Tina Shot Me Between the Eyes and Other Stories

Antoinette Tidjani Alou

Description

“Tidjani Alou’s writing sketches the commonplace and the metaphysical, with heft, honesty, and audacity. The range is compelling, as she takes us through lives in places as diverse as Accra and Niamey. The prose is deft, her metaphors sting with accuracy. This is a writer to think and feel with.” – Emmanuel Iduma, editor, Saraba Magazine.
A grandmother with a food-induced encounter, an ecclesial romance with a tomcat set in the throes of uncertain times, eating and drinking for freedom, wife battery under the watchful eyes of communal love, desperately seeking lovers burdened by violent pasts, and a woman taking liberty after nine children with nine husbands are some of the characters and stories in Antoinette Tidjani Alou’s debut fiction collection.
In fifteen formidable lyrical prose, Tina Shot Me Between the Eyes explores how the self is shaped and transformed by the knots we yearn to tie around ourselves: familial, spousal, parental, and societal. It tackles how we struggle in relationships for nourishment and fulfilment, and how connections could kill us and how we could kill to survive – a potent force for understanding humanity and the nuances of acts of violence, tolerance, faith and love.
Antoinette Tidjani Alou did her undergraduate studies at the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus, Kingston) and her postgraduate studies at the University of Bordeaux (France). She is a Professor of French and Comparative Literature and Director of the Arts and Culture Programme at the Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, in Niger where she has lived for more than two decades. An independent translator, she has published several articles and books. Writing in both French and in English, covering life­writing, poetry and short stories.

Sujets

• Diasporas
• Afro-Caribbean
• Niger
• Genre

Informations

• Publié par: Amalion
• Date de parution: 12 novembre 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 5
• EAN13: 9782359260731
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Antoinette Tidjani Alou TINA SHOT ME BETWEEN THE EYES and Other Stories

Tina Sot Me Between te Eyes and Oter Stories

About te autor

Jamaîcan-born Antoînette Tîdjanî Aou teaces Frenc and Comparatîve îterature at te Unîversîté Abdou Moumounî de Nîamey în Nîger, were se as îved or more tan two decades. Se wrîtes în Engîs and în Frenc, coverîng îe-wrîtîng, poetry and sort storîes.

Tina Sot Me Between te Eyes and Oter Stories

Antoinette Tidjani Alou

Publised by Amalion Publising 2017

Amalion Publising BP 5637 Dakar-Fann Dakar CP 10700 Senegal www.amalion.net

Copyrigt © Antoinette Tidjani Alou

ISBN 978-2-35926-072-4 PB ISBN 978-2-35926-073-1 Ebook

Cover image, a detail ofIqra(2016) by Omar Ba “Bao”. Used by permission and courtesy of te artist.

All rigts reserved. No part of tis publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, witout permission in writing from Amalion Publising, nor be oterwise circulated in any form of binding or cover tan tat in wic it is publised.

Contents

Tina Sot Me Between te Eyes

Odds and Ends

Eigteent Sunday in Ordinary Time

Eating and Drinking and Raising Hell

December Evenings

Magda

Into te Dark

Walking Baby

Rosanna Goes Sopping

Sleeping wit te Doll

he Dance

Karim

Granpa Josep

Woman to Woman

he Trip Back Home

2

7

3

29

4

6

6

2

7

5

85

92

94

101

104

112

117

123

134

Tina Sot Me Between te Eyes

îna sot me between te eyes. ï soud ave seen ît comîng, was T and away rom my body. ïn a state o sock, ïcataputed up but ï adn’t. ïn an epîpany o red, ï dîscovered tat ï ad gone too ar. hen paîn, too, went away as ï gused out, resîsted te bue îgt. ï coud not eave. ï overed obstînatey above te scene. ï înger stî. ït îs Tîna wo arrests me. ï wîs ï coud ask er wy se dîd tat. ï wîs ï coud te er ît’s ok. hat ï don’t mînd, reay, tat ï ony want to understand. Atoug ï am cose enoug to reac out and touc er, se too as moved beyond me. he scaes ave sîted. ï am ere and not ere. ï can no onger înLuence er or roug er up or gente er or persuade er or do anytîng or or agaînst er. Se as become strong and aone and unatomabe. Se îs rozen, now. Standîng. Her ands are angîng by er sîde. he gun îs stî în er and; a pretty, emînîne, eta îtte tîng. Tîna does not cur up în a corner, unkered down on te Lufy bed- room mat îke se used to wen ï woud ît er and ca er names – a te names în te book. A te names except te ones tat were sîent în my eart, or stuck at te back o my troat. A te names o Tîna îke a tîck coatîng on my sow tongue. A o er names tat woud not soug of îke a sordîd conessîon: ‘ï ove you Tîna, baby, kîtten, so take tîs and tîs!’ Tîna îs brown and tîn a over except or er ace, wîc îs sarp and sot at once. Sarp în te centre, sot în te ceeks, strangey rounded on eîter sîde o tat pîxîe nose, tat poînted cîn, tose pîercîng dark eyes wîc îgnîte wen se augs or teases. For se

