Happy almost new year!!! It’s two hours to the new year in my part of the world š Let me know if you’ve already crossed over to the new year! Geography rocks! šš½
Here’s another beautiful A-Z Thanksgiving list from the entries received. Remember you can still send your A-Z Thanksgiving list to contact@daintym.com. Let’s do this!
Too many waters have indeed passed under this bridge. The red-brown of walls and hues of indigo on paths to dyersā homes have become the stuff of funerals, the despondent and those dreadful workplaces.
It has been three days since the burial and ten since I found my youngest sonās body in a pool of faeces and vomit. I have grown tired of being asked how my heart is faring. How does a heart fare at times like these?
My oldest child would not look me in the eye; he fears I may recognize the mix of grief and relief hisā carry. If only he would look cautiously, he will see that it is not his secret alone to keep. I wear mine in dark corners of rooms.
Efuna, I do not pine for you. We made a pact we both must honour.
Adulthood makes fools of us all; it makes martyrs of some and beasts of others and we each have a hand in which we become. You should have chosen carefully. My child, a womanās life is difficult. She bears the weight of her childrenās choices. It is only fitting that she be allowed a veto in such lives; adults or not.
So I strolled into your room and requested your audience, I said to you āa childās fingers are not scalded by the piece of hot yam which his mother puts into his palmā, I presented you the empty calabash; that ancient symbol of a peopleās desire for a life that has outlived its usefulness. In a final demonstration of self-piety and perhaps cynicism, you accepted and here we are. Why the tugging?
Efuna, I am the mother-duck that has left behind her corrupted late-budding duckling. It is the way of things that surround us.
*****
Here is another lovely story by one of my friends Ā for a competition. Please vote for her by clicking here.Ā
PS: Iām dedicating the Fiction Friday Posts in November to my friends who wrote for the competition. Please be kind and vote for the stories you like. 
Thank you! 
Have a pleasant weekend!
~M.
After a long and tiring day at work, you quickly finish your dinner and other routine chores so you can go to bed early just to have a good 8-hour long sleep. Instead, you end up tossing and turning, thinking about the new project that’s about to start or the weird thing that your boss said and before you know it, it’s already 2 am. When you haven’t slept enough the next morning youāre tired and fatigued and that results in poor productivity and inefficiency at work. Don’t you just wish you knew a magic trick to simply shut off your mind from these unnecessary random thoughts and go to sleep as soon as you hit the pillow? Well, we have a solution, Meditation! Read more
The name is My Name.
Iām a man. Iām a good man, I think I am. Yeah, I should be. I try to be a good person. And I hope with Godās grace I will be. I live a calm and happy life. Calm in the way that I like it. Comfortable enough for me. Yeah, a good life. I want the good things of life; yeah I do, who doesnāt? While trying not to cross over to the other side- lust. I pray for Grace.
I want to make the whole world a better place, and I believe Iām working towards it, with grace on my side; a whole lot of her, LOL. I think I just wrote down āLOLā for the first time in my life on paper. I have a grin on my face right now mehn… Read more
‘Your education is that one whistle waiting to be blown. As soon as you wear the gown, your life begins in a grand style.’Ā That has always been my mum’s anthem.
āEarn a degree before anything else. The future kicks off as soon you do.ā
I’m a few minutes away from earning my much revered bachelor’s degree and guess what?Ā Read more
Previously on The Fixer of Broken Dreams
Three long months. Three months of silence, of sleeping apart, of slamming doors and empty stove tops. Ani had lost so much weight that her hair was starting to fall out in clumps. Gabe had still not spoken to her and she was so tired, her bones were weary. She felt like she had lost her husband along with her child. 7: 55 am; Saturday morning. I have to at least make my hair, she thought to herself and she managed to get dressed and gather her hair products for the salon.
She wore her over sized shades to hide the bags under her eyes so she couldn’t see Gabe walking into the kitchen and she walked smack into him. Her first reaction was to apologize to him and walk away but she was tired and oh Lord she had missed her husband. So she stood right where she was. Gabe apparently was as tired as Ani because he didn’t move away either. And for the first time in three months he put his arms around his wife and they stood together, clinging to each other for what felt like forever. Finally, the tears came and for the first time they cried about their daughter and talked about her. Ani finally had a chance to explain to Gabe that Enoās death was nobodyās fault, that she had checked on her before going downstairs to pack his lunch and she was sound asleep. āThese things happenā, the Doctor said. They were just unfortunate it happened to them.
After what felt like an eternity, their house started to feel like home again. Gabe ate his dinner and he carried his lunch to work. He was still sleeping in the guest room but it wasnāt radio silence anymore. They talked, watched the news together and life was gradually returning to normal. Ani smiled at herself in the mirror, it felt so good be laughing instead of crying. Her cheeks were rounder and her eyes had regained their sparkle. She turned off the light and went to bed but she couldn’t sleep, she missed Gabe sleeping beside her so she got up, gathered all her courage, went down stairs to the guest bedroom to meet her husband, and that was the last time Gabe slept in the guest room. All her prayers were being answered, one by one. Her little angel was definitely looking out from heaven. Gabe and Ani could walk into Enoās nursery without falling apart, they started going to church again and the laughter had returned to their home.
It was Gabeās thirty-fifth birthday and their fifth wedding anniversary. Ani was in the mood to celebrate and throw a party, but Gabe didn’t want any noise, he just wanted a quiet evening at home with no fuss and that was fine. Ani smiled to herself with a twinkle in her eyes because she had the perfect birthday/ anniversary gift for her darling husband. When Gabe walked in from work on his birthday, he had one thought. The house smelled amazing. Ani had gone all out; she baked him his favorite coconut cake and made his favorite meal and she had colorful balloons and a giant birthday card. In that moment, Gabe was so grateful for this second chance that God so graciously gave to them as he kissed his wife hello.
So they ate, and they drank, and he read his card and they ate some more and then she handed him a white sheet of paper that was wrapped around two sticks. Gabe opened the paper and the two blue sticks fell out, with pink plus signs on them, she was pregnant! Gabe fell on his knees and cried and Ani knelt with him and cried with him, and through their tears they managed to say a deep prayer of gratitude to the God that had healed their broken hearts, restored their marriage and bestowed upon them a new beginning, a new child, a new dream. You see, God is a fixer of broken dreams…
Written by Adaugo from Adaugo Diary.
PS: I hope you enjoyed this amazing series by the gorgeous Adaugo. She writes beautifully on every aspect of life, love, God and everything in between. You’ve gotta check out her blog! šĀ Thank you again Adaugo for making our August fabulous with this!Ā
PPS: Please remember you can still submit stories or articles in line with the vision of this blog. Submissions can be made to contact@daintym.com. Gracias!Ā God bless!
Have a fruity weekend! š
Dainty M. 