Page 96 of Death of the Author

She’d wrapped her braids in a bun and wore the plainest top she had, a green-and-blue checked affair that she’d never particularly liked. Hugo wore jeans to cover his prosthetics. Uchenna pushed Zelu, and Marcy trailed close behind them. Onyemobi led the way, carrying himself with anentitled confidence that made people either listen or step aside, depending on what he wanted from them.

When they emerged from the small airport, the sun was harsh and the air was stunningly humid. “Stay here,” Onyemobi told them. Then he strode into the busy parking lot, greeting several people as he passed them. He seemed to know everyone.

Marcy took out her vape pen and started nervously puffing. Hugo asked Uchenna about a few Igbo words he’d learned. Zelu simply looked around. Groups of people stood here and there chatting, hugging, and filing in and out of cars, vans, and buses. A police officer with an AK-47 stood nearby. To her left, two men suddenly started aggressively shouting at each other, making her jump. But then they hugged and laughed and walked away. Zelu pulled a deep breath into her lungs. This wasn’t Lagos. It was slower and mellower. And all she heard was Igbo.

Onyemobi came back and led them to a black SUV flanked on both sides by military-looking men with AK-47s. They stood outside the vehicle looking badass, like they were inviting everyone to fuck around and find out. Two more SUVs were parked behind it. Their presence didn’t set Zelu’s mind at ease as much as it should have. If her uncle had felt the need to arrange this, there was a reason. Zelu smiled at them and they smiled back as they greeted her. Then she was helped into the car. At this point, they had to remove the cloth and her exos were exposed.

One of the men exclaimed, “Chey!” and the other laughed. Zelu rolled her eyes and settled into the front passenger seat—which she soon regretted choosing. The driver, who seemed so level-headed when they met, became a madman on the road. Not that the roads here were all that busy. But he had a need for speed, and no concerns about rolling over or wildly swerving around potholes. He wove recklessly past other drivers and honked at just about everyone. The other two SUVs drove in front of and behind them, keeping pace.

By the time they reached Onyemobi’s house in the small village, Zeluwas sweating profusely and nearly in tears. It was always like this on the roads in the villages, but that never set her at ease.

Onyemobi’s house was surrounded by a high gate. Only three people were milling about outside, which was a relief. Zelu was not in the mood to tolerate more staring. She got out of the SUV slowly with her exos, taking a moment to find her center of gravity before stretching her back and arms.

“How are you doing?” Uchenna asked as he exited the vehicle.

“We’re here,” she said simply.

He nodded. “Haven’t been out this way in over a decade.”

“Me neither,” she said. “What are your reasons?”

He lifted his shoulders. “Not that different from yours, probably.”

She nodded. “We’ll stick to the plan. Get in fast and leave before anyone knows.”

Uchenna rubbed his nose. “So sad that we have to think like that. When I was a kid, we came here all the time. Now I can’t even take the chance of visiting my father’s village. His two brothers are still alive and I never get to see them. They don’t even use cell phones.” He shook his head sadly.

“Come,” Onyemobi said, waving his arm. “Let’s get you all inside. Everything is ready. I must go handle some things, but you will be taken care of here. All these soldiers have been hired to guard you. Meet Ogo, Yagazi, and James. They are from the village and they take care of this place. Hugo, Zelu, I have told everyone about your specific needs, so no need to explain anything to anyone.”

“Hi,” Marcy said to Ogo, Yagazi, and James. “Thank you.”

“Good afternoon,” Hugo added.

Ogo, Yagazi, and James looked from Zelu to Hugo to Marcy and started laughing and slapping one another on the shoulder. James pointed at her exos and then said something in Igbo. Ogo made a motion that looked suspiciously like the Robot and started laughing harder. Of course, none of their judgment touched Uchenna, him being an Igbo man. Zelu rolled her eyes.

“What’s so funny?” Marcy asked.

The robot lady, the manly black American lady, and the white man with no legs, most likely, Zelu wanted to respond. She just waved Marcy’s question off.

