Thwack! The first feel of the hardwood against my buttocks convinced me that I had just lost use of my legs. A sharply delivered second blow to my back immediately killed any sensory nerves I had so I did not know when I had received the rest of the six strokes. My hands seemed to lose the urge to live. My grip on the pole loosened and I sunk to the ground. Never in my twelve years of existence had I felt so much pain. I must have drifted into a swift doze because by the time Peter shook my shoulders, Joseph had flogged twelve of us and gone to his room.
‘A Cluster of Petals’ by Oluwaseyi Adebola makes the shortlist of 15 for this year’s #QuramoWritersPrize (QWP061)
