Chapter 14

Abstract

Omar easily slipped into the rhythm of compound life. The crows of roosters and the brays of donkeys would wake him every morning just before dawn when the cool air was free of dust. He’d slip out of his father’s hut and walk over to Abdoulaye’s two-room mudbrick house. There he’d join his brother next to a small fire the latter had built. As the fire crackled, they’d sit silently in the gray morning light, listening to the wind whirring and birds chirping. In time, Abdoulaye would put embers from the fire into a brazier, pour water into a metal pot, and heat it up for some morning coffee—Nestlé’s instant, imported from Cote d’Ivoire and bought in a dry goods shop in Tillaberi. When the water was ready, Abdoulaye filled the two mugs, stirred in two teaspoons of coffee granules, and added one teaspoon of dry milk. He then dropped in one cube of sugar for Omar and added three cubes for himself. After several sips, he asked after Omar’s sleep and the state of his health, the traditional Songhay greeting for early morning. Then, they’d plan their day.