Why I Wrote the Stories ‘Online Dating Comes to Accra’ & ‘Virginia’s Triple Cocktail’

This is in response to students at Tampa University, USA, who are writing a comparative or thematic essay on some of the stories in my book entitled 'A Suitcase Full of Dried Fish and other stories'. They have been assigned one story from either my collection or that of Chimamanda Adichie's.Being my first book publication, the collection took me a considerable amount of time to compile. With the encouragement of some family members and friends, I was able to complete a work that might have ended up in the dusty pile of life's unfinished tasks. This is especially true in the light of the fact that I was born and raised in an environment where the culture of reading and writing wasn't common. So trying to write stories that might never be read by people was itself frustrating. It was like getting a training in a profession for which there was no employment. Nevertheless, the mere fact that I get mind-satisfaction from reading and writing kept me motivated to complete the writing of a book that has now been translated into Kiswahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, as 'Sanduku lililojaa samaki waliokaushwa na hadithi nyingine'. I wrote the story entitled ‘Online Dating Comes to Accra’ for three main reasons. Firstly, I wanted to show my readers the extent to which desperation can lead one to become vulnerable to deceit and infidelity. Secondly, I wanted to remind my readers that the charming looks of someone isn’t a predictable sign of his or her true character. Thirdly, and most-importantly, I wrote the story in order to emphasize the power of forgiveness. The protagonist, Afua, was desperate to find love, and probably revenge, after her husband, Agymah, abandoned her for another woman. The charming looks of deceitful and treacherous characters like Kofi, Mensah, Ted and Simba led her to believe that she could find true love, escape and solace in online dating. Instead, after her new-found exploit led to disappointments, she finally decided to forgive her husband. In the case of the story entitled ‘Virginia’s Triple Cocktail’, I wrote it in order to make four points. Firstly, I wanted to encourage my readers to be steadfast and to believe that in the midst of adversity, much could be achieved. Secondly, I wanted to highlight some of the consequences of prostitution and promiscuity. Thirdly, I tried to bring out the challenges being faced by those contending with the societal stigma associated with HIV and AIDS and the fact that the diseases can be cured. Lastly, I wanted to paint a picture of the poor environmental condition in a sprawling urban centre. The protagonist, Virginia, having being caught in the vicious circle of prostitution, and being HIV-positive, kept reminding herself and us all that in the midst of adversity, much could be achieved through righteousness and dedication. Even though she lived in an environment polluted by noise, filth, overcrowding, piracy, gambling, drug abuse, and insensitive characters like Mama Ehga and the pharmacist, yet Virginia emerged victorious.