(On the COVID-19 Lockdown)
A potent fear lurks behind my composure and smile as I leave, my neighbors cheering, clapping, calling me a hero. It stretches forth and consumes me little by little through the journey, until I’m fully engulfed by the time I arrive at the hospital.
It’s a long time to hold one’s breath, but I can only breathe at work’s end. A little boy in torn clothes stands behind my car, no mask, no gloves, looking dirty. I reach into my bag and offer him some.
‘Mask and glove useless for street, madam. Na house to sleep I need,’ he says.
[A flash fiction piece also exhibited as a multimedia piece designed by Su’ur Su’eddie Vershima Agema at The Optimist’s Incomplete exhibition and part of the Heritage Day, as part of the Benue Book and Arts Festival at the DH Lawrence Birthplace Museum, Eastwood, Nottingham on 12 September 2026]
