Bang The Drum Slowly

"Please… stop pushing. I can't move." The concert crowd was packed and restless, bodies pressed tightly together. I found myself too close to the girl in front of me. She wore a short skirt that brushed against me every time the crowd surged. What caught my attention was how close we were: the faint warmth of her body through the thin fabric made my pulse quicken. For a brief moment, I thought I felt her react too, as if she sensed the same strange tension hanging between us.

After the car accident, one of the Johnson sons was dead and the other gravely injured. When my devout, devoted husband woke up in the hospital, he called out, "Dorothy." He claimed that his body then held the soul of his brother, Elias Johnson. I went mad, calling doctors, priests, anyone I could, desperate to bring my husband back. It was not until that night that I overheard his conversation with our son: "Father, you've loved aunt for years. You even kept yourself chaste in your private prayer room, waiting. Now, finally, you can be with her openly." The man in the bed reached out to stroke our son's hair. "If it weren't to stop your mother from destroying her relationship, I wouldn't have married her." I hid in the shadows, still reeling from their words, when I saw what happened after our son left. The husband I had always known, icy, composed, and ascetic to maintain his devout faith for seven years, was then holding his sister-in-law close on that tiny hospital bed, sharing a warmth meant for lovers. The next day, I applied for Jim Johnson's death certificate and burned our marriage certificate. At his grand wedding, I climbed aboard the helicopter sent to fetch me. However, my once-cold husband went mad, chasing after us down several streets, desperate and unhinged.

When two broken hearts meet, they find their missing part in each other. Two people carrying different tragic stories met each other by fate. One who wants to cage herself in her memories, and the other one who wants to be free and bury his memories. What happens when fate starts to play with them? In a midst of chaos, Cassidy Amber found herself captivated through the beat of his drums. With every beat and every thump; she follows its rhythm. Together, they synchronized with each creating a song from their heartbeats.

This is a poignant and sensory rich coming of age story set in the vibrant, bustling heart of Lagos. It follows Tobi, a young boy trapped behind a barrier of selective muteness, whose internal world is a vivid "library of stories" that he cannot vocalize. ​The narrative explores the transformative power of art and the deep, ancestral bond between Tobi and his Grandpa. When Grandpa gifts him a set of professional art supplies and the secret name Soji ("The One Who Wakes the World"), Tobi finds a new medium for his voice. By transforming a weathered neighborhood shed into a massive, multi textured mural blending brilliant acrylics with the rich fabrics of his heritage. Tobi finally bridges the gap between his silent exterior and his thunderous spirit. Ultimately, the story is a celebration of finding one's "truth," proving that silence isn't a prison when you have the courage to let your colors shout.

Andy Williams is a nineteen year old Senior struggling to balance her school life, after hours job and moonlighting as a rock star. When her band is booked to do the end of term concert her cover is blown and she struggles to cope with the groupie, who just happened to be her Mathematics teacher, Miss Gweneviere Sheldon.Her English teacher, Miss Preston, offers to tutor her during the holidays and they start to get really close, perhaps too close? Uncomfortable with the situation Miss Preston calls everything off and sends Andy spiralling into a world of alcohol and drugs.Andys band tries to help Andy get over Miss Preston but ends up making the situation worse. Andy rethinks her actions during a couple of days in the hospital, she quits the band, changed her school schedule and starts extra Mathematics lessons to make up for lost time.She makes new friends, finds a new job. Her life seems to be back on track when a tragic accident happens on a school trip that leaves Andy temporarily paralyzed.She makes it through with the help of family and friends and reconnects with the band. With a little hard work Andy graduates and is free to pursue Miss Carol Preston.

Held Light, Held Close follows Celeste Bradbury, a quiet, disciplined young woman who arrives in New York to work with the world-famous band Luminous Riot. Raised in the hush of convent halls and foster homes, Celeste has learned to survive by moving gently, listening closely, and building her life out of small, steadfast rituals. But the music world is loud, chaotic, and unkind—especially under the sharp eye of Paul Logan, the band’s volatile lead singer who meets her composure with relentless mockery. As weeks turn into months, Celeste maintains her quiet routines, her faith, and her dignity despite the storm around her. She becomes a still point in the band’s restless orbit—an anchor none of them expected, and a mirror that reveals what each member is running from. Through rehearsals, touring, backstage politics, deadlines, and private battles the world never sees, Celeste’s presence begins to shape the group in ways that defy explanation. The House She Built is a story of chosen family, slow-burn transformation, unspoken tenderness, and the quiet power of a woman who refuses to break—even when the world demands it. It is about the sanctuary we build within ourselves, and the imperfect people we let inside.