Summary

“Who Will Greet You At Home?” takes place in an alternate reality where women physically assemble babies out of whatever material is available to them. After receiving a blessing from a mother or mother figure, the baby is then animated into life, and then it will transform into a conventional human child after one year. Furthermore, in this world, personal feelings like joy (102-103) can be exchanged and bartered with as a substitute for money.

The main character of this short story is a poor single woman named Ogechi, who has tried and failed to assemble a baby many times. After previous attempts were made fun of by her mother, Ogechi has argued with and then stopped talking to her mother. Ogechi’s most recent attempt at assembling a baby, out of yarn, has just fallen apart. While Ogechi...