Chapter 3
X sat at the dining room table as the family gathered around him. The little boy flicked on the light and X observed the house. The living room fed into the kitchen where the dining table sat. The walls were orange, and the room smelled of fresh mangoes. A pot of stew simmered on the stove. The mother, a portly African woman, stood by the oven, folding her arms and staring at X incredulously.
The father, a dark-skinned man in a button-up shirt and khaki shorts, leaned forward. He had thick lips and smelled of musk cologne. In one hand he held a can of sweating beer.
The little boy sat next to X, marveling at him.
“I’m Sparrow,” the boy said. “This is my dad, Kitchener, and my mom, Lucienne.”
His parents nodded hello.
“What do you mean I have to save you?” X asked.
“Some an
