Last year, we traveled to Kumasi for a family funeral. You know how funerals

in Ghana bring out every relative, whether you know them or not. At one point during the ceremony, this woman dressed in all black started wailing and calling my uncle’s name like her life depended on it. Everyone turned to look at her, but my aunt’s face was what caught my attention, she looked like she was ready to explode. I asked one of my cousins about the woman, and he shrugged, saying, ‘Oh, she’s

one of my dad’s girlfriends.’ I was shocked. My uncle was sitting right there, pretending not to notice her, while everyone else acted like it was normal. Later, my aunt refused to sit near him, and the ride back to Accra was painfully quiet. Till today, no one has explained who that woman really was, but I can’t stop thinking about the way she screamed his name like she had every right to be there.