Your story has a clear conflict and a very nice resolution, @onyirichicarton. That is something we always look for in a good story.

We have a tip for you. When you write a story, it's best to pick your main character, or "MC." The MC is the one whose eyes we see through as the story progresses. (This is called the point of view, or "POV.") We understand that character's motivations, desires, and challenges. Without establishing who the MC of the story is, your readers don't know which character to care about most. And this leads to a less engaging and compelling experience with the story.

Here's an example, where the POV changes between the characters, so we don't know if this is Nneka's story or Emeka's story.

Nneka gazed at Emeka with sadness in her eyes, her ebony skin glowing in the evening light. She could sense the seriousness in his tone, and her heart skipped a beat. She gripped his fingers, squeezing them gently. Emeka looked down at his squeezed fingers, his jaw clenched, struggling to find the right words.

When Nneka gazes at Emeka, the reader will naturally assume that she is the MC, and we will see the story from her POV. However, we are told she has "sadness in her eyes" and that her ebony skin glows, and those are only things that Emeka would observe. Then in the next sentence "She could sense" tells us that this is Nneka's point of view. However, the very next sentence says Emeka looked down and struggled to find the right words, so we are back again to his point of view.

Hopefully these are helpful tips that support you on your writing journey! Thank you for sharing your story in The Ink Well and for reading and commenting on the work of other community members.