The Fool Who Woke Up Rich
By Bilal Bikile
There was a man who left off women. Lascivious acts, romantic escapades, enamourment, and infatuation for those whom he simply couldn't put to words or a level of understanding. He hadn't a muse for some time, and while he was not happier, he was far less distressed. Desires would awaken, but he would suppress them. A muscle of self-control which he found stronger than he could have expected.
Then a calm, free, pleasant summer came around, when his pockets were healthy, his skin was clear, and his health was in order. A friend of his, a beautiful woman, whom he loved and cared for, came to town. Her skin gleamed, balmed lips shining in California sunlight, her bare arms and ample skin worth caressing, she'd share with the world's eyes, all but untouchable. She sat with him one day and confessed a newly unfettered love, which he knew was present, but had no plans of exposing. Not only that which lay within her, but also within him, for he'd made a pact with himself that he'd leave such things off.
Unless it was for certain... that his words and actions would align, resulting in union, and safety, not from the potential of his own heartbreak, but the heartbreak of the sweet souls he'd consumed for sport. Should he ever step foot in the direction of a romantic, spiritual voyage once again, it must mean that there would be no turning back. No known shores ahead. Everything unseen.
It is easy to look at men like this and question, ‘At what cost?’ At what price did they manage to surrender desire? For it is said that the greatest test God left for men is none other than women. So one can only imagine that which he battles within due to what he sees before him.
That summer, this was not the only case of a woman presenting herself as an offering. For that is precisely what happened in this predicament. He had some practice with such confrontation, so he shook not when the gorgeous woman sat across from him, with pleading eyes, on a charming day at an outdoor cafe, negotiating her offer. They say some men struggle in thirst while others drown in women who would give themselves up fully, willing to die for a man. They give up their hearts, souls, bodies, and agency. Many women seek this relief... to find a man so trustworthy that surrendering everything, even their will, becomes an act of faith.
She expresses this to him.
"I feel safe with you, such comfort. I don't have to worry about you doing anything wrong, because I know you love me. I know that you care. I feel calm in your presence." She tells him. "All I wish is for you to hold me."
He sits before her in quietude. It is a royal sensation. Having a beautiful woman whom you've never had, in the biblical sense, kneel and plead for your love and touch.
"It is up to you," she says. “My cards have been laid out. I have told you all there is. For I want you, and nobody else."
She passes him the baton, praying he will run with it. Finish the race, she believed she had successfully started.
He doesn't.
He expresses that he feels the same, but from a place of love, respect, and mostly, lust. And for him, that is not enough.
"I have had dreams about you," he informs her.
"And so have I", she says. "What about?"
"Sex, mostly."
She chuckles, but this settles her heart.
***
No relationship between a man and woman is truly safe from romance.
(Alt: No relationship between a man and woman is truly safe from lust.)
(Alt: No relationship between a man and woman is truly safe from destruction.)
(Alt: No relationship between a man and woman is truly safe from immeasurable joy.)
The dynamic is akin to that of a man with a key and a secured treasure box.
When left in a room, alone, informed never to place the key in its rightful turning point – which, if opened, would yield great treasures or great pain – the thought of what lies within the case will always persist. It is simply a matter of timing, of the timer prescribed by his level of self-control.
Many men do not trust their inner selves to refrain, especially when discovery and new conquests lie before them.