For this week’s Fiction Friday we give you four short stories, written as part of the Writivism mentoring sessions held during the build-up to the announcement of the winner in June.
The Kalahari Review has published the following four pieces of flash fiction from the project:
- “Same Size Feet” by Wairimu Muriithi (South Africa/Kenya)
- “Tomorrow’s Burden” by Uzoma Ihejirika (Nigeria)
- “The Convenient Doctor” by Thato Angela Chuma (Botswana)
- “The Miners” by Helen Herimbi (South Africa)
Read the stories, written in consultation with established writers:
The Miners
by Helen Herimbi
Tssssssss.
He sucks his finger to suppress the stinging sensation. The furnace is open while he flicks the once-round burnt bread into brown bags. He stands in the street, in front of a sign saying Bob’s. There, a bin, bulging with debris, stands. He flings the black buns in and looks down the road. There, a pack of them roams.
Their faces Kiwi, their clothes a painter’s canvas gone coo-coo. Their hands, coarse like scourers, pull trolleys burdened with tchotchkes chucked out by ungrateful children and yuppies whose cheques still clear.
They are miners. Except they don’t go digging for gold or diamonds to earn a living. They search the streets for something to salvage then sell. A faulty kettle or a pair of metal hangers thrown out because they are bent. All of this helps them rustle up Randelas.
Image courtesy of Helen Herimbi