Akata Witch

“To… to do what?” Sunny asked, clutching her schoolbag. She stepped toward the door.

“Just come,” Chichi said.

Sunny nodded, and got out of there as fast as she could.

What Is Chittim?

Chittim is the currency of Leopard People. Chittim are always made of metal (copper, bronze, silver, and gold) and always shaped like curved rods. The most valuable are the large copper ones, which are about the size of an orange and thick as an adult’s thumb. The smallest ones are the size of a dove’s egg. Least valuable are chittim made of gold.

When chittim fall, they never do harm. So one can stand in a rain of chittim and never get hit. There is only one way to earn chittim: by gaining knowledge and wisdom. The smarter you become, the better you process knowledge into wisdom, the more chittim will fall and thus the richer you will be. As a free agent, don’t expect to get rich.

from Fast Facts for Free Agents

3

Initiative

When Sunny got home, everything seemed normal. She kicked a soccer ball around with her brothers. She easily stole the ball and wove between them with her fast feet, and because they found this annoying, they talked rubbish about how she looked like a white girl. Her mother, who was home early, made spicy red stew with chicken. Her father came home late and ate alone as he read his newspaper. Not once did the world bloom or shift.

But goodness, she was tired. Exhausted. She tried to read a few pages of Purple Hibiscus, a book she’d begged her mother to buy, but soon she fell asleep. She slept like the dead. When morning came, she felt better. She lay there thinking about what happened yesterday. Whatever Chichi and Orlu had done to her, she would open her mind to it, she decided. Why not?

She quickly dressed in jeans, a yellow T-shirt, leather sandals, and her favorite gold necklace. It was the only costly gift her father had ever given her.

“Be back by four o’clock,” her mother said during breakfast. Sunny was surprised that her mother hadn’t asked a whole bunch of questions. She quickly got up before her luck changed.

“Where are you going?” her brother Chukwu asked.

“Out,” she said. “’Bye.”

In one hand, she carried her black umbrella. In the other was her blue purse with a stick of lip gloss, some sunscreen, a washcloth, a mango, her cell phone, and enough money for lunch and a little whatever.

“Sunny!” Chichi yelled when she saw her coming up the street. Chichi was dressed up, at least by Chichi’s standards. She wore a green rapa with yellow circles on it and a white T-shirt. She was wearing sandals, too. Sunny raised a tentative hand in greeting.

“Oh, stop,” Chichi said. “Relax.” She linked her arm in Sunny’s and they walked toward Orlu’s house. He stood at the gate.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Nice shoes,” Chichi said, looking at Orlu’s brand-new red Chuck Taylors.

“My mother’s brother is visiting from London,” he said. “He brought me these.”

“So where are we going?” Sunny asked.

Chichi and Orlu exchanged a look.

“You told your parents you’ll be back around three?” Orlu asked her.

“Four,” she said proudly.

“Well done,” Chichi said, grinning.

“I asked my mother about this,” Orlu said to Chichi. “She was really angry with me for making that trust knot with Sunny.” Here we go again, thought Sunny. More things I don’t know. More of them not telling me anything.

“Sunny has to be involved,” Chichi said, looking annoyed. “I told you what my mother said.”

“Well,” Orlu said slowly. “I asked my parents. She can’t set foot in Leopard Knocks… unless she’s fully initiated.” Chichi tried to hide a smile. “Chichi, you knew this was the rule!”

“I did,” she said, laughing. “What better way to make her get initiated?”

“But…” Orlu tapered off, looking very angry.

Sunny had had enough. “All right, you guys, start explaining. Leopard Knocks? Initiation? What’s going on?”

Orlu only shook his head. Chichi took Sunny’s arm again. “Just come and see for yourself.”

“As if she has a choice now,” Orlu snapped. “As if any of us does now.”

“Orlu, I believe she’s one of us,” Chichi said. “My mom does, too.”

“Would you want to go through something like this without knowing anything?” he asked Chichi.

Chichi only shrugged. “It’s the only way.”

Sunny groaned. “Please, quit talking like I’m not right here.”

Chichi lowered her voice. “The worst that can happen is-”

“Is what?” Sunny shouted.

“We can never talk to you again and you can never speak of any of this.”

They started walking away without her. For a moment, Sunny just stood there, watching them go. Then she collected herself and followed.

“Where’re we going?” she asked after several minutes. “Just tell me that, if nothing else.”

“To the hut of Anatov, Defender of Frogs and All Things Natural,” Chichi said.

They caught a cab on the main street.

“Take us to Ariaria Market,” Orlu said, handing the man some naira. Orlu waved Sunny off when she tried to offer some money. “No, this is on me.”

It was a typical Nigerian cab-the car reeked of dried fish, egusi seeds, and exhaust. There were big holes in the floor. The three of them got out at the market, but didn’t go in. Instead, they crossed the busy street and went in the opposite direction. They walked for a while, passing buildings and avoiding hawkers selling cashew fruits, suya, phone cards, cell phone accessories, and plantain chips.

They turned a corner and walked, turned another corner and walked. Sunny knew the area, but now she felt lost. They stopped at a small path that led into a patch of lush bush. A group of older men were just emerging. Some of them wore old jeans and shirts, others wore colorful rapas and T-shirts.

“Good morning,” Orlu, Chichi, and Sunny said together.

The men looked each of them in the eye and nodded. “Good morning, children.”

“Do you know where you’re going?” one of them asked.

“Yes, sir,” Orlu said.

“No, I mean her,” the man said, pointing at Sunny. She felt her face grow warm.

“She’s with us,” Chichi said.

This seemed to satisfy him, and he moved on with the others.

“Where are we going?” Sunny asked as they walked down the shaded path. The bush seemed to close in around them. Where it had been hot, it was now sweltering.