“Iyi ni wura, Baba ni dingi.”

The epigraph of this book is a Yoruba proverb that translates to “Mother is gold, Father is a mirror.” It starts the book by framing the dichotomy between men and women in the patriarchal society of Lagos that will ultimately define the siblings lives—and especially Bibike and Ariyike’s. It also touches on the relationship of parents to children. Mother is eventually forgiven and accepted back into the family while Bibike and Ariyike work to move past Father’s mistakes. 

“I think everything is a story unless you live in it. I like the idea of a god who knows what it’s like to be a twin. To have no memory of ever being alone. To be happy you are different from your twin but also to be sad about it. To know almost everything about your twin and sometimes want to stop knowing so much. To know you were born with everything you will ever need for love but to be afraid that this one person is too important. Or that this person will never be enough. To pray to a god like that, all I would ever have to say is help me.” 

Bibike introduces several major themes in her first chapter. Part of this is the struggle for survival, and for Bibike and Ariyike, their dependence and independence as twins is a symbol for how they struggle to survive after their parents leave—especially in a patriarchal society. This excerpt nods to the roles of religion and storytelling as it occurs after Bibike recounts the story her grandmother told her about the god of twin births. She appreciates the idea that a deity might be able to understand her, and while Christianity does not appeal to her, her reliance on her grandmother’s Yoruba tradition is a large part of her story.