An Orchestra of Minorities

by Chigozie Obioma

Fear is a subaltern god, the silent controller of the universe of mankind.

Fear, Chukwu! The subaltern god, the tormentor of humanity—that which holds a man on a leash and from which he cannot escape. Let him dart about the house, let him perch on windowsills, let him flap his young white wings as much as he wants, let him call and utter the orchestra of minorities; he cannot escape.

She had wiped clean the board of the inscriptions he’d made on her soul and inscribed new things. There was no longer a remembrance of things past.

Surely, in the depth of their hearts, every man or woman must harbor some resentment. There is no one whose peace is complete. No one.