Page 65 of Death of the Author

Wind was clearly sizing her up, and Zelu was in no mood for it. “No thanks.”

“Well, that’s kind of rude,” Wind replied flatly.

“Do you know the night I’ve had?”

The other woman raised her eyebrows. “I heard you just attended the premiere of a blockbuster film based on your book and then had a journalist ambush you in an interview. That about right?”

Zelu briefly closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. “Fuck that journalist. And the movie’s a disaster! They set the movie in the United States, when my book was set in Nigeria.”

“There are black people in the United States, too.” Wind’s voice was matter-of-fact, but Zelu swore she heard the edge of a smile in it. “Why can’t you give us a bit of the action?”

“Are you serious?” She shook her head, tired and wanting nothing more than to be alone. “Where is the room I’m staying in?”

Wind led her down a hallway and opened a door. Zelu entered a large room with a king-size bed in the center. A fluffy white canopy hung above it like a cloud. On the walls were colorful paintings of robots and dolphins. Beside the bed was an old clunky wheelchair they’d somehow found for her. And on the nightstand was a small meal of fried chicken, jollof rice, plantain, and a huge bottle of water.

Zelu looked at Wind, shocked. “What the hell? You psychic or something?”

“Bathroom and shower are right there,” Wind said, pointing to thedoor on the other side of the room. “I’ll see you in the morning. Maybe you’ll have stopped feeling sorry for yourself by then.”

Before Zelu could even respond to that, Wind had shut the door. “Bitch,” Zelu muttered to herself. She threw her purse on the bed, looked around the room, and scoffed, annoyed. This room was creepily perfect. She hoped this had to do with Msizi, rather than these people stalking her online or something.

She undressed, sat on the bed, removed and plugged in her nearly dead exos, and ate. The food was perfect, too; how Wind had made sure it would still be warm when she ate it, Zelu didn’t know. She used the wheelchair to wheel to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, plugged in her phone, brooded as she looked out the window into the pure blackness for a while, and then went to bed. She was asleep within seconds.

When she awoke, Msizi was beside her. He was deep in sleep when she wheeled to the bathroom (which, to her surprise, was fully accessible) and took a long hot shower. He was still sleeping when she finished. She dressed, got into her exos, and left the room. The house wasn’t wide, but it was long, and it took her a while to make it to the kitchen. Wind was up already, standing at the stove.

“Morning,” she said as she cracked an egg into a sizzling pan.

“Hey,” Zelu greeted her, still wary as she walked farther into the room.

“You hungry?”

“I can eat,” she acquiesced.

“Good. I already made you an omelet,” she said. “Msizi said chilis, tomatoes, and chicken. That correct?”

Zelu laughed. “Yeah. Exactly.” She sat at a beautiful live-edge wood table beside a large open window. Outside was miles and miles of desert. In the distance, she saw the shape of a mountain.

They ate together in silence, gazing out at the horizon. A long-legged bird with a big brown tail dashed by. Zelu gasped and pointed at it. “Oh my God! Was that a roadrunner?”

Wind laughed. “Yep. Welcome to the desert.”

“I’ve been to deserts before, in the Middle East. But I’ve never seen a real-life roadrunner!” She was fighting the urge to shout “Meep meep!” like the Looney Tunes character would and to ask about tumbleweeds. Then she paused, suddenly self-conscious as she felt Wind observing her. She settled down, looking back at her food. “Sorry if I broke the morning silence. I’m... like that, too.”

Wind nodded and said nothing. Zelu frowned and didn’t say another word for the next twenty minutes. As she ate, she stared at the dry land with its stunted, prickly bushes and cacti and roadrunners and lizards and dust. How did things live here? She wanted to ask how they even managed to get running water in the house, but she kept her mouth shut. Wind got up to make some herbal tea and handed Zelu a mug. Zelu blew on it and sipped slowly. This was peaceful. And that was pretty remarkable, considering she didnotlike Wind at all.

“Want to go for a hike?” Wind asked, squinting out the window. “It’s still early, so not too hot. Plus, it’s overcast today.”

“Is... I dunno if I can,” she said, twisting the mug in her hands. “I’ve never done that with my exos.”

Wind cocked her head. “You mean you’ve never taken those off-road?” She sounded affronted.

“I’m not an outdoorsy person,” Zelu snapped.

“Are you scared?” she asked.

Zelu looked Wind squarely in the eye, anger boiling in her belly. Who did this woman think she was? “Yeah!” she declared. “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am! You think you can peer-pressure me into risking my life? I’m not a teenager.”

Wind laughed, totally unbothered. “Touché.”

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