THE WIN WITH A PRICE BY MARYCYNTHIA CHINWE OKAFOR

The Win With A Price Flash Fiction Review.

GENRE: FLASH FICTION
TITLE: THE WIN WITH A PRICE
WRITER: MARYCYNTHIA CHINWE OKAFOR, NIGERIA
REVIEWER: MARJORIE MOONO SIMUYUNI, ZAMBIA

The Win with a Price, just like its title is a tale of competition. The contest is between two football teams, which eventually entails a contest between father and son.

One team hires Kaluana, a sorcerer, to gather odds of victory in their favour, and on realising this, the other team hires his father, another sorcerer; Eleanya.
Here we find that blood is thicker than water, and therefore the competition between father and son becomes of more importance than that of the teams. Will they go against each other? Eleanya dares his son to drop the challenge, citing that an Ikuku, a strong wind will carry him, marking his end. To Kaluana, it's a laughing matter because the offer is too handsome to be passed on. That means father and son actually go head on.

Kaluana's team carries the day, and celebrates their victory. That, however was far from being the end of the story. The father-son rivalry still stood, and true to his word, Eleanya saw to it that Kaluana pays for his defiance.

Questions that linger are; is Eleanya victorious for getting rid of his son? Was Kaluana victorious by defying his father? Is it still victory if for it we have to harm our family? Footballing ought to be a talent, but are those who win through sorcery also worthy of being celebrated? Maybe or maybe not. But Okafor, through her well-thought out flash fiction, suggests that some victories are not worth it!