The Other Side of Truth

Folarin’s passport was confiscated before he was scheduled to speak at a conference about human rights, and the children do not have passports. Uncle Tunde, who is normally very cautious, goes out to get them fake passports. Femi complains that he does not want to go to London. The children cannot tell anyone that they are leaving. Uncle Tunde returns, but he has passports for only the children. It will take longer to get Folarin one, so he will not be able to leave at the same time as his children. They will travel to London pretending to be the children of a woman named Mrs. Bankole.

Mama Buke, the children’s aunt, helps them pack, and Sade thinks about how long it will be before they see their home again. She cannot take her favorite ornaments, wooden statues called Iyawo and Oko, because they are too heavy. Mama Buke gives Sade the aso-oke Mama made for Sade to wear for a wedding and tells her to bring it. The children will meet Uncle Dele either at the airport or at the college where he works. Papa hates lying, but it is necessary now. Sade remembers playing with her father outside. The children get into the car on the floor in the back seat, and Uncle Tunde puts a blanket over them. Femi moves away when Sade tries to talk to him.

The car leaves, and Sade imagines all they are passing, including nature, the market, and a billboard that holds memories. They make it through the first police check out of Lagos. These roadblocks always angered their father. The police often require payment, particularly from taxis, in order to pass. The police have a torch at the next roadblock. The officer asks Uncle Tunde what is under the blanket, but he says the blanket is to hide the mess in his car from his mother, who he is about to pick up. Uncle Tunde does not answer when Sade asks him if he gave the officer money, and he tells the children to sit up in their seats because they will all be in trouble if they are found under the blanket. They arrive at the airport. When Uncle Tunde goes to find Mrs. Bankole, Femi tells his sister that he does not want to leave, and he suggests they run away. Sade tells them that they cannot because their father would have to go to the police, and then he would be caught. Femi takes his hand away from Sade’s. Mrs. Bankole arrives wearing a green scarf and purple lipstick. She tells them that she has children their age, and they must use her children’s names until they safely arrive in London. Again, Sade considers the difference between this urgent Uncle Tunde and the one she is used to who is always confident in court.

Mrs. Bankole and the children have their baggage checked. Sade sees her show the agent where money is, and the agent puts it in his pocket. They pass through guards waving a wand by them, and when Sade says the purpose is to make sure they are not smuggling anything, Femi says, “But we’re being smuggled” (33). They meet a Black American man who is going back to America after having visited Africa to find the land of his ancestors. Mrs. Bankole gives the children permission to look in a nearby shop, where Femi notes how unfair it is that people kill baby alligators to make them into purses. Sade sees a statue like the one on her desk at home and feels sick. She goes into the bathroom, where she tries to stifle her cries, and Mrs. Bankole comes in and says it is time to leave. Sade considers just how much has changed in the past day. As they fly over their homeland, Sade thinks of the vegetation and her desk at home. She feels like even Femi is slipping away from her.

The children are in the plane being flown farther and farther from home. Sade tries to sleep overnight. She eats in the morning and realizes that the last real meal she ate was made by her mother. She looks out the window and sees “the colors drained of their brightness and soon even those were a hazy mist” (40). She sees the buildings of London.

Mrs. Bankole warns the children not to speak, as there are long lines of people trying to enter the country. Sade is worried about the passport and whether the authorities could use her and Femi to get to their father. They are called over by a customs agent who wants to search their luggage. Sade realizes that they are looking for drugs. They cut the bag that Mama had made for Sade, but the agent explains that sometimes parents use their children to smuggle items in.

People remind Sade of a page in her encyclopedia because she sees people from all over the world. Uncle Dele is not there. Mrs. Bankole tells the children that if they ever tell anyone her name, the agent who helped them will not help their father, and he will not be able to come to London. She speaks with a man and sends the children to get a snack and a drink. Mrs. Bankole disappears.

The children do not see Mrs. Bankole, and they do not have the paper that has Uncle Dele’s information. They go outside, but they cannot figure out which bus to take. Most people are not willing to help them, but finally someone directs them. They get on the bus and ask the driver to tell them when to get off. Everything is foreign, but Uncle Dele will be the “one person who came from their real world” (58). They get to the college, but no one has seen Uncle Dele in a long time. The woman at the college tells them that they may have some information that could help the police, but the children leave.

Sade and Femi have nowhere to go. They go into a couple of shops; one of them sells food similar to that in Lagos, but the suspicious shopkeepers shoo them away. Femi sits down in an alleyway, but an unhoused person tells them that this is his area and makes them leave. They see a video shop that is open until 11:00pm. The worker asks if they need anything, and then two boys come in and vandalize the place. Sade and Femi try to leave, but the employee will not let them.