The Worn Wallet
Flash Fiction Story
by Nasreen Tamaa Zankawah
Though he looked familiar, Kojo had never met the man sitting in the corner of his rooftop terrace. He was naked and thumping the bricks as if they were hollow, and he didn’t have a wallet like the others. He didn’t speak to the other guests or bid on the auctioned champagne. Just like the past five years, Kojo had spent months organizing this year’s Wallet Party and was meticulous with his guest list. He didn’t want another climate change activist disguised as a waitress, hijacking the DJ’s mic and chanting the words, “Stop destroying our trees! Stop the madness!” as if it were a crime to own a successful sawmilling company at thirty. It would have been a crime if he hadn’t found the abandoned wallet at the Pra River six years ago, when he was on the verge of jumping in. Inside the wallet were four rough diamonds, faded receipts, and an identity card. Kojo embraced this newfound fortune and the identity of its owner. Though this rescued him from gambling debts, it ushered in insomnia and a keen awareness of the police.
“Why are you gaping?” Kanyiti, Kojo’s best friend, screamed into his ear, competing with J. Cole’s “I know she knows” blasting from the speakers.
“Your belly looks ready to burst! How many plates of kelewele and beef have you devoured already?” Kojo asked. Kanyiti chortled, slapped him on the back, and swayed away with a slender lady who deliberately danced into them. When Kojo’s attention drifted back to the strange man, he was gone. Beneath the chair where the man had been lay a wet wallet, and the gold chain around Kojo’s long neck tightened ever so slightly. Kojo flung the wallet that was clipped to his shirt and left the party in haste, shoving anyone who stood in his way and ignoring Kanyiti, who was chasing him and calling out his name.
Nasreen Tamaa Zankawah is a Ghanaian writer, a journalist and a mental health first aider. Her novel, “The Wild Rose,” was published by Malthouse Press, and her poem, “Fallen Vine,” appeared in Spillwords. She is the sole writer of her blog, nasreenzankawah.com, where she publishes short stories, nonfiction, poetry, and opinion articles. She is an alumna of the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she pursued a master’s in English with a concentration in creative writing.
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