A few years ago, I lived in Kampala. One of the things that struck me was the large number of Kaloli marabou storks, perched on the roofs and treetops, like sentries guarding the city. I felt they were policing me. At the same time, a friend was going through a breakup after an affair. The two ideas somehow came together when I started working on the story.

While writing, it occurred to me to experiment with second person pronouns. I thought the use of ‘You,’ could offer a certain accusatory tone, while ‘We,’ could give a ‘holier than thou,’ loftiness. I also wanted to play with the idea of a Greek tragedy; where the passivity of the chorus is set up as distinct from the activity of the main character. In my story, while the tragic protagonist acts in defiance of the limits set by society, the chorus expresses judgement of her, and its verdict ultimately pushes her over the edge.