Okenwa

Okenwa is the main character and first person narrator of the short story. In the narrative present, Okenwa dutifully visits his elderly parents twice a month. During these visits, he is struck by how much his mother and father have changed. They not only look like children, but regard the world in a childish manner. Though this shift in their way of seeing the world confuses Okenwa, he humors them by listening to their fantastical tales. However, Okenwa is not really paying attention. He has learned how to detach himself from his parents, and to regard their words as irrelevant to his life.

During one such visit, when Okenwa's mother mentions their former house boy, Raphael, Okenwa is plunged into memory. As a child, he felt perpetually isolated and alone. His parents paid little attention to his emotional needs. They were academics and intellectuals, obsessed with reading and...