The Place Beyond Her Dreams Oby Aligwekwe (summer reading list txt) 📖

cared to listen that Okem was the help. This left me confused at the time. As I began to recall the events leading up to the confrontation at the Palisir hotel, my conviction increased. There was no doubt in my mind that Ifedi had alerted Albert about Okem’s return. If not, how did Albert suddenly cancel his trip and appear in my room that fateful afternoon?

My heart palpitated the more I thought about all the scenarios. Evidence of Ifedi’s treachery was everywhere. They were subtle, but the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly together. It was still hard to believe she was capable of the things my grandfather accused her of. Had the news been from a source other than my grandfather, I would not have considered even listening. Grandpa had left the resolution to me. He seemed so sure that I would know how to handle it. In my state, there was only one thing I felt I could do—hand her over to the authorities. Hopefully, she would confess and make things easy for everyone. But first, I needed to alert my grandmother.

* * *

I sauntered into my grandmother’s room after I made a slight recovery from the news I just received, or so I thought. There must have been remnants of shock on my face because the moment I opened the door, I heard her say, “Ona, what is it? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

After I told her everything I knew about Ifedi’s betrayal, she wrapped her arms around herself and shook like a leaf. She was rattled and speechless for a few minutes while I stared out of the window waiting for her to regain her composure.

“What is this Luenah?” she kept asking after she’d heard me mention it a few times.

I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. I painstakingly explained my mystical world and confessed to being transported there sometimes to meet Grandfather or to discover things on my own.

“Now, I’ve heard everything there is to hear in this world,” she exclaimed after I finished. “I know you go into your own world now and then, Ona, but who would have thought you had this whole other existence? When did this all start?”

“Ever since Papa died.”

“Hmm, Na wa o!”

It was clear to me that I had hurt my grandmother by keeping Luenah a secret from her. I had no regrets about not telling her earlier, though. I only wished I had told her under more relaxed circumstances. That would have made it easier to explain how I received those revelations from my grandfather.

“You are such a strange one, Ona,” she continued. “I always knew there was something about you, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Anyway, stranger things have happened.”

“Grandma, nothing can be stranger than how Okem came into our lives.”

“I’m still in shock about that too,” my grandmother said, waving her hand. “I also can’t believe what you’ve been through. And to think that you didn’t even breathe a word of it to me,” she concluded, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, Grandma. You were so distraught about Papa. You never wanted anyone to bring him up in conversation.”

“I was trying to protect you. I knew how close you were to him,” she countered.

“I’m so sorry, Ma.”

“I’m sorry, too. These past few years must have been excruciating for you. If you had involved me, I would have helped you navigate these issues. You shouldn’t have tried to do it all on your own.”

“I agree. Sometimes, I wonder why I had to suffer so much to get to where I am right now. I endured Albert while Okem—my number one addiction, my passion, who was carefully sealed and specially delivered to me—languished away in the background.”

“Usually, we don’t need to look so far beyond ourselves to find the things we want the most,” my grandmother intimated.

“I know that now, Mama. My prince was right under my nose all this while, and I was busy searching all over the world trying to find him. Why did I have to kiss a frog to finally get to him? Why?”

I grabbed my stomach to suppress the gag making its way to my throat.

“I should think you would know the answer to that question by now, Ona. Aren’t you the one that’s been going in and out of this other world?”

“I do actually,” I said, grinning mischievously. “If I hadn’t kissed the frog, how would I have recognized the taste of my prince when I savored it?”

Her eyes widened, and she cackled.

“You are so right, my dear. It’s amazing what one can achieve if they make finding the truth their mission. And don’t forget, even though you took the wrong turn when you decided to marry Albert, that move eventually brought you to the right path. In the process, you got all the grooming you needed both on earth and in that other dimension. What did you call it?”

“Luenah!”

I laughed and pinched myself to confirm I wasn’t in Luenah. It felt as though my grandfather drove home a point through some sort of telepathic influence. I pictured him smiling and nodding wherever he was.

“Yes, that’s it. Nice name.”

“You should go there with me sometime.”

“No,” she snapped. “I think I’ll stay right here.”

* * *

Still in shock and in need of more avenues to relieve the tension I was feeling, I called Amah after I left my grandmother’s room. She had now settled beautifully into her program. I had to cover my ears as her screams when she heard me on the other end of the phone threatened to burst my eardrums.

She screamed even louder after I relayed everything that had happened to me, including the abuse I suffered in Albert’s hand.

“Hello, hello,” I kept saying to get her attention.

“Eh? What?” she continued. “Even with all his money and class, he was hitting you? Chinekemmee o. Almighty God.”

“Amah, calm down.”

“Calm down what?”

“Okay, keep screaming. I hope now you see the truth in the saying ‘not all that