Little Rot

By 3:34 on Saturday afternoon, Ahmed feels he is simultaneously inhabiting “incompatible worlds.” In one, he is out with the “beautiful ghost” that is Souraya; in the second, he is consumed by the “surreal” threat to Kalu’s life. In the final world, he is lost in Ruqaiyyah’s party and sex with Seun. That last world came to the forefront through the text message that caused him to end his date with Souraya: a screenshot from a video of him and Seun having sex accompanied by a warning that the video will be released on the internet if Ahmed does not agree to “discuss” it with Seun. Ahmed is filled with rage that this “small boy” thinks he can play games with him. He texts Seun his address and drives toward his home.

As he drives, Ahmed’s rage grows. He partially feels angry with himself. For many years, he pushed down his desire to sleep with men. These desires had been “fleeting” until Kalu “condensed them into something that wouldn’t leave Ahmed alone” (173) in his office after the incident with the pastor. Their closeness had ignited something in Ahmed, and he had “inevitably” thought of Kalu while having sex with Seun.

Ahmed has no plan as he arrives at his house but imagines the violence he might inflict on Seun. The younger man is waiting for him with “an irritating smirk” (175) when Ahmed pulls up. Ahmed ignores him, and Seun complains he is “very rude.” He shoves his phone with the sex tape into Ahmed’s face, asking if he has his attention yet. Ahmed watches with a certain fascination and demands to know what Seun wants. Seun suggests they sit down and “discuss [their] options,” but Ahmed comes closer to Seun, demanding again that the “boy” tell him what he wants. A flicker of fear in Seun’s eyes starts to turn Ahmed on. He asks Seun if his feelings were hurt because of how Ahmed had left him that morning, wondering if he came “to get some more” (177).

Slowly, Ahmed sees “Seun’s bravado melting away, eroded by the force of Ahmed’s aura” (177). He is a “small boy” who doesn’t “know what actual power [is]” (177), and Ahmed takes pleasure in seeing him surrender. He shoves him to his knees, where Seun hurries to undo Ahmed’s zipper. Ahmed hits him across the face and instructs him to remember his place. He tells Seun to “arrange [him]self,” and the younger man undresses quickly. Ahmed, however, doesn’t want their skin to touch and stays clothed. They have sex roughly, which Seun seems to enjoy. However, when Seun reminds Ahmed that they “still have business to discuss” (178), Ahmed demands that Seun be quiet. His hands close around the other man’s throat as he repeats “shut up” like “a chant, a mantra” (179). As Seun’s eyes fill with fear and he begins to struggle, Ahmed wishes for “some peace, some fucking quiet” (179), space away from threats, demands, and responsibilities.

At 3:59 pm, Seun’s body stops moving under Ahmed’s hands. He loosens his grip and zips up his pants. Then his hands begin to shake. He looks back and forth between his trembling fingers and the bruises on Seun’s neck, wondering how they were capable of such strength. Overcome by disbelief, he shakes Seun’s body, demanding he wake up. He checks for a pulse and tries to perform CPR on the still-warm corpse. A voice in the back of his head tells him he is just going through the motions of trying to save him; he is “deliberately not remembering” (181) the actions he took that killed Seun. He knows that the death was not “an accident”; he made a decision, “the consequence” of which is the naked dead body on his couch. Ahmed wraps his arms around himself and begins to cry, wondering, “What the fuck have I done?” (182).

Aima wakes up alone in Ijendu’s room at 1:16 on Saturday afternoon. She finds a note from Ijendu explaining that she left for lunch with Daddy O and feels relieved that she has some time before she has to face her friend and the embarrassment of the night before. Her guilt is like “a brooding weight on her chest” (184), and she feels disgusted when she realizes she is still wearing Dike’s T-shirt. She pulls it off, but she thinks that he can’t be blamed for treating her like “a slut” after how she behaved. Feeling near tears again, Aima kneels down and begins to pray for forgiveness. However, as she prays, she becomes confused. She wonders if she is “performing” guilt because she lives in a world where “simple distracting pleasure” isn’t allowed (185). She sits back in frustration as she tries to pinpoint what exactly about the night is the source of her guilt.

Aima looks at her hands and imagines the engagement ring she had expected from Kalu. With a “sudden revelation,” Aima realizes she was wrong to leave Kalu. Their love is “the true and clear thing” (187), and her night of frivolous pleasure with Ijendu has brought that into focus. She and Kalu had always agreed to marry one day, and Aima knows she was wrong to push him and lose her trust in him. She feels relieved at this revelation but worries that Kalu won’t want to see her. Her reverie is broken by Ijendu, who greets Aima as if the night before had never happened. Aima is glad for this normalcy; she complains about her hangover, and Ijendu suggests they have lunch.

The girls drive to lunch, where Aima picks at a salad while Ijendu gossips about Daddy O and his “designer friend.” Finally, Ijendu asks Aima how she is feeling about Kalu, and Aima admits that she wants to give the relationship another chance. Ijendu is overjoyed by this news and suggests that she call Kalu right away. Aima, however, is still hesitant. On the drive back, Ijendu remembers that Ahmed lives nearby. She suggests they visit him so that Aima can ask him if Kalu will take him back. Ahmed doesn’t answer his phone, but they can see his car parked outside when they pull up to his house. They find the door already cracked open and call out Ahmed’s name as they enter the “sterile silence” of his house.

Kalu wakes at 3:04 on Saturday afternoon. It takes a moment for the previous day’s events to catch up with him, but when they do, he is overcome by “an immense surge of grief” (194). He sobs angrily as the memories wash over him. As he arrives at the attack on Okinosho, the gravity of the situation fills him with fear. He thinks again that he needs to speak with Ahmed, and the memory of the other man answering Ahmed’s phone fills him with an “irrational jealousy.” However, he ignores this easily, as he has done for many years. He believes that Aima is safe in London and feels relieved that she won’t be harmed by his mess.

Kalu finds his phone to call his friend, but the battery is dead again. Then, his intercom rings, and the security guard tells Kalu he has a delivery. Kalu is immediately suspicious that this is Okinosho’s “assassin.” His instincts tell him to run, and he tells the guard to send the delivery man away and tell anyone else who comes looking that he isn’t at home. Looking out the window, Kalu is alarmed to see the delivery man sneaking around the side of the gate and trying to scale the fence. He grabs the broken phone and his wallet and rushes to his car.

He tries to remain calm driving out of his estate, but the delivery man and his companion spot him leaving and chase after him. Kalu speeds into traffic but cannot manage to lose his pursuers. He swerves into a crowded market and grabs a stash of cash from a secret compartment before abandoning the car. He jumps onto the back of a motorcycle, presses a wad of cash on the driver, and tells him he needs to “disappear.” The teenage driver doesn’t ask questions; he just speeds off. For a moment, Kalu thinks that the ride might kill him instead of the assassin, but the boy soon deposits him safely on a quiet street. He introduces himself as Felix, and Kalu asks him to take him somewhere he can hide. He offers Felix more money, and the boy agrees to take him to a secret place.