Walter was lying on his bed. It was the afternoon of the same day, moving day. But somehow it felt like a different day. It felt like a different life. This morning, the family had felt hopeful. Now, the family was broken.

Walter laid on the bed and looked at the ceiling. He felt alone in the world.

In the living room, Beneatha sat at the table. The apartment was still filled with boxes. The light in the living room was dim. It was late afternoon, and it was cloudy. Beneatha sat and thought. She thought about her family and her future.

The doorbell rang, and Beneatha stood up to answer it calmly. Her face was still and sad. When she slowly opened the door, she saw Asagai standing with a smile.

He walked into the room and said, “I came over. I had some free time. I thought I could help with the packing.” Asagai looked around the room and smiled. “I like the look of boxes. It’s a household preparing for a journey! It looks like new life. Movement, progress. It makes me think of Africa!”

“He gave away the money, Asagai,” said Beneatha quietly.

Asagai was confused. He said, “Who gave away what money?”

“The insurance money,” Beneatha answered. “My brother gave it away.”

“Gave it away?” asked Asagai curiously.

“He made an investment!” said Beneatha with disappointment. “He made an investment with an untrustworthy man.”

Asagai said simply, “And it’s gone?”

“Gone!”

“I’m very sorry,” said Asagai. “And you, now?”

“Me?” said Beneatha in surprise. “Me? I’m nothing. Me…” She sighed and thought about her life. She began to tell Asagai a story, “When I was very small we used to take our sleds out in the winter. The only hills were the ice-covered stone steps of some houses. We used to fill the steps with snow and make them smooth. We used to slide down those snowy steps all day. It was very dangerous, you know. It was too steep. And sure enough, one day a kid named Rufus came down too fast, and we saw his face get hurt right in front of us. I remember standing there and looking at his bloody face, and I thought that was the end of Rufus. I thought he was going to die. But the ambulance came and they took him to the hospital. They fixed the broken bones and sewed his skin up. The next time I saw Rufus, he just had a little line down the middle of his face… I think about that sometimes.”

“What?” asked Asagai in confusion. He didn’t understand what Beneatha was talking about.

“I mean about fixing each other. I learned that one person could fix a problem, make him alright again. It was the most marvelous thing in the world…” Beneatha thought about medical school. She explained, “I wanted to do that. I always thought it was the one thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know, and make them whole again. I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. It used to matter. I used to care. I used to care about people and how their bodies hurt…”

“And you’ve stopped caring?” asked Asagai.

Beneatha thought for a moment. “Yes,” she said, “I think so.”

Asagai asked her why. Beneatha said bitterly, “Because people are too cruel. I was childish and idealistic.”

Asagai said, “Children understand things better than adults sometimes. And idealists sometimes understand even more.”

Beneatha sighed. “I know that’s what you think. You always talk about your dreams for Africa. You still think that you can fix the world. You think that you can cure colonialism. You think that you can fight for independence.”

“Yes!” said Asagai passionately.

“Independence,” said Beneatha, “and then what? What about the criminals and thieves and idiots who will come into power and steal the same way as before? Only now they will be Black and do it in the name of independence. What about them?”

Asagai shook his head. “That will be a problem for another time. First, we must get there.”

“And where does it end?” asked Beneatha. She felt hopeless. She felt like life was meaningless.

“End?” said Asagai. “Who spoke about an end? To life? To living?”

“An end to misery!” said Beneatha passionately. “An end to stupidity! Don’t you see there isn’t any real progress, Asagai? There is only one large circle that we walk in. We walk around and around. We all dream about a future, but we never get there. We just walk around and around.”

Asagai shook his head. “You are wrong. We don’t walk in a circle. We walk in a very long line. The line continues forever, so we cannot see the end. We cannot know how it changes. We have to keep dreaming and reaching for the future.”

Beneatha thought about her brother and the money. “Asagai,” she said, “while I was sleeping in my bed, people took the future out of my hands. Nobody asked me, they just changed my life!”

Asagai understood. “Was it your money?” he asked gently.

“What?” said Beneatha.

“Was it your money that he gave away?”

“It belonged to all of us,” answered Beneatha.

Asagai continued, “But did you earn it? Would you have had it at all if your father didn’t die?”

Beneatha shook her head.

Asagai frowned. “There is something bad about that. Your dreams should not depend on the death of a man. I never thought I would see you like this, Alaiyo. You! Your brother made a mistake, and now you will give up your dream? You talk about what good is struggle, what good is anything! Where are we going and why are we trying!”

Beneatha was angry now, “Yes, I want to know where we are going and why we are trying! But you can’t answer my question!”

Asagai shouted now, “I LIVE the answer!” He paused thoughtfully. He said more calmly, “In my village at home, most people cannot read. Most people never see a book. I will go home, and a lot of the things I have learned in America will seem strange to the people of my village. But I will teach and work and things will happen. Some things will happen slowly, and some things will happen quickly. At times, it will feel like nothing is changing at all. And then there will be dramatic events that change everything. Guns, murder, revolution. Sometimes I will wonder if the violence and struggle are worth it. But then I will look at my village. I will see the illiteracy and disease and ignorance, and I will remember that change is important. We have to try. And perhaps I will be a great man. Perhaps I will help my people. And perhaps I will be killed in my bed.”

He paused and looked at Beneatha. “Or perhaps I will live to be a very old man, respected. Perhaps I will be a great politician. What I am trying to tell you, Alaiyo, is that perhaps what I believe is not right. Perhaps I will not understand, and I will do terrible things to keep my power. I hope that I will be a good politician and that I can stay idealistic throughout my life. And if I don’t, then I hope another revolutionary kills me.”

Beneatha sighed and said, “Oh Asagai, I know all of that.”

Asagai smiled then and put his hand on hers. “Good! Then stop moaning and complaining and tell me what you plan to do.”

“Do?” said Beneatha with surprise.

Asagai said, “I have a suggestion. That when it is all over, you should come home with me.”

Beneatha looked at him. “Oh, Asagai, don’t try to be romantic right now.”

Asagai said quickly, “No my dear, I do not mean across the city. I mean across the ocean. Home. To Africa.”

Beneatha was surprised. She looked into his eyes and said quietly, “To Africa?”

Asagai stood up and smiled. He said jokingly, “Yes! Three hundred years later, the African Prince brought the young lady back across the seas to the place of her ancestors!”

Beneatha was serious. “To… to Nigeria?”

Asagai said sweetly, “Nigeria. Home.”

He took her in his arms and said, “I will show you our mountains and our stars. I will teach you the old songs and the ways of our people, and in time we will pretend that you have been away only for a day.” He paused and said, “Say that you’ll come with me,” and then he kissed her.

Beneatha was confused. She didn’t know how to feel. Asagai… Africa… the future… It was too much to think about. She pulled away and said, “Too many things have happened today. I must sit down and think. I don’t know what I feel about anything right now.”

Asagai understood. “Alright, I will leave you now. Just sit for a while and think. You should never be afraid to sit for a while and think.”

He looked at her one more time from the doorway before leaving. She looked beautiful sitting there. She was so smart and thoughtful and charming. He hoped that she would say yes.