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ABA IS A STORY (a short story by Jaachi Anyatonwu)

Read Time:1 Minute, 17 Second

Aba is a street in Ogbor Hill at that time of the year when heaven weeps copiously on my rooftops – at every two-pole sits a puddle, tadpoles dance offbeat to the melody of nature for the digestive delights of wandering chickens.

Aba is an aerial view of Owerri-Aba – a cluster of brown roofs spread across her plain expanse. Happy kids behind television screens staring at their faint reflections; no power.

Aba is Ohanku road, by all loved – lying stale like the carcass of an old lady begging for flowers dipped in tar, and a hand to mend the broken edges of her tombstone lest vibrant souls navigate carefree into the potholes that decorate her lane.

Aba is Ariaria – a hood lined with merchants coming and going, acclimatized to the beautiful mess of their neighbourhood, & inhaling the aroma of money exchanged for wares fashioned with crude tools by hands that were dipped in empty piggybanks before cockcrow.

Aba is a story in motion pictures, 
no commercial break, 
story-blend of neo and retro that has no end. 

So, on and on it reels, the wheel of time, churning out plot twists of a beautiful mosaic of everything good, bad, ugly – Aba!



JAACHI ANYATONWU is a poet, editor, and publisher living in the suburbs of Aba. He is passionate about discovering new voices and mentoring emerging poets. He is also a fierce advocate for the boy child and sexually molested. He is @jaachianyatonwu on Facebook and Twitter and @jaachi_anyatonwu on Instagram.

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