Best Short Narrative
Aisha is a dedicated wife trapped in a nightmarish marriage. Her husband, Bayo, is a man of two faces: charming in public, but verbally and physically abusive behind closed doors. Desperate for support, Aisha confides in her mother, hoping for guidance and comfort. Instead, her mother urges her to stay in the marriage and fight for it, believing that endurance is the key to a successful relationship.
As the abuse escalates, Aisha’s pleas to Bayo to change go unheard. Each confrontation leaves her more bruised and battered, both physically and emotionally. Her home, becomes a prison where fear and pain are her constant companions.
One fateful night, after a particularly violent argument, Aisha reaches her breaking point. In a desperate act of self-defense, she kills Bayo, ending years of torment in a single, irrevocable moment.
For the first time in years, she feels a strange sense of freedom and liberation.