Dark Eros

Afterword

Let's discus it a little?

Fumnaya means: Give me love

Ife means: Woman of love

Oshun: The African Goddess of Love, Sweet waters and Prosperity

I'm not religious...like at all, but I've taken it upon myself over the years to grow curious about the concept of love, what entails, how its seen, shared, spread etc.

Passion and lust are love in its lesser forms. Love in disguise, when it's genuine and heartfelt. 

For Fumnaya, he had never felt such an intense desire for anything or anyone before. He equated his feelings to a lustful desire. And he was right, he merely lusted after, a part of him knew that when she gazed upon him, she saw behind his facade. She brought out his vulnerability, he simply couldn't hide it from her and that fact, was something he took comfort in. Something that was new to him, frustrated him at first but soon became another reason for him to love her.

For Ife, she was innocent in every way. From her mind to her body. Think of it this way. If you were walking down the street and suddenly a man ran past you buck ass naked, screaming the world is ending, would you be ready? 

Of course not. It would shock the hell out of you, you'd probably be scarred and maybe even laugh at the very absurdity of it all.

That's how it was for Ife. Desire, to her, really, truly did burn. It was a sensation so new to her mind and to her body that it manifested as fear on the surface, though deep down she knew what it was, reveled in it. Welcomed his touch when he called her name. 

Fumnaya found no satisfaction in his life. Though he wanted for nothing, had anything a person could want, a title that was coveted, respect that was his without work. Emptiness has no preference, idleness has no bias. When a person lacks love and affection of the spiritual sense...they grow hollow. 

He wanted love without realizing it and even more, he needed it. With her, deep down, he knew that she had love to give. The moment he met her eyes, something in him just felt complete. And so he demanded it on the surface in the form of bodily gratification, but in the inside he begged for it...a.k.a his name: Give me love.

(You see what I did there?)

Ife is kindhearted, she has a need to help others, a gift that allows her to do so with adamant ease. But with such passionate feelings, she was blinded by her perpetual desire, her mounting fear at feeling pleasure so frequently that she let the truth slip right through her fingers until it finally exploded in her mind. 

She had more than enough love to give. And so she gave it...a.k.a her name: Woman of love.

In the end, when Fumnaya finally professed his love and in turn won Ife's heart, he could not help but think of her as Oshun, because he had never met anyone so filled with genuine love and affection and understanding toward him. When he kissed she tasted of sweetness, her scent just as sugary. Could she not have been a Goddess in his eyes? When all he felt was completion in her embrace?

Here are a few questions, discus them among each other, start a conversation, a debate. (I'll join in every now and then. I love deep conversation.) 

1. Do you believe Fumnaya went about having her the wrong way?

2. Was Ife's fear warranted? Or was she just over dramatic in her innocence?

3. Was Fumnaya's melancholy okay for him to feel? He was a prince, he had never truly struggled, did he have a right to his idleness?

4. Was Ife in the wrong for not telling about King Nefti's illness? Was he right?

5. The future was always right there, literally, in Ife's face. Do you think she should have just accepted her fate right off the bat?

6. Have you ever desired someone as much as Fumnaya? Have you ever feared your love for someone as much as Ife?

7. Do you relate to any of the characters?

8. Do you think you would have had the will to deny Fumnaya's embrace? Or his kisses?

9. Did you enjoy the story?

10. Should I write a story for the grouchy princess Hiava and Fumnaya's best friend Akua? 

Talk with each other, educate each other, start deep conversation. 

Feel free to give me a follow, read the rest of my stories and as always: Peace, Love and Literature! Ophelia...out.