I smell the imminence of my death. ‘’Finally!’ Today, we graduate from arwate girls to saale women ready for marriage. My fellow initiates beam, all of them looking forward to being 5th wives. But for me, death by the Miilika, to see Mama again, is utopia, as compared to a forcible wedlock. The promise of … Read more
As a frequent traveller to Okanowach, due to the nature of my work, I want to share what I’ve learned so far. To be able to visit Okanowach, you must lure it into existence, for this elusive place only makes its presence known to those who can reach it should they try. To get to … Read more
The day Nkatha fell began so unexceptionally ordinary in every way but for the warm, clear skies in the middle of July. The yellow sun above haloed bright over the snow-capped mountain so that everything its light touched gleamed in the startling hues of emerald and blue. And all about, stretched out far past the … Read more
Bukata blasted off in her family drifter, accelerating into Chepela’s sky at the planet’s teeth-rattling escape velocity. Gravity pushed her stiffly into her seat, triggering the drifter’s A.I. to take over the rushed flight to orbit. The universe’s dark, radiated womb greeted the drifter with a cushioning embrace as propulsion slowed. She was late for … Read more
“It seems to be working,” the man’s voice said. It sounded distant, with the reverberation of his voice echoing down a long empty corridor. The room was completely dark. Apart from the sounds of a few murmuring voices and the beeps and whirs of unseen machinery, everything was still. The air smelled unnaturally sterile and … Read more
The door is old. You can see it in the flaked black paint, rusted metal and in the design that has been out of fashion for nearly 15 years. Whenever anyone opens it, it is loud with creaks and groans and rattles. It is like an old man yelling at people who bother him long … Read more
The verandah steps were too steep for a safe passage. I sat with elbows propped on the armrests of my wheelchair. I was grateful that the drizzle had abated. From the foot of the raised verandah, I could hear the gentle throb of an African drum, counterpointed by the chook-chook of rattles and the sombre … Read more
The fear that she will leave sits and festers in the bottom of my stomach, wearing a hole right through me. It wakes me in the night. I sit up, gasping, hand over my mouth so she doesn’t stir beside me. I climb out of bed. I know I mustn’t. I know I’m meant to … Read more
Will This Be A Problem is proud to announce that issue 4 of the Will This Be A Problem Anthology will be released in April 2020. Eight new stories from writers across the African continent. There will be singular dystopian worlds, chilling horror landscapes, sprawling urban fantasy and mind bending science fiction concepts. We’ve put … Read more
Wherever you go, however much you change, some things will not. There are placeless, immortal, immoral things incapable of growing weary. You can start running away today. They will wait for you at the finish line. When I was six years old, my mother died. It had been raining the whole day. I was … Read more