A Nollywood film was on, and a woman wearing a bad wig was shouting at another woman with an equally bad wig. When the second woman’s eyes grew wide, and she slapped the other woman, Orlu’s auntie didn’t even react. The volume was way too high, and Orlu immediately turned it down. She did not react to this, either.

“Good afternoon, Auntie Uju,” he softly said, kneeling in front of her and taking her hand.

Sunny’s eyes began to water, and she suddenly felt like sneezing. Then she did. She nearly jumped as Auntie Uju suddenly looked at her. Sunny took several steps away from the woman; the look on her face was full of venom.

“Who is this?” Auntie Uju snapped.

“Auntie,” Orlu said. “This is Sunny. She’s my . . .”

“She is albeeno,” she said, her face curling with disgust.

“Yes, Auntie,” Orlu said. “That’s obvious.”

“Good afternoon,” Sunny softly said, holding out a hand. The woman seemed ready to explode; best to tread lightly. Sunny’s nose tickled again, and before she could take the woman’s hand, she sneezed. Then she sneezed again and again.

“Kai!” his auntie exclaimed, staring at Sunny, who was holding her snotty nose.

“I’m sorry,” Sunny said, embarrassed.

“Look at this evil girl!” his auntie shouted. “Look at her! Like ghost. She’ll bring illness, poverty, bad luck into the house! Child witch full of witchcraft!”

“Auntie, come on,” Orlu pleaded. He glanced at Sunny apologetically. “Relax. This is my friend. My best friend. She . . .”

“This is your best friend?!” his auntie exclaimed, with bulging shocked eyes. She turned to Sunny with such a mean scary look, scrunching her painted face, that Sunny jumped back. “Go and die!” she shouted at Sunny.

Sunny whimpered. “What? I . . .”

“Our father, who art in heaven, ooooo,” she suddenly started to wail. She held her hand in the air, jumped up, and stamped her foot as she shouted, “Fire! Fire! Fire! Be gone!”

“Auntie!” Orlu exclaimed, taking her shoulders and trying to get her to sit down.

But this only agitated his auntie more. “Fire! Fire! Fire! BE GONE!”

Sunny jerkily turned and walked out of the room. She moved down the hall, breathing heavily. She would not shed a tear in front of that crazy woman. She wasn’t about to give her that satisfaction. She’d encountered this kind of thing many times. If Sunny cried, the woman would think her shouting and carrying on had caused Sunny to feel guilt for her “evil witchcraft.”

Sunny stopped at the doorway and brought her shaky hands to her face. “But I am a witch,” she whispered to herself. Though she was not a witch in the sense of what the woman and so many other delusional Nigerians believed. Leopard People had nothing to do with all of that. That stuff didn’t even exist.

Why is it always about my being albino? she thought. I never do anything to anyone, but yet they think I’m bad. Her eyes stung as the tears came.