The Hospital

The hospital is the primary setting for the narrative present. The story begins in the delivery room in the midst of Zikora's labor. Throughout her time here, Zikora is crippled by physical pain, and consumed by anger and irritation. Though her mother is present in the room, Zikora finds her proximity discomfiting. Each doctor or nurse who enters the hospital room inspires similar feelings of hostility in Zikora. The hospital is also the setting where Zikora first meets her son, and realizes that she loves him more than she originally expected.

Zikora's Childhood Home

Zikora's childhood home is located in Nigeria. She grows up here with her mother and father until the age of eight. Not long after turning eight, her father marries a second wife and moves out. In the aftermath of his departure, Zikora distances herself from her mother, the space defined by their coldness...