Summary

One night, Gbessa tries to run away. She sneaks out of the hut she shares with Khati, looking up at the moon where the cursed old woman, Ol’ Ma Famatta, lives. As she tries to make her way through the woods, she gets lost and starts to cry. She is discovered by Safua, who is sleeping out in the woods to prepare for his initiation into manhood and warrior-hood. He tells Gbessa to not run away, because she will be caught and Khati will be punished. He also tells her that he is not afraid of her or of anything, again repeating his intention to become king. He then helps her get back to the hut. The narration comments that “this time, instead of scraping her tender and unscathed skin, the ground beneath her was cleared of sticks and leaves, with only dust...