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suddenly and grabbed Elijah’s arm, twisting really hard. Elijah closed his eyes. He’d felt hurt before and he knew that it was better to close your eyes. He heard voices in his ear:
Disgusting crybaby. The universe does not want you in it. Go back to burninghell. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.’
    Darren twisted harder, and Elijah opened his mouth to scream but then he closed it. He focused really hard on a stick on the ground, and imagined how it would feel between his fingers, the smooth coldness of it. He thought of a world with only trees, and no humans. How quiet it would be. Darren put his face very close to Elijah’s face. His breath smelt of cigarettes and fire. ‘If you scream,’ he said, ‘I’ll burn you.’
    *
    ‘Don’t forget, Elijah, what I told you. You’re going to start work with Chioma, some therapeutic work, which is like special play. It will help you. She will help you. I promise. You are a good boy. And you’re safe.’
    Ricardo showed Elijah where the toilet was. There was a bucket next to the toilet and the bath was dirty. A rim of mould lined it, patches and circles with soft green edges. Balanced on the outside of the bath were almost-empty bottles: shampoo and bright blue shower gel, a half-used soap covered in tiny hairs, an empty plastic wrapper. Ricardo showed him the kitchen, which smelt funny, and the living room, which had a table in the middle of it where Nargis had left Elijah a plate of jam sandwiches for tea, but there was no pudding. There was a sofa against the wall, with a blanket thrown over it. Ricardo talked very loudly as he showed Elijah around.
    Elijah looked and looked for Darren and his cigarette but he didn’t see him again. Every time he thought of Darren he felt his stomach move quickly downwards, and his throat swelled closed. But Ricardo didn’t notice. He was too busy talking loudly.
    When it was time for bed, Ricardo stayed to tuck Elijah in. Elijah knew that he didn’t need to stay; his job was overat five o’clock and by then it was almost eight o’clock. He knew that Ricardo was doing a job, looking after him. But it made Elijah feel like they were good friends when he stayed and stayed. Ricardo took Elijah to the bathroom and then to his bedroom. The bedroom was not really a bedroom at all because it was downstairs and it had a table and four chairs in the middle and Elijah’s bed was a camp bed that squeaked every time he moved. ‘I want you to be brave, OK, little man? You will be fine here. Safe. And after you’ve spent some time with Chioma, there will be somewhere more permanent soon, I promise.’ Ricardo leant down and kissed Elijah’s head and a tear fell on to Elijah’s forehead.
    Elijah felt so sorry for Ricardo, staying late and being sad, that he smiled the biggest smile he could and tried to ignore the wet on his head, on Ricardo’s face. Elijah could smell the aftershave now. It was one he hadn’t smelt before. Orangey. He wanted to press his nose against Ricardo’s chest and breathe it in forever. ‘I’ll be OK,’ he whispered.
    But really, Elijah knew Ricardo was wrong about everything. Chioma couldn’t help him – whoever she was. Ricardo was wrong to bring him away from Sue and Gary. He was wrong about Elijah being a good boy. And he was wrong about wizards. It wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t even Nigerian, so how would he know about wizards? Elijah knew. He could hear the wizard all the time, mixed up with Mama’s voice, which whispered,
Little Nigeria, a thousand stars light up your face
. Elijah didn’t know many things. He didn’t know how to read, and he didn’t know how to whistle, even though all the children he knew could whistle. But there were two things in life of which Elijah was certain:
    His mama loved him.
    And wizards were real.

FIVE
    Chioma was the thinnest lady Elijah had ever seen. She was even thinner than Mama. It looked as