The Door of No Return

The white men push them to get out of the dungeon. Afua tells Kofi to wake Owu, but the little boy is unmoving. Kofi realizes Owu is dead.

Kofi can’t fathom Owu, so young, being dead on the ground. Afua grabs Kofi’s hands and tells him it will be okay because Owu is free now.

A guard leads them through a passage in the wall to underground tunnels. Kofi hears the loud sea waves crashing. They continue to the tunnel’s end, where Kofi can see light, and they must pass through the “door of no return” (343).

They get outside the tunnel and are on the sea’s coast. Kofi once dreamed of the beautiful sea, but now he views the wild blue as a terror, the waters of his demise.

Kofi and all the other kidnapped people are shoved into small row boats. They’re rowed to a huge ship in the ocean.

Kofi watches a flock of birds above flying toward his home. He wishes he could fly away, too.

Many other row boats filled with people are also making their way to the colossal ship, which has a 33-stared American flag hoisted on its mast.

Kofi counts 67 shackled men being unloaded onto the ship before they are. He looks at the ocean, thinking he could swim back to shore. Afua shakes her head, glancing at the cannons that would kill Kofi, no matter how fast he would swim.

A rope ladder drops down to hoist them up. A white man speaks in English, the same tongue Mr. Phillip taught him, so Kofi can tell he’s counting them, which he explains to Afua. As the man counts, Kofi knows he is saying goodbye to his home.

Kofi is pushed into a cage as he’s counted as number 77.

Afua tells Kofi that to the white people, they are not human, but they must remember they are, no matter their fate.

Afua distracts Kofi and the other children with the tale of Anansi the spider. She acts out the spider webs and other parts of the story, almost making Kofi forget they are sailing farther and farther away from their homeland.

Afua gets seasick, so she can’t share any stories. The boat tosses and turns, and they hear the men from down below hollering.

The white captors bring the men from downstairs up once a day and wash them clean, forcing them to dance for entertainment. Afua tells Kofi to listen to the men’s singing because it holds a message.

On a gloomy night, Afua tries to settle the children and women above decks with a story. She then tells them, “The sun shines on those who stand up for themselves, before it shines / on those who kneel to cowardice” (358).

Kofi says he heard the warrior Two Fish say those same words, and Afua replies that he must have been a good man. Kofi doesn’t understand how the words can be true though, so Afua explains that no one can steal his beliefs or kidnap his will. Kofi tells the story of how Kwasi was killed before him, which inspires Afua to sing a praise song. She says they don’t need Kwasi’s body, just memories of him.

Afua and Kofi sing a praise song to honor their lost and left behind loved ones, starting with Kwasi. Kofi sings many compliments about his brother, including how he was a “river of strength” and how much he misses him (361). Afua sings of her innocent child, who was born and taken from her. They sing about Owu and Two Fish, too.

Kofi falls asleep thinking of Kwasi and awakens feeling lighter after the praise song.

The white men play drinking games, get drunk, and stumble around. They sleep through hangovers, but by day 19, they add another form of torture.

The white men come for the women in the cages. One grabs Afua, so Kofi grapples on to her, refusing to let her go until another man hits him in the head so hard, he loses consciousness.

Giant birds swoop down and rescue everyone from the ship in this dream, except Kofi. One bird lands on his arm, as if he recognizes him.

Afua is back when Kofi awakens, with tears streaming down her face. She doesn’t speak for days, distant like their home and past.

Kofi sees death everywhere. Whenever a person dies, the white men just toss their body off the ship. He wonders if his parents have forgotten him and if life is now a nightmare.

Afua finally speaks again.

Afua explains that the men below decks are planning to revolt. She’s heard the African men’s songs, as Kofi has, but he didn’t realize the song was about flight. Afua instills Kofi with the inspiration to fight, to never give up. She advises him to stand tall and survive when the time comes to revolt. Kofi asks why she speaks this way, and Afua responds she will die before she lets them kill her again, but Kofi will escape.

Kofi is confused on how they can escape, wondering if the men below have wings.

Afua isn’t dragged out of the cage this time; she doesn’t resist when the white men come for her. After she’s unshackled, she looks filled with power. She smiles at Kofi.

Afua kicks the man as hard as she can in the back of his knees, dropping him to the ground. She grabs his dagger, shoving it against his throat. While the other drunk men gather around to shoot her, she puts the blade on the man’s neck, climbing to the ship’s railing. She curses them all, then jumps into the sea.

Kofi feels lost without Afua’s guidance and protection. He wonders how he’s supposed to survive.

Kofi gives up on counting the days since he was last home, since he last had pleasant times with Ama, his family, and friends. His heart is broken.

The storm increases, raging now and tilting the ship. The white crew runs around, trying to steady the ship.

Giant waves hit the ship over and over. Kofi hears the men getting hysterical as they drop into lifeboats. Someone yells, “Abandon ship!” (382).

The sea slams their ship again, and Kofi thinks the waters are a monster intent on slaying them.

Kofi thinks of home and specific memories with people as the next giant wave splinters the ship in half.

In the madness of the sinking ship, Kofi grabs onto a splintered piece of wood. He wasn’t shackled like others, who struggle to survive. The white men are crying like babies, he notices. Kofi is terrified—but then he sees a bird, like in his dreams, and feels he should swim after it.

In the intense storm, Kofi prepares to swim like never before. All his practicing has come to this moment. Just before he starts swimming, he hears someone shouting his name above the waves and wind.

Kofi’s cousin is the one shouting his name. He calls Kofi friend for the first time, his eyes wide with horror like Kofi’s. His cousin was below decks in the ship. They are the same scared boys, Kofi thinks, remembering Mosi telling him family ties cannot break. Though his cousin is worried the white men will punish them, Kofi shouts they’re all gone. Kofi is the brave one now, insisting they swim after the birds with confidence. The two boys swim away from the wreckage together.