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?