Book 4, Chapter 23 Summary

That night, Atie does not come home. In the morning, her bed is still made. She comes up the road with Louise. Sophie offers to make dinner: rice, black beans and herring sauce (her mother's favorite meal). She is surprised at how fast her memory of how to make the meal comes back. Atie eats four servings of Sophie's meal, and then goes for her reading lesson. Sophie and her grandmother sit and listen to night sounds. Grandme asks Sophie if she can hear the girl in the distance. She says she can hear her in the bushes with a boy. She says the boy and girl are saying good night. A moment passes. Sophie asks her what is happening now. Grandme Ifé says the girl has gone home. Her mother is pulling her inside to test her.

Sophie remembers the...