Chanda's Secrets

Chanda needs to call her relatives in Tiro to tell them about Sara, and invite them to the funeral. She heads to Mrs. Tafa's house, to ask to use her telephone.

Although she used to like Mrs. Tafa, Chanda doesn't care for her anymore. She is too bossy, critical of everything anyone does, and sticks her nose in everyone else's business. Chanda thinks that, “Mrs. Tafa would like to run the world. Since she can't run the world, she's decided to run our neighborhood.” Still, Mrs. Tafa and Chanda's mother have shared history, and enjoy passing the time recalling the times when their husbands both worked in the mine together. Chanda's mother says that Mrs. Tafa just needs to feel important. Her money, phone, electricity, running water, and maid help her maintain her status in the neighborhood.

When Chanda needs to use the telephone to call Tiro, Mrs. Tafa holds out until she has made Chanda feel as though Mrs. Tafa is doing her a great favor by allowing her to. Mrs. Tafa complains about how much the call will cost, but when offered payment, refuses it in a magnanimous gesture.

Chanda calls Mr. Kamwendo, the general dealer in Tiro, and asks him to pass word to her relatives of Sara's death, and invite them all to the funeral.

Mrs. Tafa compares Sara's death to the death of her own son, Emmanuel. Emmanuel died in a hunting accident just before beginning law school on a scholarship. In a reference to AIDS, Mrs. Tafa says that people can't start rumors about how Sara and Emmanuel died, because they were both pure. She then uses the occasion to complain about Esther. She implies that Esther's parents died of AIDS, though Chanda replies that her father died of TB, and her mother had cancer.