The Language of Love
Is love truly everything and more?
I've been loved, and I wanted to understand it better. So, I asked my friend, "What is love?"
She said, "Nabeelah, I've been loved. That's how I know what love looks like, feels like, even tastes like."
Curious for more, I pressed for details. She asked if I had ever been confined, and I imagined being locked away, alone with stale bread and a brownish water that smells like distress and I had no other option, but to drink the water at least. So I can survive.
"Love," she explained, gently bringing me back from my imagination, "is freedom from confinement. It frees you to be yourself completely, without reservation. A reassurance that you're not alone in that big world, and you have someone to share your experiences with.
Her definition for how love feels makes sense, so I was curious, then I asked what love looks like. She shared stories. It was the late-night call to ease her worries, love was when her lover stayed up late to comfort her anxieties, love was when her lover woke up 5 am to get her pain relief and pad for menstrual pain, love was when…As she shared these experiences, I interjected, understanding dawning. "So, what does love taste like?" she said love. It taste like heaven, it taste like bitter chocolate, it tastes like grandma's cookies and sometimes it tastes like my lover's tongue. When he gave me a kiss because I asked him what bitterkola tastes like after he ate it, then he said it is bitter sweet, I was scared to taste it, so my lover ate the bitter kola and kissed in the same breathe so I can have a feel of what it tastes like without eating it.
When she was done, I told her the people loved by her were the chosen ones. I like the way she paint them with such tenderness, it was heartwarming.
She said thank you for always being so sweet Dami, i hope you see yourself in these stories too, because you radiate love.
Her words sparked a final question: "Is this what love is? Is this all it's supposed to be?"
A gentle touch, light and joyful like a feather dancing on my skin, landed on my arm. "Honestly," she said with a smile, no words will ever be able to fully capture what love is. It's everything and more."
Maybe there are no perfect words for love, but hearing my friend's stories reminds me of the beauty it brings to our lives.
Till next time ✌🏽.
It’s still #FreePalestine