Odie is addressing termites in a glass jar. The address reveals many things, including atrocities of war in ten years. Stella, Odie’s sister, is worried about his brother’s state of mind. Since the return of their stepbrother, Wak, Odie displays an abnormal behavior. Wak has been in exile for ten years. We learn that he fled the country after Odie informed on him. Odie went further to publish the death of Wak in newspapers. Such a decision was prompted by his greediness to inherit his father’s properties. The siblings’ father was a senior government official who was murdered during the coup.
When Wak returns home, Odie looks disturbed while Stella is contented. The tension between the two brothers symbolically demonstrates the conflict between two factions in the government that led to the coup. The first section of the book depicts Wak as a coward who fled his country in fear of violence. Odie perceives himself as a fearless and courageous patriot who withstood the pain experienced in the country. Ironically, Odie is a coward and avaricious person who betrayed his brother, save himself from authorizes, and inherit his father’s belongings.
Odie is preoccupied with the fear of Wak because he plotted his downfall, but he survived. On the other hand, Wak is a forgiving fellow with a soft spot for his siblings. Wak tries to convince Odie about the challenges faced by refugees in a foreign country but in vain. Odie believes that refugees enjoy tranquility in foreign nations. Eventually, the two brothers embrace reconciliation, metaphorically signifying the healing of a country after a coup.
