Summary

The symbol at the beginning of the chapter is the Nyinkyim. This means “twisted” and signifies that the journey of life is not straightforward and that it requires “resilience and versatility” (415). In “The Story of the Crying Water,” the narrator tells when shadows from other places came when the sun set. The white shadows wanted the people’s gold. “The Offin River was cursed” (163). Many people disappeared and were unborn. Of the Offin River, the narrator says, “And once it has you, you will not return… The water is not your friend… at night” (164).

In “Break,” Kofi gets to skip school because his father is home. Kofi, his father, and Nana Mosi go into town where Kofi’s father and grandfather buy him a board for riding the waves. They teach him to shoot arrows...