What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky

When Glory’s parents named her Glorybetogod Ngozi Akunyili, they invested her with all their dreams and aspirations, hoping she’d be smart, successful, and religious. Her grandfather, however, always felt there was something bad in Glory’s chi. As she grew up, Glory often made the wrong decisions, and she feels she did so out of spite and resentment.

Now almost 30, Glory works at a call center in Minneapolis. After Facebook again refuses to restore her page—they don’t believe Glorybetogod is her real name—Glory contemplates swallowing sleeping pills to die by suicide. She calls her mother, who responds with an aggravated text. Knowing her father’s response would be similar, she instead writes a note, blaming her problems on being born under an unlucky star and subjected to her parents’ pressure. They wanted her to be a lawyer, but she partied too much in law school and was eventually kicked out.

After drinking wine, Glory falls asleep with the pills still in her hand. In the morning, she finds her note embarrassing. She goes to work, where she spends the morning denying callers seeking refinancing options, and then she steals a coworker’s lunch. When her Facebook page is restored, she plans to depict herself as a successful ad executive and impress her friends in Nigeria.