Treasure
In Lagos, Nigeria, Treasure maintains a curated Instagram facade of luxury in a gated community. Her five thousand followers see a life they can only dream of, but her top fan, @Sho4Sure, wants more than digital interaction. He is determined to meet his idol in person. As he sets out to find her, the divide between Treasure’s invented life and reality creates a dangerous collision. Oyinkan Braithwaite delivers a darkly comic story about the risks of chasing social media fame.
- Treasure - Housegirl
- Patience - Treasure’s employer’s daughter
- Bebi - Patience’s dog
- Sho4Sure - Treasure’s #1 fan
- Sammy - Sho4Sure’s neighbor
- Sho4Sure loves engaging with Treasure on Instagram and is sure he will meet and marry her someday.
- Treasure accidentally puts her location on one of her posts before removing it.
- Sho4Sure sees the location, so he and Sammy take a rifle and head off to surprise Treasure.
- When they reach Pious Estate, they jump two men who are leaving and steal their IDs to get through security at the gate.
- They locate Treasure’s house and she lets them in, thinking they are repairmen.
- Sho4Sure notices lots of family pictures on the wall, but Treasure isn’t in any of them.
- The boys tell Treasure who they are and why they are there.
- Bebi runs in barking, startling the boys and Sammy accidentally shoots Patience, who came in with the dog.
- The boys run. Sho4Sure gets away, but Sammy doesn’t.
- Treasure is not the wealthy girl she presents on Instagram; she works as a housegirl in this wealthy family’s home.
- Treasure helps Sammy escape so he won’t tell her employers about her Instagram presence.
- Treasure deletes her Instagram account.
Treasure by Oyinkan Braithwaite is a sharp, 35-page short story that explores the dangerous divide between social media facades and reality. While I guessed the main twist early on, I still gave it 4 stars because the execution was clever and I enjoyed seeing the story play out. It’s a fun, quick read that leans more into the mystery genre than a high-stakes thriller, making it perfect for fans of Braithwaite's darkly ironic style.
- Stalking
- Misogyny
- Death
- Gun violence
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
ASIN: B08BZJC41L
Publication Date: July 30, 2020
Note: Details are for the original edition. Other formats, editions, and audiobook versions may be available.
