Afterlives

Since he has nowhere to go, Hamza sleeps in the street in front of the warehouse. During the night, he experiences recurrent nightmares: “He was often visited by disturbing dreams. It was a relief when he heard the dawn calls to prayers and went to the mosque again to clean up” (166).

In the morning, Khalifa finds Hamza sitting beside the door to the warehouse and asks if he slept there all night. He insults Hamza, calling him a “hooligan.” When Hamza tells him he has no place else to sleep, Khalifa gives him a coin and tells him to go get breakfast. Khalifa shows him that morning where all the different kinds of merchandise are stored in the warehouse. When he sees Hamza’s difficulty in moving, he asks what is wrong with his leg. Hamza tells him it is an injury resulting from an accident. He does not answer when Khalifa asks him if he was in the war. Khalifa tells him that he likes Hamza’s look. He offers Hamza the use of an empty room in the front of his house, telling him he can only stay for a few days while he finds a permanent place.

As the days progress, Hamza recognizes he might have been wrong about Khalifa, who becomes kinder to him each day. Eventually, Khalifa takes Hamza to his house, where Asha is preparing supper. She is extremely harsh with Hamza, criticizing him and accusing him of all manner of possible crimes, to which Hamza does not reply. Hamza goes back out expecting that Khalifa will ask him to leave the house. Instead, his host brings out two plates of food and they sit and eat. As he leaves, Hamza sees a young woman on the other side of the awning washing cookware. He greets her and she responds without looking up.

The testy relationship between Khalifa and Asha has intensified over the years. Part of the issue is that Afiya still lives with them, even though she is 19 years old. Asha believes that Afiya should already be married. Indeed, she has received two marriage proposals, turning both down. After the first proposal was refused, Asha accused Khalifa of encouraging her to refuse because he wants to make Afiya his second wife. This astounds Khalifa, who explains that the suitor was a person who frequented sex workers. As Afiya thinks about the man Khalifa brought home, she wonders if this was part of finding her a husband, since he never invites men into the inner part of the house.

Hamza establishes a routine in Tanga. He takes his food at the home of Khalifa and makes his bed in their ante-room. He cleans the front of the warehouse every day. Hamza also participates in Khalifa’s evening baraza (male gathering) with his two close friends, a schoolteacher and a laundryman, whom he has known since childhood. They mock Hamza because he says so very little, and he accepts it without a problem. In the evenings, Hamza leaves the others talking and goes to theosquee for prayers.

One evening, Afiya opens the outer door with a tray of tea. Hamza rises to take the tray. Their eyes meet and they exchange greetings. Hamza finds himself thinking about the young woman constantly, wondering if she is a servant, a relative, or perhaps Khalifa’s second wife.

Nassor sends Hamza along with several others to the port to fetch a giant propeller that will be stored in his warehouse. This propeller is for a boat that he bought impetuously, Khalifa says. The boat repairman, after a month, meets a crew of Nassor’s workers at an inlet where they have the boat perched on Mandrake trees so the propeller can be installed. Once this is successfully accomplished, the merchant meets Hamza back at the warehouse and pays him his wages, saying that he should not show up the next day because he does not think he will need a night watchman anymore. Hamza wonders if this means he will no longer be employed.

The next day, Nassor sends Hamza to the woodwork shop where he will start working for Sulemani, a master carpenter. Nassor admits to Hamza that he always thought he had the appearance of someone who is dependable and worthwhile. He says, “I was just helping you out because I like the look of you and you needed work, but you did well” (192). Hamza goes back to sleeping in the ante-room of Khalifa’s house. Asha begins to send Hamza on errands. Hamza feels he must do this because Khalifa does not take any rent money from him. Hamza learns quickly and listens well to the master carpenter. Since they do not care for one another, both Nassor and Khalifa gossip with Hamza about the other, while Hamza never enters into the gossip.

The port becomes busy and the warehouse is now filling up with many goods. A routine develops in which Hamza receives his meals at Khalifa’s home in the middle of the day. If he is late, the meals are set aside for him. On one occasion when he is late and he knocks on the door for his midday meal, Afiya answers. She does not disappear back into the house as she typically does. The two ask each other some basic questions and share information. When their brief conversation is over, Hamza believes that a courtship has begun. However, he is still unsure whether or not she belongs to another man.

