Items by Mwangi Ichung'wa
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SEVERANCE
Posted: October 19, 2010, 12:49 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
The man was under observation from the moment he got out of the HoverCruiser outside the seedy little hotel on Kirinyaga Street. Here, the sunlight did not quite reach the ground, condemning the whole place to a state of diurnal semi-twilight. He looked up towards the sky and all he saw were the shadows of [...] -
NETFLIX
Posted: July 26, 2010, 3:12 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
It’s three o’clock in the afternoon. It is swelteringly hot in the city, and dusty. Very dusty. It should rain soon, or the streets will choke. The air, fetid from burst sewers and rotting trash in the gutters, ripples with noise; from matatus, the market stalls’ blaring music and human voices. Everyone is in a [...] -
CONVO NUMBER TWO
Posted: July 8, 2010, 6:40 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
“Wait a minute, did you said your name was Kagiri?” “Yes.” “Are you by any chance related to Big Jim Kagiri?” “Yes, he’s my father.” “He’s your father?” “I just said that.” “You have quite the smart mouth on you, don’t you young man?” “And you have quite the redundant questions in yours, old man.” [...] -
CONVO
Posted: July 8, 2010, 6:39 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
“Forget all that they have said to you. It is lies.” “They are.” “What?” “You said ‘it is’. Since it’s ‘all they’ve told me’, then it’s plural right? So, ‘they are lies’.” “Er, alright then. Forget it anyway. You cannot trust anything they say at this point, you hear?” “Yes, I hear.” “Good. Then let’s [...] -
BYE BYE BIMA
Posted: July 8, 2010, 6:38 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
“You don’t want to do this!” the man shouted, waving his arms in emphasis. “Move,” said the man with the gun. “Otherwise they’ll go right through you.” The man in front of the car waved his arms harder. “There has to be another way!” he screamed. A small crowd had gathered off to the side, [...] -
THEY LOOK LIKE DIAMONDS
Posted: April 16, 2010, 12:08 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
They look like diamonds. That was the first thought in Peter’s mind as he looked at the large ice cubes floating about in his whisky glass. They caught the light in an oily yet vibrant way that he was finding progressively amazing the more he studied it. He took another sip and leaned back in the [...] -
I AM DUST
Posted: December 16, 2009, 8:49 am by Mwangi Ichung'wa
It is half past six in the evening. The Indians and the Kikuyus and the Arabs have all closed up shop as the Man with No Name shuffles his way down Accra Road to his workplace. He is ageless, his face stoic, partly hidden in a sweaty balaclava and set against the world’s assault on [...] -
THE MEET
Posted: October 19, 2009, 5:16 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
The wind blew bits of paper and grit over the desolate loading dock in the dark railway warehouse complex, buffeting the watchman’s small fire and threatening to blow it out. He cursed as he added kindling to the waning flame, wishing he was at home in the arms of his young wife, safe and warm. [...] -
FUCK THE POLAR BEAR
Posted: September 11, 2009, 3:27 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
Paul tossed away the lighter in disgust after the fourth futile try. He rose from the seat and went into his tiny kitchen to get a matchbox. “You need to get them Bic lighters, man,” drawled Jacob from his position on the carpet. He was lying on his back facing the ceiling, blowing a series [...] -
SPILT MILK
Posted: August 31, 2009, 3:19 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
The milk sprayed into the bucket with a sound like rain on a tin roof. Kamau pressed his forehead on the warm flank of the cow as his fingers squeezed the milk out of the swollen udder and thought about nothing. It was quiet in the cowshed, this early in the morning. The sun was [...] -
CENTRAL LOCKING
Posted: August 26, 2009, 2:10 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
The Benz switched lanes again, swaying on its tired suspension. Jane wished the driver would slow down as they hurtled towards a busy junction whose traffic light was on its way to red. “Could you, you know, drive a bit slower?” Jane asked in a small voice. “There is no fire.” The driver didn’t speak. [...] -
DIRT ROAD
Posted: August 26, 2009, 2:09 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
“I thought I told you not to call me at work!” Kimani was flustered. He had stepped out of an important meeting in the boardroom for what his secretary told him was an urgent phone call. “Why?” the teasing voice at the other end of the line asked mockingly. “Because I’m a busy man. Don’t call me here, [...] -
SIFTING
Posted: August 26, 2009, 11:25 am by Mwangi Ichung'wa
The morning is slow and the air is cold and wet. The droplets of a thin impotent drizzle cling to people’s faces and clothing like frost. The place smells like a damp dog. The man standing at the roadside decides to cross the street to get to the small coffee and sandwich shop. The traffic [...] -
THE FALL
Posted: August 26, 2009, 11:23 am by Mwangi Ichung'wa
Njuguna woke with a start. Something had scratched his left forearm. Not a scratch really, it felt more like a firm running of fingernails across the skin. He sat up in the large circular bed, sweating, convinced that someone or something was in the room with him. This was the fourth time he had been [...] -
THE LEDGE
Posted: August 26, 2009, 11:21 am by Mwangi Ichung'wa
The wind is biting. It whips across my chest, changing direction every second; like a maniacal surgeon running razor blades across my torso. It’s dark and the promise of rain hangs heavy in the sky. My feet are getting numb from the cold. I’m glad it’s my feet. I’ll get worried when my fingers follow [...] -
TRAFFIC INCIDENT
Posted: February 12, 2009, 2:21 pm by Mwangi Ichung'wa
The tea girl stumbled on the raised, badly installed door frame of Inspector Mwiki’s office and a little tea spilled from the cups onto the tray. Mwiki frowned but said nothing. She set the tray on the edge of his crowded little desk and left quickly, mumbling an apology on her way out. Chief Inspector [...]
Blah blah blah
Fish cakes
Alas a fish cake.
Yet more fish cakes
Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.
The end of the fish cakes
