Chapter 78 Summary and Analysis – Reincarnation, Epigenetics, and a Soft Launch
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
In Chapter 78, the protagonist sits alone with her dog Sango and searches the internet for signs of reincarnation. She reads personal accounts on Quora and Reddit—a child who remembered driving, a woman who recalled being a WWII nurse, a man who felt he had been stabbed in a previous life. Though she wants to believe, she mentally cautions herself: children confuse reality and fiction, and the subconscious plays tricks. Yet she knows she can’t dismiss their experiences outright.
She has no actual memories of being Monife (her deceased aunt), only occasional déjà vu. She clicks through articles about recurring dreams, birthmarks, and personality similarities, but finds nothing conclusive. Sango, once Monife’s dog, rests at her feet, pulling her back into the family’s belief that she is a reincarnation of her aunt. As a child, she accepted this without question; boarding school gave her perspective. Now, living at home again, she feels her sense of self slipping.
She considers epigenetics and generational trauma after reading a blog comment. Perhaps the trauma of losing love, stability, and social standing has left epigenetic markers on the Falodun women, causing each generation to select the wrong partner. Maybe that is the real “curse.”
Her phone buzzes: Zubby has tagged her in an Instagram post (a candid profile photo of her threading her hair, no caption). She smiles and messages him. They flirt over whether this is a “soft launch.” He says it depends on whether he gets brownie points; she confirms he gets all of them. He claims he was indeed soft launching her. She asks what he’s doing. She looks at her search history and types “Nothing.” He invites her to come over.
Key Events
- The protagonist searches online for ways to tell if someone is reincarnated, reading user stories on Quora and Reddit.
- She reflects on her lack of personal memories of Monife, dismissing her own déjà vu as ordinary.
- She notices her dog Sango was originally Monife’s, reinforcing the family narrative.
- She recalls that as a child she accepted being Monife, but boarding school gave her distance; living at home again is eroding that clarity.
- She stumbles upon a blog comment about epigenetics and generational trauma, which sparks a new theory: the family “curse” might be epigenetic markers from past trauma affecting partner choices.
- Zubby tags her in an Instagram post; they exchange playful messages about “soft launching” their relationship.
- She lies about her current activity and accepts his invitation to come over.
Character Development
- The Protagonist: This chapter reveals her intellectual struggle between family belief and scientific skepticism. She actively researches reincarnation, tries to reason through it, but also opens herself to the idea of epigenetics as a plausible mechanism. Her momentary lie (“Nothing”) when Zubby asks what she’s doing shows a private, almost shameful preoccupation—she doesn’t want to expose her obsessive search for answers.
- Zubby (offstage): Through his text messages, he comes across as playful, romantic, and secure. He initiates a soft launch, publicly acknowledging her without a caption. He is a counterbalance to the heavy introspection of the chapter.
- Sango: The dog serves as a physical link to Monife and a constant reminder of the identity the family projects onto the protagonist.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Reincarnation vs. Science: The chapter sets the protagonist’s rational mind against the family’s spiritual belief. She weighs subjective interpretations (déjà vu, birthmarks) against empirical reasoning, yet cannot completely dismiss either.
- Epigenetics and Generational Trauma: The blog comment offers a secular explanation for the “curse.” Instead of a supernatural blight, the trauma of lost love and social standing may be chemically inherited across generations, influencing behavior and choices.
- Digital Distraction and Connection: Her online searches isolate her, but her phone also brings Zubby’s affectionate reach. The “soft launch” reflects modern relationship rituals and contrasts with the heavy, inherited doom of the Falodun women.
- Loss of Self: Living in the same environment as her mother, grandmother, and grand-aunt blurs the boundary between her identity and Monife’s, making her feel her sense of self is “slipping.”
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 78 marks a turning point in the protagonist’s internal investigation. Instead of rejecting the reincarnation claim outright, she now searches for a middle ground—epigenetics as a material, non-mystical conduit for family patterns. This scientific framing shifts the “curse” from the supernatural to the biological, opening the possibility that it can be understood, perhaps even broken. At the same time, her romantic connection with Zubby offers a counter-narrative: a relationship that begins with a soft launch rather than a tragic fall. The chapter weaves together the personal, the hereditary, and the modern, deepening the novel’s central mystery.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does the protagonist feel her “sense of self” is slipping, and what specific evidence from the chapter supports this?
She has returned to live in the same home as her mother, grandmother, and grand-aunt—the same environment that shaped Monife. She is surrounded by the same women and even cares for Monife’s dog, Sango. These constant reminders blur the line between her own identity and the reincarnated identity her family assigns to her.
2. How does the blog comment on epigenetics change the way the protagonist thinks about the “curse”?
Previously, she had to choose between accepting a supernatural reincarnation or rejecting it completely. The epigenetic explanation offers a third path: the trauma of losing love and social standing may have left chemical marks on the DNA of the Falodun women, causing each generation to repeat the same mistakes. This makes the curse a hereditary trauma rather than a mystical infliction.
3. What does the protagonist’s decision to say “Nothing” when Zubby asks what she’s doing reveal about her state of mind?
She is embarrassed by her obsessive search for reincarnation evidence and does not want to expose that side of herself to Zubby. It shows that she compartmentalizes her identity struggles, especially from a romantic partner, and that she is still unsure how to reconcile her intellectual doubts with the emotional pull of her family’s narrative.