Afiya obsesses about Hamza, just as he obsesses about her. She sneaks ways to catch glimpses of him, hear his voice, or speak to him. She fears she is too forward but does not want to miss the opportunity to let Hamza know how she feels. It bothers her that she cannot share her affection for Hamza with anyone else. She knows how her friends would react: “She was a woman, they would say, and in the end all a woman had was her honor and was she sure he deserved the risk” (206). She realizes by the way Asha speaks to her that another marriage proposal will be coming soon. She wants to let Hamza know how she feels so he can be the first to speak for her.

Hamza has a lot on his mind as well, as he tries to relive his time as a child in the village. He had been enslaved by a trader who had a caravan that trekked into the mountains. Hamza lived in the back of a shop and waited on customers every day. Hamza finds the location of the house and shop where he lived but realizes another building is in its place. Hamza socializes with the people of Tanga. He discovers street musicians singing one evening about the yearning of lovers and is captivated by their music.

Sulemani is delighted to learn that Hamza speaks and reads German. He asks Hamza to translate things back and forth. He brags about this to Nassor, and Khalifa overhears. In the evening, Khalifa tells his friends what Hamza can do. This is overheard by Afiya, who asks him if he will translate a poem from German into Swahili. Hamza translates the first four lines of a Schiller love poem and presses it into her hand the next day. After this, she slips into his room to bring him breakfast and they hold each other. He asks her if she is Khalifa’s wife. She replies that she is no one’s wife yet.

Since it is Friday, Hamza only works half a day. When he goes to the mosque to offer his devotions, it dawns on him that Afiya will be coming to his room to see him. That afternoon, she sneaks in quietly. They hold each other and kiss for a few minutes. She stays only briefly because she knows that Asha will be looking for her. Ramadan is approaching, meaning that the work schedules will change dramatically. This means that Hamza will share an evening meal with the others in the house.

On the first Friday of Ramadan, Afiya slips into Hamza’s room. This time they make love. Each says it is the first time for them, though Afiya has a hard time believing it is true of Hamza. They talk about the devotion they feel for one another. Afiya asks how Hamza’s leg got injured. He is reluctant to tell her, fearing it would ruin the ambiance. She tells him how her uncle crushed her hand, permanently damaging it. They share their promises of undying love with one another. Afiya tells him about her brother, Ilyas, who has been gone eight years since the start of the war. Hamza then tells her that he sustained his leg injury in the war.

That night, Khalifa begins to ask Hamza about his feelings for Afiya. He explains the promise he made to Ilyas that he would watch over her and let nothing happen to her. He asks Hamza to explain his intentions toward her.

The following Friday once again, Afiya comes to Hamza’s room. She told Asha she was going across town so they would have more time together. They lie together and talk after making love. This time, she persuades him to tell her the story of his years in the war and everything that has happened. She listens with few comments. He explains how he was taken to the German mission and remained there for two years until the British shut the clinic down for being inadequate. The pastor returned to Germany and Hamza says, “It was time for me to move on too” (224). Hamza says he will try to help Afiya find out what happened to Ilyas. He notes that the Germans are good record keepers and perhaps it will be possible to locate her brother.

Khalifa grasps how the two young lovers feel about one another and also recognizes that pretty soon his wife is going to find another match for Afiya. He takes Hamza aside and tells him it is time to act on his feelings now that Ramadan is past and Idd (Eid, the great feast that marks the end of Ramadan) has arrived. He presses Hamza to explain who he is, who his family is, and how he came to be there in Tanga. Though reluctant, Hamza relates that he was indentured as a boy and forced to work for a caravan trader in the town. Khalifa is delighted to hear this story because he knew the merchant well.

Khalifa explains that a certain order must be followed: Hamza must ask Khalifa, who in turn must ask Asha, who in turn must ask Afiya if she wants to marry Hamza. It is perfectly alright, Khalifa says, if he wants to start the process by asking his young lover first.

When Afiya comes to see Hamza in his room, he proposes. She agrees and wants to get married immediately. Afiya expresses concern that Asha has a bitter heart and has disliked her ever since she became a woman. She seems jealous of her and accuses her of flirtatious actions when she has done nothing.

Fourteen days later, the wedding takes place. Very few people know what is taking place in the community. A feast celebrates the end of the wedding ceremony. Khalifa insists that the young couple move into Afiya’s room. Hamza is reluctant to do this, mostly out of his fear of Asha. Finally, Afiya convinces him to quit being so afraid of Asha, saying that she will get used to him being there.

When Nassor finds out about the wedding, he congratulates Hamza and simultaneously complains about his employee asking for a raise, even while criticizing him for continuing to live with Khalifa. Nassor waits to take credit for all the good things that have happened in Hamza’s life. Sulemani blesses the young couple and asks Hamza to translate the blessing into German as well.