“They made me believe my mother had died during childbirth.”
“Wonders shall never cease,” I said, trembling from the shock.
“That was how I came to live with you. The arrangement was perfect, or so they thought. I was far away from Ide. What they didn’t know was that your grandfather was not looking for any ordinary help. He wanted someone to double as a playmate for his little granddaughter. Your grandfather fell in love with me. That solidified the agreement.”
“I know. Papa truly loved you.”
Okem smiled and tears started to form in his eyes.
“Your grandfather never treated me like a servant. I think he saw something in me. We bonded the first time we met, and I really loved him too. Come here. You look as though you’re going to collapse any moment. Come and sit beside me.”
I shook my head. “I’m really confused. I can’t sit still right now. None of this is coming together for me.”
Okem stood from the bed and walked towards me. Stretching his hands, he pulled me close to stop the trembling. I held onto him and placed my head on his shoulder.
“Everything will be all right, Ona.”
“I missed you, Okem,” I finally said when I found my voice again. “I’m so happy you’ve come back to me.”
“I missed you too, my love.”
We held onto each other for a while before I released his back, slowly took his hands and looked into his eyes.
“I’m curious. How did you survive all this while? Where were you?”
“You won’t believe all I went through if I told you.”
“Tell me. I want to hear everything.”
“It turns out nothing is hidden under the sun. Call it fate or providence. I met a man who claimed to know what happened the night Ekema and Ozumba switched us. He’s been away for a while but has been following my progress since then. When he found out I had been sent to live with your family, he tried to tell your grandfather the truth. Ekema and Ozumba found out what he was up to and tried to kill him, sending him into hiding.”
“How did he find you?”
“He’s been trying to lure me to come and work for him since I graduated from the university. The night I left, I took a bus to Ajidi and went straight to the address he gave me. He didn’t reveal the treachery to me until recently. A few months after I started an apprenticeship in his company, someone informed him that a man who we suspected to be a private investigator was looking for a person by the name Okem. No one knew me by that name. Luckily for me, when I arrived in Ajidi, my benefactor had insisted I go by a different name, which I agreed to, not realizing the plan was for me to remain anonymous. Following that incident with the investigator, he decided it was too dangerous to withhold the truth from me any longer. That was when he told me about the circumstance of my birth.”
“The investigator might have been Amah’s uncle.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I sent Amah’s uncle to look for you.”
“You tried to look for me?”
“Yes. It was then that the abuse started.”
He swallowed hard and paused for a moment.
“I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. I’m really sorry I wasn’t here to protect you. That has been my biggest regret.”
“I wished every second you were here,” I said, forcing back tears.
He pondered for a little while as he wiped a tear from the corner of my eye.
“I doubt it was Amah’s uncle, though. My benefactor had found whoever was looking for me and paid him handsomely to report the results of his search to him before sharing it with his employer. Amah’s uncle wouldn’t have been so vile to be playing two sides. So many months passed without results, and the investigator wouldn’t reveal who had sent him. When my benefactor thought the coast was clear, he provided some capital for me to start a business and later, land to build a house. My business flourished in no time. I became known as the ‘Merchant of Ajidi’.”
“Wow! Where is Ekema now? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“Still at the palace scheming at all costs for Albert to take the staff, but I heard the staff has eluded him.”
“It has. Where could Ozumba be right now?”
“He roams around the palace waiting to take the reins, but he too is in limbo and will remain so if Albert is unable to grab the staff.”
“Did you say limbo? The last time I went to Luenah, Papa revealed Ozumba to me. It completely slipped my mind until now. Ozumba had a wreath on his head. ‘A mark of ill will,’ my grandfather had said. My grandfather was also trying to tell me something else before I returned.”
Okem squeezed my hand excitedly as I spoke. “What was he trying to tell you?”
“I don’t know. I regained consciousness before he finished.”
He sighed deeply and sank into a chair, my hand still in his.
“Try to recall.”
“He was saying something that sounded like ‘nothing is what it seems’, but he didn’t quite finish.”
“Ona, try.”
“I’m sorry, Okem. That’s all there was. I tried really hard to ask Papa about Ozumba, but he wouldn’t reveal much.”
He slowly let go of my hands and looked up as though he had come to a certain realization.
“Luenah might have the answers we seek. Can you take me to Luenah?” he pleaded.
I grimaced. “I don’t think I’m capable of taking someone else to Luenah. I can’t even really explain how I get there myself.”
“You can if you try. I beg of you—”
“Do you have any clue what you’re asking me to do? It’s obvious you don’t. Otherwise, you’d know it’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible, my dear,” he said as he arose.
“Only Eris are allowed into Luenah, Okem. Do you understand that? My grandfather made that very clear to me in the beginning. I think we should start thinking about
