The Enchantress.

THE ENCHANTRESS

Night air blew gently, along the thick water blankets with an energy that prompted the remembrance of my conversation with Vera last week.

I had put all of my best into making her understand that no man could take the shits she constantly served me on a platter of 'Leke, you should understand now'. The way she spat it out bluntly to my face that she was just managing me resonated for a while.

In the middle of it, a short laugh slipped out of my lips, it was what you would call sarcastic. Sarcasm had coloured my thoughts that love seemed a folktale to me. Thinking about it made me laugh again, now, at my temporal denseness.

Before I met Vera, I had promised myself that I'd never love again, but I guessed I couldn't be blamed for falling in love with a woman who had such soft lips. Maybe that was why I was being punished by her. By women! I thought that love wasn't made for me.

However, the calmness of the night, in retrospect, made me realize that I was wrong for ever thinking not to love a woman again. After money, rather God, as my parents taught, somewhere within me, I was convinced, women were the sweetest asset you could posses. And by posses, think about being loved by one and investing all your love on her. If you were lucky, on one whose heart was still intact, and had not cooked it out of love, an action men termed stupidity, to another man.

I was still staring into the sea, trying to forget the saltiness of Vera's ears every time she leaned closer, drumming very hard the flesh of my heart, when I sighted Adeola, the only female traveller on the ship.

Her innocent features were enticingly seductive, they could send the butterflies in your stomach on an endless trip. She was a masterpiece. God's masterpiece! A work of art to be admired.

I descended my gaze on her, daring never to be intimidated by such a beauty. I had heard my sisters jest about the timidity in some men which made them overly protective of women in a selfish way. I was not that man, I would never be that man who was intimidated by a woman's elegance, I told myself as I walked to her side to appreciate her wellness properly.

Brushing my fingers against hers, I walked past her, smiling the smile of big men. A smile of a predator to another predator. She shut her eyes and opened it immediately. I loved her quick response to stimulus. And, how she drew a boundary for me to stay within sat well with me.

'You're awake.' I said. She took her time to reply instead. 'I can't sleep. The mosquitoes' she motioned, explaining better with her eyes.

I was silent for some seconds, taken aback by the pleasantness of her voice.

She faced me, leaving no way of escape. 'And you beloved, if I am awake because of the mosquitoes, why are you still up?' With her eyes widely opened to light up the darkness of the midnight, she asked.

Beloved? I repeated that to myself again, caught unaware by her usage of words. Whoever told me she flirted with men had it right. I walked the hill of her nose with my eyes, and it seemed as though I had climbed a high mountain and was descending gradually, about to fall if not held firmly.

Her lips had bright colours, not affected by the darkness that shaded her intentions from me. She spoke with elegance, I was about to smile when this mosquito with a mission to ruin my composure sang in a crooked voice into my ears. I shouted loud, blocking my ears from the irritating thing.

The laughter of the lady struck me hard, and when I looked at her, I was met by the satisfaction on her face, seated on the throne of grace of her heart. Her eyes had extra lines that conformed me, coupled with the distraction of the mosquito, I was dazed, and knew for a second that my heart stopped.

Her smile, I was certain, worked magic!

She called herself Adeola, I called her my enchantress. I had been totally captivated by her beauty since my first sight of her.

Then, we started talking, about the journey and then the sea. Just like me, she had wanted to get some different air, to be away from the world. She shared her faith with me, her God who was also my Saviour, even though I hadn't known Him as I ought.

And, we talked again about our lives, the past, and our childhood. I was shocked to know that Adeola, my enchantress, was that Deola who didn't stop bed wetting for quite some time!

That Deola who liked me because I was rather popular as a boy. She wanted me so much but lacked enough words to express it. The Deola I couldn't deny I admired, no matter how inviting other offers-under-skirt were.

Leke! she shouted. Wonder mingled with approbation filled her dancing eyes. I definitely looked very handsome, despite that some thought men who had features as mine were scum. She was impressed, and surprised it was that Leke, her long time crush, standing before her again.

We stood like that for a while, absorbing ourselves like flies drunk with wine. We were drunk, but not with wine. Yet, I didn't cease to serve myself to her. It was Adeleke who just met Adeola, but Deola and Leke were meant for themselves. I tutored myself.

'Dance with me.' With my hands stretched out, I waited for hers.

She giggled invisibly, I saw it in her eyes.

'Where's the music?' was all she could say at a time.

I laughed, music was the least of my concerns. 'There's no music beyond the one your eyes are singing into my heart right now. The music is in you, in us, in me, Deola.' Emphasizing the last words, I moved closer to her, leaning further until she tied her hands round my neck and searched for something I didn't know was there in my eyeballs. She found it. I guessed as the smile curled out of her lips. The security on her face fired up the intensity of my love for her.

Then, left, right, and back to the left, we moved. No music, just our bodies brushing against each other as the waters continued to move. I had never seen the moon so bright, or its smile so wide. If I had a wand, like Cinderella's godmother, I'd cease the moment.

'We're crazy.' She whispered.

'No, my love, we're not.' With my gaze locked in hers, and my heart making melodious and lovely beats, I held the moment, and continued, 'We are in love.'

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