The Silent Half
The Silent Half episode 6
Episode 6: The Day I Chose MyselfA Coolvalstories Original I didn’t wake up with a fire in my belly. I didn’t wake up angry. I just woke up… different. The same chores were waiting. The same little voices fighting over slippers. The same dirty plates in the sink. Nothing changed. Except me. I was done […]
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Episode 5: A Room Full of Noise, and Still So AloneA Coolvalstories Original The twins were fighting again. Over a pencil this time. One had sharpened it, the other had claimed it. Within seconds, it escalated into screaming and slapping. Cries echoed through the small sitting room as I stirred egusi soup on the gas […]
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Episode 4: Not Just a Mother, Not Just a WifeA Coolvalstories Original There’s a lie they don’t say out loud, but we all hear it anyway:“A good woman should be satisfied with a roof over her head, children by her side, and a man who doesn’t cheat.” That’s the Nigerian gospel of womanhood. So when […]
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Episode 3: A Body That Never Rests, A Heart That’s Always WaitingA Coolvalstories Original Some days, it feels like my body is no longer mine. It belongs to the children—arms stretched out to carry, back bent from lifting, breassts emptied from nursing, knees worn from scrubbing, feet swollen from standing for hours. It belongs to […]
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Episode 2: The Work That Never EndsA Coolvalstories Original The alarm buzzed at 4:30am. I didn’t need it — my eyes were already open. Not from excitement, but habit. My body knew what the day required before my brain caught up. Another Monday. Another beginning to the same unending loop. I slid out of bed […]
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The Silent Half
Episode 1: What They Don’t SeeA Coolvalstories Original Nobody really prepares you for motherhood in Nigeria. You think it’s just about breastfeeding and changing diapers. Nobody talks about the part where you start losing your name. Your ambition. Your self-worth. My name is Amaka. Well, it used to be. These days, I’m mostly called “Mummy […]
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