8 • ANTOINETTE TIDJANI ALOU

used to aug and tease. Sometîmes. he îgt îs gone out now and se îs pae. But se îs not cryîng. Se îs sîttîng on te bed. ï’m a mess on te Loor. My bood and braîns a over te pace. ï ook îke an expoded bady boîed egg, wît no pretty god yok. My eyes are stî tere, wîd. My sma mout îs wîde open în sock. ï’m on my back, spayed. ït’s kînd o unny. ï mîss Tîna aready. ï want to caress er ceeks. he ceeks ï ad earnt to sap. To enjoy sappîng. But ï Ind tat ï can’t. ït’s te ony tîng tat boters me. hat and ow we got ere în te Irst pace. Wy se ost ît. Wy se dîd ît. How? But se îsn’t ookîng at me. Se îs starîng at te wreck în te bedroom. hîs îs îke a dream. Were anytîng goes. Not a bad dream, reay. But, în trut, ît îs not a dream at a. ï can see tat. ï wî never agaîn be abe to wake up and touc Tîna’s ace în anger or ove. For ï oved er, you know. ï reay dîd. But ï, too, ost ît. ït dîd not appen a at once. No. Once, îe was amost perect. Not quîte, but tat was because o Tîna. ït was as î er nature coud not absorb perectîon so se drew a îne deîneatîng ow muc ap- pîness se coud admît. ï accepted er strangeness, avîng decîded tat ît was part o er carm. ï am not sure ow Tîna and ï got togeter în te Irst pace. ï do not understand ît even now as my îe, or rater ers, Lases în ront o me. ‘Fases în ront o me’ îsn’t quîte rîgt, but ï can’t pursue tat now. ït’s not a Las îs a ï can say. he sot between my eyes was a Las. hîs sometîng ï am experîencîng îs dîferent. And ï am rîgt însîde ît, adîng, but attracted stî. Two back sîny magnets od me ere. hey pu me în agaînst temseves, îrresîstîby. ï do not try to resîst. ï do not want to. here îs deep însîgt now. Speed, but no ury. No rus. A Las o vîsîonîng were tîme îs no onger te tîng tat counts. Now, a tîme were oter tîngs appen oterwîse; a weîgîng up tat

TINA SHOT ME BETWEEN THE EYES •9

weîgt and densîty ave gone. ït’s cam. ït’s a tere. Tîna and ï, trougout te years, toug years no onger count. houg...

ït was at te Young Peope’s Retreat at Oberîn. Everybody în te Communîty caed ît te Sînges’ Retreat. hîs name was supposed to be a secret. ït was a very înectîous one, îke so many oter tîngs în our Communîty,teîrCommunîty, were ît was amost împos- sîbe to keep anytîng to yourse. How Tîna got to be a member în te Irst pace îs a mystery în îtse. Se îs pîous but aso very prîvate. Not overLowîng and warm îke most o te sîsters and broters. You can te tat rom te way se ugs, te way se smîes. he opposîte o arry’s bear ug or Sondra’s metîng embrace, er sot breasts agaînst your cest or a o tîrty seconds. ï ad taîed ît many a tîme. ït was not ony because ï am a peope watcer, not ony because te Communîty was a ovey zoo. ï say ‘was’, not because ît as ended, but because ater a wîe ï coudn’t take ît and et, sîck o a te oîness, a te togeterness. he Famîy Days. he Prayer Caîns. he Young Peope’s outîngs. ït was at one o tose tat ï Irst started to tînk about Sondra and to notîce wom se was uggîng and or ow ong. Se was warm and reguar, Sondra-Mîss-hîrty-Seconds, and sweet and înnocent, too. Se coud aford to be, or se ad never ugged erse. Dîd ï eventuay decîde tat se was not my type? Dîd God? Or was ît Coîn, now er usband, or Sondra erse, wo ad taken ate în and? Wo ad sent me untîng or anoter potentîa mate în te sma woods o te Communîty? Dîd ï at some poînt decîde tat Tîna was my type? Had se ever been my type? Tîna was notîng îke Sondra.Isnotîng îke Sondra, not tat ï know wat Sondra îs îke, reay. ï don’t mean absoutey. ï ound out soon enoug, rom îvîng wît Tîna, ater we were marrîed, tat