Victor Ugochukwu Okonkwo @victorugochukwu

My family always gathered in our living room to watch movies. My dad would usually sit in his favorite chair, located at the center of other cushions. No one dares to sit on it while he's in the sitting room.

We were still using what we called cartridges back then. I remember how we would select through the pile of cartridges trying to find "Igodo" our favourite movie.

The cartridge is inserted into the ... I can't remember what that one is called again.
To me, those were the good old days when high quality movies were produced in terms of educational and motivational before CD-ROMs, GoTV, or DSTV became part of our lives.

We sometimes called these cartridges cassettes, but whatever the name is, they held the power of good story in them. Each movie had a lesson to teach, and it felt like every actor on screen was wise beyond their years, the likes of Pete Edochie, Osuofia, Nkem Owoh, Keneth Okonkwo, Gentle Jack, Chika Ike, Chioma Chukwuka, Chinwetalagu and many more. Every scene had an interesting story to tell they were not just filling space, like the recent directors do.
I didn't know a lot then but as much as I could remember, back in those days, stories that were more than just entertainment were made.

My siblings and I would sit on the floor, captivated, while our parents shared the couch. The fun of sitting on the floor had this soft comfort that satisfies us as we glued to the television.

Tonight, the results of the hamster airdrop finally came in, and my neighbors were celebrating like they’d just won the lottery. They were overjoyed, claiming they had become rich. Meanwhile, I only got 500 coins because I joined the process too late. Honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed.

I’ve missed a lot of these airdrops in the past, but tonight really hit me hard. Everyone was talking about how much they got, and I was just there feeling left out. It’s tough when you know you could have done better if you’d acted earlier.

The noise in the compound was overwhelming. People couldn’t stop talking about their big wins, and it was all I could hear.

Still, life goes on. Even though I didn’t get as much as the others, I’ll keep pushing forward. There will be other opportunities, and next time, I’ll be ready. I’ll just take this as a lesson learned.

when I was a little boy, we were playing outside when it started raining. the sky became very dark. my friends and I were playing outside and knew it was time to run inside the house.

Inside, we could hear loud thunder sounds that was kind of scary.
Suddenly, we heard a woman scream. It was a scared voice. We looked at each other with big eyes. We wanted to know who screamed, so we decided to find out but until the rain ended.

When we heard the lady scream again, We hurried outside again as my mother dashed out first to go and check out what it was, running through the rain.
When we got there, we saw her in her room, holding her ears. She looked very afraid.

She was our close family friend, Mama Nkechi. She told us that the lightening had struck her while she was on a call with her son.

We helped Mama Nkechi get dressed and decided to take her to the hospital, not we oo, it was my mother making the moves while we supported. We all held her hands and walked carefully in the rain to the nearest chemist shop.

In the next few weeks, Mama Nkechi got better and always thanked us.
Ever since then, me personally, I fear to take a call while it's raining or there's any form of lightening on the sky.