Under the Udala Trees

In the bathtub with Chidinma, Ijeoma rubs her belly. She says it will house a boy named Chigoziem. She feels distant from her daughter, who is now talking, and numb in her marriage.

During a power outage, Chibundu is out with friends from work. Chidinma dismembers a doll and asks to be held. Ijeoma tells her a story that she learned from Uzo about an orphan named Chikwendu and his dog. A stranger gives him a piece of meat, which is so small that Chikwendu doesn’t share it with his dog. The dog attacks him and they fight. The villagers help the dog and leave the boy to die. Ijeoma ends the story with the song that her father always sang at the end.

During bath time, Ijeoma tells a story about Obaludo, whose mother tries to prepare her for a day when spirits will come out to the market and Obaludo must stay home. Although Obaludo’s mother warns her to prepare the yams before the snails to avoid the snail-liquid dousing their fire, Obaludo forgets and ruins dinner for her and her sisters. They argue over who should go out and fetch fire, and it ends up being Obaludo.