Novels by Sola Sanya

“I have the money now, I’ll give you this night,” Ibukun’s mother told her the evening of the next day, in a whisper so her father, who sat at the TV, scrolling through the channels, wouldn’t hear.Ibukun’s mood lifted. She was going to write the exam after all. That day, after she had sat through a terse thirty minutes with Niyi while studying, she had gone to Miss Antonia to ask her advice on certain aspects of filling her form, but all the while she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about how, if she wouldn’t write the SSCE exam, the money she had spent would be a sore waste, and wondering if it wouldn’t be more expedient to keep her cash. But, apparently, her worries were baseless. She started to smile and say thank you, but her mother had hurried from her side in a mouse-like manner.On the whole, it was a much better night then Ibukun had had since the beginning of the year. She felt lighter knowing that in less than 24 hours, she was going to be registered for the

Niyi was no stranger to hurt.Back in her primary school, it had been what she experienced the most; physical or emotional. She still had scabs all over her arms and legs she had been tripped, shoved and beaten, when her classmates thought it would be fun to “test” her and see if her eyesight was good enough to avoid the pranks they played on her. But worse than that had been the agony she felt from being friendless and alone, the one no one wanted to talk to, the one whose bad breath and dirty clothes deterred potential allies. And, back at home, without siblings or parents and with a very cruel maid, Niyi had always felt unwanted, unloved, like a mistake. Her earliest memories included watching her classmates get escorted to school by their own parents and wondering why she only saw hers about twice a month. And, after this, Niyi had had to come to terms with being blind by the age of eight, spend two years acclimating to the new disability, and finally move back to AHS t

Ibukun’s father punched her mother, and she went sprawling across the room to hit the wall at the other end, where she slid down and lay on the floor in an unmoving heap.“Mummy!” Tade shouted, and ran towards her, but she staggered to her feet before he even got to her side.“You’re raising your children fine,” he snarled in Yoruba. “One is a whore and another, a dullard. Well done.”Ibukun blinked back tears from her eyes as she also went to help her mother to her feet. The woman pushed her children gently away and turned to her husband. “Oko mi,” she started, but he turned to Ibukun and snarled, “If you get pregnant this night, better look for whom to take you in, because I won’t let you enter this house again.”It’s not your house, Ibukun thought as she placed her palm on Tade’s shaky shoulders, but she said nothing. For a while, they stood like that; she, Tade, and her mother on one side of the living room table, and her father on the other. And then with a fi

Ibukun’s father punched her mother, and she went sprawling across the room to hit the wall at the other end, where she slid down and lay on the floor in an unmoving heap.“Mummy!” Tade shouted, and ran towards her, but she staggered to her feet before he even got to her side.“You’re raising your children fine,” he snarled in Yoruba. “One is a whore and another, a dullard. Well done.”Ibukun blinked back tears from her eyes as she also went to help her mother to her feet. The woman pushed her children gently away and turned to her husband. “Oko mi,” she started, but he turned to Ibukun and snarled, “If you get pregnant this night, better look for whom to take you in, because I won’t let you enter this house again.”It’s not your house, Ibukun thought as she placed her palm on Tade’s shaky shoulders, but she said nothing. For a while, they stood like that; she, Tade, and her mother on one side of the living room table, and her father on the other. And then with a fi

Ibukun’s father punched her mother, and she went sprawling across the room to hit the wall at the other end, where she slid down and lay on the floor in an unmoving heap.“Mummy!” Tade shouted, and ran towards her, but she staggered to her feet before he even got to her side.“You’re raising your children fine,” he snarled in Yoruba. “One is a whore and another, a dullard. Well done.”Ibukun blinked back tears from her eyes as she also went to help her mother to her feet. The woman pushed her children gently away and turned to her husband. “Oko mi,” she started, but he turned to Ibukun and snarled, “If you get pregnant this night, better look for whom to take you in, because I won’t let you enter this house again.”It’s not your house, Ibukun thought as she placed her palm on Tade’s shaky shoulders, but she said nothing. For a while, they stood like that; she, Tade, and her mother on one side of the living room table, and her father on the other. And then with a fi

Ibukun’s father punched her mother, and she went sprawling across the room to hit the wall at the other end, where she slid down and lay on the floor in an unmoving heap.“Mummy!” Tade shouted, and ran towards her, but she staggered to her feet before he even got to her side.“You’re raising your children fine,” he snarled in Yoruba. “One is a whore and another, a dullard. Well done.”Ibukun blinked back tears from her eyes as she also went to help her mother to her feet. The woman pushed her children gently away and turned to her husband. “Oko mi,” she started, but he turned to Ibukun and snarled, “If you get pregnant this night, better look for whom to take you in, because I won’t let you enter this house again.”It’s not your house, Ibukun thought as she placed her palm on Tade’s shaky shoulders, but she said nothing. For a while, they stood like that; she, Tade, and her mother on one side of the living room table, and her father on the other. And then with a fi