Zelu’s room was on the second floor of the house at the end of the hallway. It was tiny but spotless, not a speck of dirt in the corners. And it smelled like old incense. Maybe it was normally used for prayer. There was one window, which looked out toward the front gates. Resting on the inside of the glass was a tiny lizard with soft-looking pink scales sprinkled with lavender speckles. A wall gecko. They were pretty common and cute and ate mosquitoes and spiders, so they were welcome. Nevertheless, she moved to shut the window, and the gecko took the hint, dashing outside before she secured it. Second floor or not, people could climb through a window.

After a dinner of rice and stew, the others went to sit on the porch and talk, but Zelu retreated to her room. She wanted to be alone. Tomorrow, her father’s sister would come and finally bring her to her father’s grave. At this moment, she was less than an hour away from it.

She cracked the window and looked outside. She could hear Marcy laughing and Uchenna and Hugo talking softly, and she could see two of the soldiers who’d driven with them sitting in chairs at the front gate, their AK-47s resting beside them. The others were probably stationed at the back of the house. Beyond the gate was complete darkness. The homes in the village were spaced apart, surrounded by lush forest and farmland. If anyone tried to come and make trouble, they’d better be prepared for a small war. There were no police around here, but there were quite a few people who were her relatives. Of course, some of those relatives might be the ones to start the war.

She moved back from the window. “Nope, nope, nope,” she said. “Not doing that.” She looked at her laptop, sitting in her open carry-on. She shook her head. She didn’t want to do that, either. She lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She reached for her phone. She’d already spoken to her parents and texted her siblings. No text from Msizi. She missedhim so much. “Nope,” she said again, putting some music on. Thankfully, she soon fell asleep.

Zelu sat alone in the back of the SUV as they drove down a dirt road flanked by bushes. She was on her way to see her father’s siblings and her father’s grave. There was a new driver today, someone Onyemobi knew. When she got into the car, he’d looked at her exos with eyes so wide they were almost bulging. She considered calling him out on his rudeness, but if the drive was going to be a half hour, she preferred having it be a quiet and safe one.

He played an Afrobeats song that could have been most Afrobeats songs, featuring a mildly melodious auto-tuned guy singing about women over that same old beat. She looked out the window. Trees, bushes, the occasional person walking on the side of the road who stared at the SUV’s tinted windows, giant potholes, houses tucked deep in the brush here and there, roadside markets, rinse and repeat. The driver had the air conditioner blasting and it was freezing in the car. She’d probably annoy him if she opened a window, so she didn’t.

Finally, they arrived at her auntie Udoka’s modest house. It was surrounded by a white concrete fence topped with shards of green bottle glass. They were deep in the farmlands and fairly isolated.How does this place look at night?she wondered, glad to be arriving in the morning. She vaguely remembered being here back in her teens. Her parents’ house, where her father was buried, was not far from here. From what she knew, the house was now vacant. She didn’t believe in the idea that a person stayed with their remains after they died, but it still didn’t feel right that those remains were... alone.

Red dust swirled around the car as the driver hit the brakes. She slowly got out with her exos. There were a few boys standing across the street, watching with wide eyes. Her presence would be known in the area within minutes, thanks to those nosy little boys. Yeah, she definitely wouldn’t setfoot outside her auntie and uncle’s compound unaccompanied... or even on foot with other people.

“Zeluuuuu!” she heard Auntie Udoka, her father’s oldest sister, sing as she danced out of the house. She wore a blue, yellow, and orange wrapper and a white top. She looked exactly as Zelu remembered her—a short, wide woman with a booming voice. “Heeeey, God is great, ooooooo!” She threw her arms around Zelu and started crying as she continued shouting how great God was. Zelu hugged her back but spent an intense amount of energy trying not to fall. Her auntie didn’t seem to care about or even notice her exos. “Ehhhh, my brother’s second child has finally come to see me, o! God is great!Chey!”

“Hello, Auntie,” she said. Then her uncle Chinedu, a giant of a man, came out of the house and stood behind her, sizing Zelu up. He was her father’s younger brother. He lived with his wife an hour away and had driven in just to see Zelu. “Hi, Uncle Chinedu.”

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