The Place Beyond Her Dreams by Oby Aligwekwe

Author:Oby Aligwekwe [Aligwekwe, Oby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eclat Books
Published: 2021-03-15T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

MY TURMOIL MULTIPLED when I received news that Albert’s father was sick. I feared that if he passed, my fate would no doubt be sealed; I would be forced to marry Albert in a hush-hush ceremony, and my escape plan would be thwarted. It soon turned out my fears were unwarranted. The moment news of the King’s illness hit the airwaves, the priority shifted from the wedding to ensuring Albert was groomed and primed to take the reins of power. The turn of events gave a whole new meaning to the phrase every cloud has a silver lining. It bought me much needed time to put together a fool-proof plan.

The process began with three full days of rituals. The first day, Albert, the kingmakers, and all the titled men in Ide strolled along a dirt road that ran across Ide and Ntebe. Accompanying them were men in Albert’s age group, several traditional dance troupes, and all the children who could sneak away from their homes to witness the historical event. The procession ended at the Iba shrine, a triptych mud structure, where ten cows were slaughtered at the entrance and presented as a sacrifice to the gods. Following this elaborate ritual, the massive crowd dispersed before sundown to prepare for the following day’s festivities.

The next day, a procession gathered at the village square to witness Albert offer at least a hundred goats, fifty cows, and a thousand chickens as a sacrifice to the gods. Various age groups presented dances to the crowd and shouted adoration to the Crown Prince. As I watched the entire ceremony on the television from the comfort of our living room, I could sense the excitement in the air. But one person, I, was left out of it all. How could I be excited when my worst nightmare—getting married to Albert—was about to come true?

“You don’t know how proud this makes me,” my grandmother, who was sitting right beside me on the sofa, said, beaming with pride.

“I’m aware,” I responded, trying hard to mirror her joy when inside, agony tore through me.

For weeks now, she had been preparing in earnest for me to take on my new role, completely oblivious of my state. I desperately wanted to tell her what I was going through but chickened out each time after convincing myself she would be too helpless to save me from the situation. No one could save me now, as I was in too deep.

I believed Ifedi had suspected something was wrong. I could tell because of the way she looked at me after I lied about a bruise on my arm. I had told her it came from hitting my hand carelessly against a wall when in fact it had come from Albert grabbing me too hard. Like my grandmother, I didn’t see the point in telling her the truth, as she too would be incapable of rescuing me. I prayed for Okem to return. Being strong-willed, I was sure he would know how to get me out of the mess I was in.

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