Page 106 of Death of the Author

“Fine, let’s get my fucking bags,” she snapped, turning to the baggage carousel. She pointed. “Ah, there’s one.”

They found her other bag a minute later and made their way to the exit. Once in the car, she turned to Chinyere in the driver’s seat. “Is Mom okay?” She was lightheaded as she braced herself. She could almost hear her brother, behind her, holding his breath. Zelu heard Folashade sniff in the back seat. She looked back at her sister-in-law. Folashade was crying, her daughter worriedly pressing her head against her mother’s arm. Chinyere turned the car off and just sat there and sighed.

“Chinyere,” Zelu asked again. “What’s going on?Where is Mom?”

“Athome!” Chinyere shouted back at her.

“No shout,” Cricket said.

“Is she okay?!” She looked back at Tolu. “Someone tell me something! Tolu! What?!”

Tolu, who sat behind Zelu, leaned forward. “Mom is... We happened to all be at the house when I saw your live feed start. Except Chinyere; she was working. We were watching it from the beginning. Uzo was the one who reached Auntie Mary through Facebook. Some of your fans reported your location. Uzo got the government involved and all that. Then all we could do was watch. Mom was watching... She shouldn’t have watched...”

“She got quiet, then she was wheezing,” Folashade blurted, her eyes starting to glisten. “She said she felt like she was passing out.”

“Honestly, Zelu, it reminded me of you,” Tolu said.

Zelu nodded, understanding all too well.

Chinyere suddenly shouted, her voice making everyone jump. “Why couldn’t you just stay here, like we all told you so many times! What does your family know, huh? You had to go to the village like a crazy person and it nearly got you killed! You’re soselfish!”

“Chinyere, stop,” Tolu said.

“No! I won’t, Tolu! She... she went to MIT and messed up her whole body. Who knows what those... those mechanical crutches are going to do to her in the future. Can’t even accept the path God gave you afteryouwentup in that tree.You. You horrified Mom and Dad! After theybeggedyou not to. Your head’s all swollen because you wroteone book. One. Something anyone can do if they waste their life messing around like you!” Her sister was shaking so hard now that Zelu swore she could feel it rattling the car, but all she could do was stare. “Now you go to Nigeria, you get kidnapped, and then you put it all online for Mom to see! Why’d you have to show the world your own mistake?! And now it’s broken Mom’s brain!”

Silence fell on the car like a heavy, wet, moldy blanket. Zelu felt like all the air around her had suddenly solidified. Her chest was heavy. She could not move. Her sister’s words hung in the air. Chinyere was staring at her.

Everyone waited. Really waited. Waited for Zelu to burst into flames. Even with little Cricket there. Zelu stared back at her sister, a million responses flickering across her tongue. Then she just... turned away. Chinyere had spoken to her like this so many times. There was nothing more to say to that. All she could really focus on was the news about her mother.

“Life is so complicated,” Zelu whispered. Her throat felt tight. She glanced at Chinyere. Her sister sneered and put the keys in the ignition.

Zelu turned to the window, her face tight. She reached into her backpack for her AirPods. She pressed them into her ears. She canceled all the noise around her. She didn’t hear the car start. She didn’t hear anything else any of them said. She shut her eyes, and it was like being in the void of space, where everything was small, contained, distant, and vast.

When they pulled into the garage of their parents’ house, Zelu slowly opened her eyes and tapped her AirPods. The noise of her surroundings rushed in like the wind. She weathered it. Her siblings, Tolu’s wife, and Cricket got out, and so did she.

“Tolu, can you bring out my suitcases?” she asked. “I’ll call the autonomous vehicle to take me to my place from here.” She wasn’t about to ask any of them to drive her.

He pulled out her suitcases as the others quickly went inside. Shefollowed them in, pausing when she stepped into the hallway. She looked around for a moment. The house seemed smaller, shrunken.

“Mom?” she called.

“Zelu!” her mother said, rushing up the hall. She grinned, looking into her face.

“Hi, Mom,” she said. “Made it home.”

Her mother looked suddenly shy, lowering her chin. “Did they tell you?”

Zelu nodded.

“Used to have them often when I was a girl,” her mother confessed. “I didn’t want to tell you...” She sighed, shaking her head. “Anyway, I learned how to handle them... like you have.”

Zelu glanced at Chinyere, who was standing behind her mother.

“I’m all right now, Mom,” Zelu said, hugging her mother.

“Zelu’s going back home tonight,” Chinyere interrupted. “She just wanted to say hi.”

“Do you want something to eat first?” her mother asked. “You look hungry.”

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