Jola Naibi

Writer and amateur photog. I seek to inspire and inform with the words I write and share and the photos I take. I have written a book of short stories: Terra Cotta Beauty, and I am working on a lot more. Reading and writing fuel my energy. In reading, I explore this vast and diverse world, in writing, I employ my over-active imagination and address the 'what-if' questions that life often throws at us.

Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta

By Jola Naibi on June 8, 2017

From start to finish the 10 stories in Chinelo Okparanta’s collection are beautiful in their simplicity, highlighting the little nuances of the Nigerian cultural experience.

In the bathroom, we first pour the bleach into the bucket only a quarter of the way full. Then we watch the water bubble out of the faucet. We inhale and exhale deeply and the sound of our breathing is weirdly louder than the sound of the running water. We caress the buckets with our eyes as if we are caressing our very hearts.