Illumine Her Read Online Free PDF Page A

distraction, snapping the bread in their mouths mid-air. Alana shuddered and inched closer to the front door.
    “Firstly, they are not little . What are you and Sala feeding them? And secondly, you know very well that they are capable of taking off my sneakers and biting off my toes.” She bolted inside and made a mental note to take food with her the following morning.
    “She just stepped in now.” Perlita was on the phone when Alana entered the front door. “ Papa and Lola ,” she mouthed quietly, gesturing for her to come closer. “The ceremony was long and stifling hot as graduations usually are… yes, she looked beautiful… She will be starting soon… I’ll let her tell you all about it.” Her mother said farewell to her parents and passed the phone to Alana.
    Beaming, she grabbed the handle and pressed it to her ear. “Hi, Papa and Lola! It’s been too long.”
    “Alana, we are so proud of you, darling girl!” her grandfather boomed down the receiver. Despite the assistance of his hearing aid, he continued to shout his words. Alana giggled out loud.
    “Honey, your Papa and I are thrilled about your graduation.” Her grandmother’s lilting voice came through from the second telephone in their house. Alana imagined she was in the upstairs bedroom while her grandfather was speaking from the phone in the kitchen. “Now, we know how much you have pined over the years to travel to one of those dream destinations of yours,” she paused. “Well, as a graduation present, we want to send you to one of them. All you have to do is pick one.”
    Alana gasped in surprise. “What? No, this is too much, Lola.”
    She heard chuckles on the other end. “Of course not, sweetheart. You deserve this because you earned it. We have been saving up for this since you started university so everything is covered.”
    Alana was speechless. “Really? Are you sure? I never imagined this. Is this for real?” She could hardly believe what she was hearing. One of her dream destinations! What an incredible gift.
    “The big question is where do you want to go?” Papa asked.
    “I don’t…I don’t know,” she stammered. “I don’t even know what to say. This is the best surprise ever. Thank you both so much.” Incredibly touched by their thoughtfulness, she was moved to tears by their kindness.
    “Well think about it and let us know,” her grandmother responded.
    “Thank you, Papa. Thank you, Lola. This means so much to me. I love you both so much.” Alana allowed a tear to spill over.
    “Goodbye, darling girl. We love you. Stay in touch.”
    “I love you, too.” She sniffed and hung up.

Chapter 3

    “W ear this flower in your ear.”
    Alana frowned. “Sala, I’m not going to a siva . I’m going to work.”
    They were sitting around the small round table in the kitchen, one of Alana’s favorite rooms in the house. It was designed in a way that from whichever angle you stood, one always had a clear view of the gardens outside. Large windows surrounded them and kitchen cupboards in a mix of blue and green dominated the bottom half. Bowls of ripe papaya and guava from the garden and vegetables from the local market, spices for curries and stews, a box of cereal, and a tin of powdered milk were placed on the countertop.
    “Nonsense! Doesn’t matter if you are not going dancing. The sei is the perfect complement to a woman’s attire.” Sala huffed and continued. “It enhances her natural beauty. You wear this and it will bring joy to your patients. Plus, it won’t hurt to catch the eye of some doctor either, especially one of those foreign students, ua e iloa ?” She strategically placed the pink flower on Alana’s right ear demonstrating the age-old Polynesian adage. “Now, this will inform everyone that you are single so there will be no confusion. Eat your breakfast.” She bristled past and started boiling water for lemongrass tea. Alana sighed and took a bite out of her toast with avocado