The baby, nameless still in this model of spirituality, and his parents, Sarah and Fabian, catechists at Saint Mary’s parish, sit in the front pew. The baby’s godfather and uncle, who is Uche elsewhere, but not on this day, not in this ritual where he must be Silas, sits behind the baby’s parents. There is …

The township is a place of unity. People rescue and aid each other for they’ve subscribed to the adage that a hand washes the other. One hand cannot properly wash itself. Urgent meetings and funeral attendances are occasions where this unity is witnessed. The residents know one another and one another’s affairs, unlike in the …