to be able to reach me anytime if anything comes up regarding my daughter.In the past, I have developed a kind of friendship with some of her teachers, but nothing that […]
BRENDA – PART 2
My mum is such a cry baby, I think, as I let her wrap her arms around me. I think its because Daddy is gone. Four years is a long time, some people think, but really there is never a time when it is okay to say “stop missing your daddy, he’s been gone long […]
BRENDA – PART 1
When Brenda comes home with her Communication book and her teacher’s print-wòrthy handwriting saying that she has been selected to represent her class in a Spelling Bee, my first thought is…”what?” I don’t say it out loud, no, I do not often say a lot of my thoughts about my daughter out loud, mostly because […]
A Father’s Day Story
Fiyin hangs his head, leaning back against the car seat. He has been sitting in the car for almost an hour. He knows he should go inside. A part of him wants to go inside, but a part of him is terrified. It is the same part of him that lived in terror every day […]
ZEN & CATYA 2
ZEN I hate crowds, literally. It is one of the things I dread the most about working in a bank I do not like people so much. I have Googled it before, this phobia of mine, but I am yet to determine whether it is anthropophobia or social phobia. Sometimes, I get anxious just thinking […]