Welcome to April! Here’s to a second quarter with lots of thrills and amazing stories for us all. Over the past weeks, we have seen a lot of great work on the Iko Africa, and here is a selection of stories we loved here at HQ.

Sister-Friend are two words that a greatly alike. Karen George’s Sisterhood is a piece that explores friendships in all its delights and sorrows. 

Sixteen tells a story of friendship, loss and regret. A suicide mission at its best, a twist in the routine would mean a death. 

Moyisola Odunuga tells a heartbreaking tale in “4:37 p.m”. A train ride seems to open the gate of suppressed memories and old feelings. “Time is not so simple,” they write. When I saw you three years later on the train, I felt like I was dreaming.”

When you are in love or think you are in love, there are a few things that may be wrong with you. In  MENT OR MALARIA? Love Maybe it’s all three. This is Yomade’s love story.

“I  knew all these but chose to ignore them,” @Priscikoko writes, “If you ignore it, it'll go away right?”. 

In Ruth Andem’s Asa, the titular character lives in two worlds. She basks in the euphoria of a world she desperately craves and is unable to know what is real and what isn't. All she wants is for her world to be complete again, even if it means living with ghosts and voices in her head. This writer blurs the lines between grief and reality for a gut-wrenching tale. 

We are all different. Some may be too different, but there’s nothing a little love and patience cannot fix. A talented and autistic Gbenga tells the story of his worrisome childhood, recounting the years before his worldwide fame, not leaving out the hurt and pain before stardom. Oluwatoyin Odunuyi tells a story of love, family and patience. Read Here.

It’s often said that if you want a secret you must hide it from yourself. Praise Hena’s  Secrets Stitched in Time tells a story of forbidden love and the secrets that comes with such love. 

Stories are meant to be told, no matter how vague or small. We live our lives wanting to be seen or held. The question remains: Who tells your story? 

“ Our stories are like air; it always goes around without us doing anything.” Michelle writes “Even if you cannot tell your story to the world, find a deserving person to tell it to, that can tell it to the world .”

“I hoped they would get struck by lightning and go straight to hell”. 

There are a thousand and one things not to do in the rain, but seated by the window with a bitter heart is not one of them although sometimes it is excused. Drew’s What not to do in the rain tells the story of a lover who witnesses what is more painful than death. 

Thanks for reading and writing - Happy New Month.

Tarinabo Diete.

Iko Editorial