After Ijeoma’s mother stops participating in mundane daily activities, Ijeoma takes over cooking and cleaning, though she is only 11. She tries to convince Adaora to eat some yams and sardines. After discovering the relief lorry did not come with more food, Adaora refuses.

While watching for the relief lorry, Ijeoma is approached by armed soldiers who ask for water. Her mother intervenes, telling the soldier not to beg. When Adaora goes back inside, Ijeoma goes to fill the man’s jerry can.

Adaora notices Ijeoma at the water tank, takes the jerry can from her, returns to the front gate, and tells the soldier they don’t have any water. Ijeoma worries Adaora sees her “as a burden, the same way that she saw the soldiers as a burden” (32).

When Red Cross workers do not appear on relief day, Ijeoma waits for the lorry, watches girls walk by, and compares her body to theirs, while Adaora prays inside. After Ijeoma tells her the lorry hasn’t arrived, Adaora describes her nightmares and feeling haunted in the daytime by her dead husband.

Ijeoma’s narration embeds a story about a “girl” (36) whose life does not turn out the way she expects.