The Shivering
On the day a Nigerian plane crashes and the nation’s first lady dies, Ukamaka is in her Princeton apartment, binge‑reading the news and drinking cold Earl Grey. A loud knock interrupts her; through the peephole she sees a pudgy dark‑skinned man she recognizes vaguely. He introduces himself as Chinedu, a fellow Nigerian who has come to pray about the disaster. Ukamaka lets him in; he takes her hands and launches into a fervent Pentecostal prayer, invoking the blood of Jesus, binding demons and proclaiming protection over the crashed planes. As he prays, Ukamaka feels an involuntary whole‑body shiver, recalling a similar teenage “shivering” experience during a rosary. She eventually says “Amen,” the prayer ends, and she excuses herself to the bathroom.
Afterward Chinedu remains, introduces himself fully and they exchange names. He comments on the tragedy, and Ukamaka mentions that her ex‑boyfriend Udenna, an MBA student at Wharton, might have been on the flight. Chinedu asks for details; she says he went to Nigeria for a cousin’s wedding and might have been on the plane. A phone rings; it is her mother, who tells her that Udenna missed the flight and is safe. Ukamaka breaks down in relief; Chinedu embraces her, calling it divine deliverance.
The conversation turns to theology. Ukamaka asks whether God prefers some people to others, given that Udenna survived while many perished. Chinedu answers that “God’s ways are not our ways” and that God always makes sense, albeit not in human terms. They eat stew together; Ukamaka questions whether God is responsible for the deaths, and Chinedu replies with common religious platitudes. Their dialogue reveals her lingering pain over Udenna’s abandonment and his own need to control chaos through prayer.
Over the following days Chinedu becomes a regular presence. He visits while Ukamaka works on her dissertation, they share meals, he listens as she recounts her past with Udenna, and she confides personal doubts. He drives her to his Pentecostal church in Lawrenceville and accompanies her to her Catholic Mass, showing a blend of faith practices. He reveals that he is fasting and later admits his visa expired three years ago; the apartment he stays in belongs to a friend who is abroad, and he faces imminent deportation. He refuses help finding a lawyer, insisting he has no case, and continues to fast despite his poor health.
Ukamaka asks why God does not reveal Himself unambiguously; Chinedu replies that the nature of God is inherently mysterious and that humans must accept that God is not a person. He leaves the car after this argument, and later they attend a Catholic service together, where Father Patrick greets them warmly and jokes about “the dungeon” of Catholicism. The chapter ends with the two sitting side‑by‑side in Mass, reflecting on the incompleteness of divine answers, while the choir sings and the scent of incense fills the church.