Summary

Okenwa visited his parents two times a month. Now "in their late eighties," they seemed different to Okenwa (1). Not only did they look similar, but they smelled and talked the same way. They liked watching shows about animals and marveling at the "wolves" and "apes" (1). They had also become obsessed with fantastical tales. When Okenwa was growing up, even just 15 years prior, they would have no tolerance for stories about men vomiting insects, or old chiefs killing children to use their organs for rituals.

Okenwa's mother had been "a professor of political science," and his father had been "a professor of education" (1, 2). They had been married to logic. Okenwa did not understand the change. Despite his puzzlement, he "humored them," and listened to their stories (2). It was as if they were children again, fascinated by magic. Over the years, their manners had also...