The Setting Sun and the Rolling World

Zakeo is a 13-year-old boy whose father is paralyzed from the waist down, owing to an incident in which he fell off a roof and broke his back. Given how strong and capable he believed his father was, Zakeo thinks his mother must have been vaguely involved in the fall, possibly through witchcraft. Angry at his mother and depressed at the sight of his father weaving baskets all day, Zakeo spends most of his time at school or his grandfather’s house.

One day, Zakeo asks his grandfather, whom he calls “Sekuru,” if he will teach Zakeo to hunt since his father is in no condition to do so. After a successful day of catching worms and fishing, Zakeo comes home very late. Early the following morning, his mother arrives at Sekuru’s and tells him to leave Zakeo alone; the more time Zakeo spends with Sekuru, she says, the less interested he is in going to school or following her orders.

That same day, Zakeo skips school to trap mice with Sekuru. Sekuru tries to tell him he needs to go to school. Zakeo responds that the other children bully him because his father is paralyzed and his mother is the head of the household.