Nnedi Okorafor - Lagoon

I have watched, heard, tasted, touched these new people.

Shape-shifters of the third kind. Story weavers of their own time.

I respect them.

They brought Agu, Adaora and Anthony together. Adaora the brave. Agu the strong. Anthony the energetic. I know their stories as I know all stories. Do you want to know how their stories end? Do you want to know what happens to Chris? Does he get back together with his wife? Or will Adaora stay with Agu? What of Kola and Fred? What is Anthony’s place in the new world? Yes, you want to know. We all want to know things.

But I feel the press of other stories.

I wove that which Adaora draws from to practice her witchcraft. I wove that which gives Agu his leopard’s strength. Anthony’s life became part of my web when he first set foot in Lagos. I know the one who wove his rhythm. Anansi is my cousin. Anthony has always been within my reach. Fisayo’s destiny was written. The boy with no name had no destiny until I wrote that part of the story. Father Oke was destined to meet one of my cousins. The young man Benson and the other soldiers – they are all part of my great tapestry.

And now the world sees what is happening inside of Lagos and her waters. What is that sweet taste I feel with my feet? It is patriotism, loyalty. Not to the country of Nigeria but to the city of Lagos. Finally. Maybe it will flow and spread like a flood of clean water. What a story that would be. The waters off the coast are treacherous. They are clean. It is beautiful. But there is a problem. Other people in other parts of the world – they see what is happening here. And they fear it. They are agreed. Lagos is a cancer. They wish to cut the cancer out before it spreads. I will not let them. I don’t know who will launch them but these people are all in communication, so all are involved in the decision.

They will burn it away before it spreads.

I will not let them.

For the first time since the birth of Lagos, my glorious city, I will pause in my storytelling.

I will leave my web.

I become part of the story.

I will join my people.

And we spiders play dirty.

419 – a highly successful strain of advance-fee internet fraud popularized in Nigeria, which appears most often in the form of an emailed letter. The number “419” refers to the article (sectioned into 419, 419A, 419B) that deals with fraud in Chapter 38 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act (“Obtaining Property by False Pretences: Cheating”)

Adofuroo –a derogatory term for homosexuals in the Yoruba language

Ah-ah –for goodness’ sake

Ahoa – Nigerian foot soldiers

Am(Pidgin English) – she, he or it

Anuofia – an insult that literally means “wild animal” in the Igbo language. “Anu” means animal, “ofia” means forest

Area Boys(also known as Agberos) – loosely organized groups of street children and teenagers, (mostly male), who roam the streets of Lagos

Chale(Ghanaian Pidgin English) – a terminal intensifier that is similar to the exclamation “man” in American-English slang. Pronounced very similarly to the name “Charlie”

Chin Chin – a snack consisting of sweet crunchy bite-sized bits of fried dough

Chineke – the Igbo Supreme Deity. To exclaim it is the same as saying, “Oh my God!”

Chop(Pidgin English) – eat

Comot(Pidgin English) – to leave a place

Danfo – a commercial minibus or van. They are usually orange or individually painted and very old, beaten up and have been repaired a million times

De(Pidgin English) – the

Dey(Pidgin English) – this means “is” or “are”… most of the time. Other times, it means something else

Face me, I face you(Pidgin English) – a type of building where a series of single-bedroom apartments have their entrances facing each other to form a compound with a main entrance leading into a square in the middle. This type of building is common in urban areas in Nigeria, such as Lagos

Gari –a creamy white, granular flour made from fermented, gelatinized fresh cassava tubers

Go-slow(Pidgin English) – heavy traffic

Gragra(Pidgin English) – a show of bravado (often false)

Ibi(Pidgin English) – it be

Igbo –1. the third largest ethnic group in Nigeria (note: the author of this book is Igbo) and name of the language of the Igbo people 2. Nigerian slang for cannabis (unrelated to the Igbo people or language, and not capitalized as a proper noun)

Kai(Pidgin English) – a sympathetic exclamation

Kata kata(Pidgin English) – trouble of the sort that only the poor experience

Kparoof(Pidgin English) – manhandle

Marine witch – who the heck really knows? Certain Nigerian evangelical Christian sects believe many of the world’s ills are perpetrated by witches, and the most powerful is the “marine witch”

Mek(Pidgin English) – make

Mumu(Pidgin English) – an idiot

Na(Pidgin English) – it is

Na wao(Pidgin English) – the equivalent of exclaiming, “Wow!”

NEPA – pronounced “neh-pah”. An acronym that stands for the National Electric Power Authority. Usually to blame when the power goes out. Now called PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria), people still refer to the governmental electricity company as NEPA

Nko(Pidgin English) – an interrogative pronoun used for emphasis at the end of sentences (believed to be of Yoruba origin)

Nyash(Pidgin English) – ass

O – a terminal intensifier. One sings and prolongs the sound more than speaks it

Oga – a term of respect toward men, equivalent to “sir”. The term of respect for women is “madam”

Okada – a commercial motorcycle or motorcycle taxi

Peme(Pidgin English) – to die

Pure Water – a sachet of drinkable water, often sold on the street

Sabi(Pidgin English) – to know or know how

Seke(Ghanaian Pidgin English) – craziness

Sha(Pidgin English) – a terminal intensifier that is similar to the exclamation “man” in American-English slang. It can mean “anyway” or “like that”

Ting(Pidgin English) – thing

Una(Pidgin English) – you guys

Wahala(believed to be of Hausa origin) – trouble

Wetin(Pidgin English) – what

Winch(Pidgin English) – witch

Douglas Hall’s Room 217 was the warmest classroom on campus. In the dead of Chicago’s winter, one could comfortably wear a T-shirt and jeans here. It was the perfect place to thaw out after trudging through the snow, and there weren’t any classes in it between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Thus, pre-med sophomores Shaquille, Jordan and Nature made this their study room on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Today was Saturday and the plan was to study, study, study. They were all taking Chem 101 and the class was no joke; best to get ahead while they were ahead. Nevertheless, their plans had changed in the last day. The whole world’s plans had changed. Quietly so. Nature had been the first to hear about the latest footage on YouTube. Minutes before, her sister had sent the link to her phone. She couldn’t wait to watch and discuss it with Shaquille and Jordan. Every few hours, more weird news came out of Nigeria and it added a spicy element of excitement to everything; a nice change from the mundane routine of school and work at the Harris Bank.