The motif of water and drowning illustrates the curse’s fatal pull and the inescapable nature of generational trauma. When the novel opens with Monife’s death by suicide, this dire circumstance establishes water as the primary medium through which the curse is fulfilled. As Monife walks into Elegushi beach, she views this act as the curse’s ultimate victory: “The tragedy had already happened, and this was simply the inevitable consequence” (1). When she surrenders to the “cold, thrashing waters” (1), the ocean acts as a vessel for a predetermined fate. This trauma is passed to Eniiyi through her dreams of a water-drenched Monife, and it also manifests in the family’s deep-seated fear of the water—as demonstrated by Grandma West’s frantic reaction to Eniiyi’s desire to swim.

In essence, water paradoxically symbolizes both death and the potential for survival, for although it is the site of Monife’s destruction, Eniiyi’s mastery of swimming becomes an act of defiance. When Eniiyi rescues Zubby from the very same waters that claimed her aunt, this moment represents a climactic reversal of the curse and emphasizes the idea that Eniiyi has the power to determine her own future. Finally, in the novel’s Epilogue, the shadow of Monife’s spirit is seen under the waves, wrestling with the curse until “she [feels] it expire in her arms” (360).