Freshwater

Part 2 opens with an epigraph written in Igbo that means that someone who “kill[s] me” will ultimately kill themselves. Emezi writes this section in the first-person singular from the perspective of Asughara, a singular ogbanje in Ada’s mind alongside the others but acting as one. Asughara is born out of necessity—through her, Ada can avoid experiencing and reliving the trauma that Soren inflicts upon her. Asughara is cruel, cunning, and forceful. She feels that Ada is hers in every way that matters. As opposed to Smoke and Shadow, Asughara feels excited to have inhabited a body, spinning around in the marble room of Ada’s mind. When Ada calls her friend who tells her to ask for Christ’s forgiveness after being raped, Asughara wonders why Ada needs forgiving and concludes that she is better off with only Asughara. She pities Ada, watching her sob and bleed from thorns that have cut her arms, and she tries to save her in the way that she feels is most effective: utter carelessness.

Soren continues to rape Ada, but Asughara vows that Ada will never be present while having sex.