Nadège Kanku

In praise of a day going by. Teenagers arrive on bikes to walk down to a river embankment and while away the hours, swimming and feeling like the emperors of the universe. Folks a little older arrive at a house for lunch and conversations. The children are having fun in the concrete jungle between houses – a realm only they know. When darkness falls, soon only the teenagers remain, singing now and in a mood to make merry. Dawn will see their hangovers and their happy tears.

It's 10:47 pm on a bus somewhere in a city. A few teenagers are listening to music and talking loudly. The other passengers look languidly out the window or at their cell phones. A drunk man gets in and joins the teenagers; the mood starts to shift.