“Just trust me.”

He smiled for the first time since he saw her. “Sunny, what’s happened to you?”

She only smiled back.

“Whatever it is, it’s good. It’s good.” He started the car.

“Keep your phone close,” she repeated. Then she quickly added, “I’ll call you in a day or so.”

He nodded. “Not a word to Mummy, Daddy, or Ugonna.”

She nodded.

Then he was gone. She went back inside and slept for three solid hours. She needed her rest. She had much more than school to handle come morning.

11

WAYS

As soon as Orlu climbed on the okada to go see his crazy auntie Uju, Sunny took off toward home. She leaped over the open gutter, leaving school grounds, and quickly jogged along the dirt path beside the road. She ran around students on their way home and avoided okada who drove dangerously close to the path as they sped and wove between cars and trucks.

She passed the usual shops and then the half-finished house that had been in construction for over five years. The run-down office building beside it looked even worse now that the house was almost complete. When she reached her neighborhood, she absentmindedly ran a hand over the smooth trunk of the palm tree growing on the corner of the street. She slowed down now, bringing out a handkerchief and dabbing her brow. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Getting through the school day had been hard. Not telling Orlu had been even harder. Sunny knew he’d disagree with what she planned to do. He’d push her to tell her parents.

Her eyes stung now. Then they grew moist. All day, she’d avoided thinking about her brother’s story and his face, oh, his face, as best she could. But now that she was out of school and away from Orlu, she just wanted to sit in the road and cry her eyes out. She walked faster. Her parents wouldn’t be home yet, but if Ugonna was home and she saw him, she’d break down and tell him everything.

When she arrived at Chichi’s hut and saw her sitting on a chair outside, she knew she’d done the right thing. Her eyes filled with tears as she approached the one person she thought could help her. Chichi was reading a thick book and when she looked up at Sunny, she grinned. “You’ve gotta see this book! It’s a novel set entirely in the wilderness! Of all people, you’ll . . .” The smile dropped from her face. She closed the book and got to her feet. She placed the book on the chair. “Sunny! What’s wrong?”

Sunny let her backpack drop to the dirt path that ran up to Chichi’s hut, now unable to control her tears. “I . . . I . . . I . . .” she sobbed.

“What happened?” Chichi said, running up and taking both of Sunny’s hands. Chichi was already short and she hadn’t grown any in the last year, whereas Sunny was pushing five foot nine and had gained several pounds of lean muscle. Still, Chichi managed to hold Sunny up and help her into the hut. Sunny sat down hard in one of the cushioned chairs inside the hut, tears still draining from her eyes. Chichi knelt before her and looked into her face.