But I didn’t do that. I just sighed, hugged my pillow and longed for sleep. It was thundering and lightening outside, but the cool breeze that seeped from the windows promised serenity if only I would close my eyes and snuggle under the duvet. Electricity was out – the generator didn’t get used on nights such as this – my fluffy bed was warm, and the scented candles cast dancing shadows on the wall that made the room mystical. If only Phina had shut up, it would have made for a perfect homecoming.

                  “You are in shock?” Phina asked, grimacing. I shrugged, tired from all the emotions whirling through me. “It is expected. So, are you going to confirm all these from Norbert?”

                  I shook my head. “No need to. He has his secrets, and now I have mine.”

                  “It doesn’t sound like you folks are close anymore. Mom said you were “Daddy”s Girl’.”

                  “Nah. Being mom and dad must have overwhelmed him so much, he choose to be “master” instead. His number one mission the second we hit Nigerian soil was the re-branding us both. We were to blend in with everybody else, to speak Igbo, to be Igbo. No more Englishness!”

                  “Was it awful?” Phina had a look of horror, exaggerated by the darkness contouring the sides of her face. The image made me grin.

                  “Awful doesn’t begin to describe it, dear,” I mumbled, deep in thoughts I couldn’t voice out.

Dad had changed our names once we set house in Owerri. I became Trinity Anele, and he Chimaobi Anele. It was all so fishy. I believe I was kidnapped. Phina wouldn’t have an inkling how that felt, if it knocked her right in the face. I was miserable. For a whole year I was ill. It was like a system shut down, and it hasn’t got back to full operation even now. I think I am scared for life. Whatever Phina’s mission was, with the new information she so enthusiastically dished out, it wasn’t making things better. If anything, I feel totally lost.”