FIRST CAME YOUR EYES

I AM OK :)

Hi guys,

I know it's been a while. As most of you know, I was mad sick; I barely recovered and found myself swamped by work. Thus all my projects here have been on hold since.

It's going to be NANOWRIMO month in a few minutes, and I want to take up the challenge for two reasons. First, to use it as a catalyzer to get my head back into it and, secondly, for the fun of it. I'm not ready for this.

I have bits and bobs of this story on my mind. As always, I'm going to make this jigsaw puzzle into something.

So I'll explore love, its challenges again, and the struggles of trying to live by the values of faith. I love seeing how people raised in different environments and cultures bond. This story will be my biggest challenge in terms of bringing worlds together.

There you have it. If you want to support First Came Your Eyes (honestly, I'm still determining if I'll keep the title), you can read the daily episode. Otherwise, you can patiently wait until I finish.

SUMMARY

JB decides to give her body count a rest and leave the streets to focus on her thirty-five-year-old self's well-being and self-worth. If she has to be in a relationship, she wants to feel connected by something other than a condom.

In comes Nassim, the maintenance guy with mesmerizing smiling eyes. The two have limited interactions about work but speak most times with their eyes behind the medical masks.

From frowns, expressions of surprise, or mocking stares, their encounters though brief, allow them to learn a little more about the other.

When Nassim sparks conversation leaving the professional realm, JB wonders how he looks without the mask but quickly convinces herself the man isn't as attractive as in her fantasy.

Nassim, on the other hand, is sure she's pretty.

Good thing because the restrictions come to an end. Both can finally discover if their suspicions were founded.

They liked each other's eyes, and they saw the attraction heighten. Jb and Nazim find themselves facing a series of buts.

JB has always dreamt of a highly educated man with money busting out of his pockets and a job that would leave her friends green with envy.

Nassim isn't precisely that with his high school degree and vocational school diploma, without forgetting his Tunisian ancestry and the fact he's Muslim.

JB has a lot of apprehensions, and she already imagines herself wearing a burqa and being the Monday and Tuesday flavor in his four wives' agenda.

For the moderate Muslim man, the face reveal is a cataclysm. He, who always sought to find a modest Muslim wife, can't figure out why he's so attracted to this atheist black woman. She isn't his type and is disqualified by Islam with her tattooed arms and the flesh she leaves uncovered. Nassim comes to believe his desires are haram and purely sexual.

Still, he wishes to date her, not anyhow but the halal way to test the feeling bubbling inside.

JB experiences dating like she never has, as Nassim's sweet intentions make her wonder if she's entitled to such a man and happiness.

What does he want from her?

It's obvious their relationship is bound for doom's vile.

Can a Muslim man really love a woman like her?

Warning

This book contains sensitive themes considered haram [prohibited] in Islam. Please keep in mind I'm not Muslim; I accept any commentary that can enlighten other readers or me.

It's a sloo-oo-oow motion story, so for all the love action runners, take a pause.

As always, translations or other expressions will be in brackets.

I will only write author's notes to give you a heads up on where I'm at on the NANOWRIMO challenge and rant when the going gets tough.

Also, the grammar will probably be more dodgy than usual as I will not have time to review it as much as I'd like.

I'm not even sure this chapter makes sense.

THEMES

Adultery

Depression

Losing control

Changing

Cultural differences

Trauma

True love

Religion

Abstinence

Anyway, enjoy your read!