Black Boy Joy

Fort and Gary the Griot continue filling their jar with bubbles of joy, but Fort notices that some of the stories they have seen contain an element of sadness. Gary the Griot replies that this is necessary because joy cannot be understood without it. He adds that fear and anger are two other sides of this coin. This confuses Fort further, as he cannot imagine a four-sided coin.

Keziah’s favorite thing to do is solve puzzles. He loves all sorts of puzzles and the feeling of completing one. When his family plans to move to a high-rise apartment in Lagos, Keziah is angry because he does not want to move and is scared that he will not make friends in the new place. He dreads going to see the new apartment but does find the elevator thrilling because he has never been on one before. While his parents check out the apartment, Keziah goes exploring and mistakenly goes into a service elevator. The elevator takes him down, much faster than expected, and colors start to form around him. Keziah faints, and when he wakes up, he is in another place.

The first thing Keziah hears is a lizard telling him to get up.