Soldiers of the Stone by Uko Bendi Udo

Kulaja Giri pointed at his head and pulled the trigger. He flinched, and then relaxed when he realised that his hand was empty. The real gun was tucked underneath his pillow a few inches away. He uncoiled his trembling fingers and sighed dejectedly as beads of cold sweat marched down his dark chest. His arm dropped to his side like a snapped tree branch. He sucked in the warm bedroom air. It steeled his nerves. It wasn’t the same desperate African bush air he had inhaled in his dream a few minutes ago. Roforuwa, it was more than seven thousand miles away, yet he felt like he was back in it. When would he be free of it?

This story has been selected for the annual StoryTime anthology African Roar 2012, please go to the African Roar site for more info.

Soldiers of the Stone was written by Uko Bendi Udo.

Copyright © Uko Bendi Udo 2010.

First version published in Memories of Sun (HarperCollins 2003).

I’m a microbiologist by education, but can’t remember what the heck that word means now. Blame it on writing. I caught the bug in college (just before med school) and have been deliriously sick with it since (don’t want no doctor). I enjoy creating fiction, and would do it for zip. I was born and raised in Nigeria but now reside in the US.

I took some time off writing to start a family, and let me tell you, it’s far from what the books say. Being a papa to two precocious angels and husband to the most beautiful woman in the world is the hardest endeavour you’ll absolutely ever love and cherish. I like to read fiction populated by characters and settings I’m familiar with. When I’m not able to find such stories, I pick up my pen (or pencil) and write.

Craving for the opportunity to spend more time with my family I got out of the corporate world and now work with kids in the education field. I’ve published works of fiction and feature articles in newspapers and magazines here in the US and UK (The Beat, The Trumpet, etc). I’ve also written radio plays for a Los Angeles radio station (KPFK FM). I love traveling, and a peculiar habit of mine is to hop on public transportation at my place of destination and traverse the city and meet the people. Any other bus or train hoppers out there?

The Colours of Silence by Ifesinachi Okoli

PURPLE

I remember the first time dad slapped mum. I felt the contact on my cheek, hot and stinging as if I had been the one slapped. I heard – SPLAT! – the same sound as when I had clapped down my slipper on a mosquito on the wall. There had been blood smeared on my slipper like there was blood on mum’s split lip.

This story has been selected for the StoryTime anthology African Roar 2012, please go to the African Roar site for more info.

The Colours of Silence was written by Ifesinachi Okoli.

Copyright © Ifesinachi Okoli 2010.

Ifesinachi Okoli published her first novella Deep Regret in her teens, and many short stories since. She has a passion for arts and creativity, and hopes to carve a unique niche for herself in the literary world.

She has been a participant in the British Council Radiophonics’ workshop, the BBC World Service Trust Workshop and most recently, the Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop, which she admits exposed her to different styles of creative thinking and has encouraged her to find her own voice and style of writing.

She is currently working on a novel alongside pursuing a career in media/brand management.

Sheltering Hearts by Gothataone Moeng

Mma-Kgosi shredded the piece of chicken on her plate with her hands and poked her finger at the pink flesh saying, “it’s alive! It’s alive! How can we eat it while it’s alive? It’s going to jump up from the plate and run out this door!” In the kitchen where she was making the after-supper tea, Katlo sulked and listened for words which she knew were coming. She did not have to wait for long.

This story has been selected for the StoryTime anthology African Roar 2012, please go to the African Roar site for more info.

Sheltering Hearts was written by Gothataone Moeng.

Copyright © Gothataone Moeng 2010.

Gothataone Moeng is a freelance journalist and writer based in Gaborone, Botswana. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Media Studies from the University of Botswana, where she did a double major in TV and Video Production and Print Journalism. She is an aspiring filmmaker, and was a participant at the Berlinale Talent Campus 2009. She has written three episodes for a television drama series that is still in development.

Her story Singing in the Rain was published in Mslexia literary magazine (2005) and in Lemon Tea and other Stories from Botswana (Petlo Literary Fund, 2009). Who Knows What Season Tomorrow Brings was published in A Long Time Coming (Amabooks, 2009). Recently Lie Still Heart: Scenes from a Girlhood Devoured was published in The Bed Book of Short Stories (Modjadji Publishing, 2010). She is currently working on a collection of short stories.