GAD's Magazine

My mother, Mary Gadegbeku, stood against the wall of her and my dad’s bedroom, the bulk of her heavy stomach taking up most of the space in the room. She was panting as the first of the contractions hit her. On the horizon, the sun was rising, and there was already a lot of noise in the big compound from waking neighbours who had started their hustle and bustle for the day. My elder siblings, Bomboy, Mary, Genevieve, Cornelia, Leo, had already woken up and were carrying out their household chores: fetching water from…