Sweet Obsession (23 page)

I saw a woman who looked like Loula. She was stunningly beautiful. I fell in love with her, and she fell in love with me. I saw the two of us making love, and the feeling was magical. It was an unforgettable experience. In my dream, I was a lot older, and so was Loula. The love we had for one another was powerful. Our lovemaking was deep. I told her that I would never betray her and make love to another woman. At fifteen, I did not understand the dream and thought nothing of it.

In the morning when I woke up, I could not shake the feeling away. The dream felt so real. All day long, it was on my mind. I told myself that it was just a wet dream because I was going to lose my virginity today, so my mind conjured this dream together to get me ready for the big night.

I remember when this beautiful-looking woman my father had sent to my room walked in. I did not want to touch her. I could not explain it. I just knew that I could not go near her. My father was puzzled. He said maybe I was too young. I should wait another year. But I knew that, even a year later, I would not want to have sex with another woman. I only wanted the woman in my dreams.

Every single night thereafter when I slept, she came into my dreams, and we made love. It felt so real, as if we lived that life somewhere, at some other time, in another dimension.

As the days turned to months, the dreams continued. I was madly in love with the woman in my dreams. I was afraid to tell anyone, for fear they might think I had gone mad.

One night in my dream, Loula told me that I needed to be patient and we would be together one day. She told me to never stop looking for her. She said I would find her if I kept searching.

So I searched for four years with no success. And then one night, she told me that we were soul mates. She said that, in another lifetime, we were deeply in love with each other. She said we were so happy, and we both promised each other that we would always be together. She said I had to find her before I turned thirty. If I failed to do so, I would never find her in this lifetime.

I did not know why, but I really believed what she told me in the dream. I begged her one night to reveal her whereabouts to me. She told me to go to the New World and she would be waiting for me there. I was beside myself with excitement. The New World had to be this place I read about, this place called America.

America was so far away. I did not know how I was going to go there, but I knew I would find a way. I asked my father to allow me to sail his ship and go to America. He laughed in my face. He told me that I was now nineteen years of age and it was time I found a bride. He said that Princess Shaeena was a good match for me and I should make her my wife. The king said I was old enough to get married and I should take a bride soon. Or else he threatened to choose one for me. After much arguing back and forth, I lied to him and said that, if he allowed me to sail to America, I would take a bride upon my return. Pleased, my father agreed, and I sailed away with my cousin and thirty-six of my most trusted men.

Two months later, we reached America. I was thrilled to start my search, but I had no idea where to start looking for Loula. As the weeks flew by and we went from town to town, I had no success. Exhausted and feeling like I would never find her, I was ready to give up, but a week before our ship was to set sail, in this little town miles from shore, to my delight, I found her.

I felt overwhelmed with joy that I found my soul mate. I did not know how I would convince her to believe what I was about to tell her, but I knew in my heart that I would find a way and we would be together. My men thought I was crazy, but that did not stop me from following my dreams.

She was running the corner bakery shop for the people she lived with. I sat outside the little coffee shop down the street, where I had a perfect view of the bakery and sipped the unsavory coffee until she was done with work. Then I followed her discreetly, just to see her walk home. Her beauty mesmerized me. I was madly in love with her.

I tried to get as much information about her as I could from the people who lived in town. Loula was only fifteen years old. She had been an orphan from a very young age. The people she lived with opened up their home to her and raised her like their own. They had a son who was my age, a young, good-looking lad who worshipped the ground Loula walked on. He was her second shadow. Wherever she was, he was right behind her, guarding her as if his life depended on it. She didn’t look too interested in him. I could tell because, when she spoke to him, her eyes never looked into his. I could not contain my excitement.

One day, I followed her after she left work. I noticed that her bodyguard was not with her. She did not take the same route as she usually did. Instead of going straight down the wide cobblestone street, she turned down the corner and headed down the opposite side. I quickened my pace, not wanting to lose her, and I saw that she headed toward a dirt road that led to a prairie. I was glad the shadow man was not around. I had her all to myself.

Loula walked into the prairie and stopped at a place where there were wildflowers in full bloom everywhere. Loula found a spot and sat herself down. I saw this as my opportunity to announce myself. My heart pounded in my chest as I walked up to her. I startled her when I said hello and apologized for intruding during her private moment. At first, she was cautious, not saying much and eyeing me suspiciously. But as we spoke, I saw her relax, and she even threw me a smile. I melted. I knew at that moment that I was totally in love with her.

“What is your name?” She asked.

“Nidal.” I said, withholding the part that I was a prince. She did not need to know I was the crown prince of Arabia.

She padded the dirt floor next to her and asked politely, “Would you like to sit down?”

I sat down next to her, and we talked until sunset. Our conversation was very pleasant. She smiled at me the whole time I was with her. My heart pounded loudly in my ears. This felt like my dream was turning into reality. When I looked into her eyes, I remembered our lovemaking in the dreams, and I just wanted to take her in my arms and make love to her right here in the prairie.

I found out many things about her that day. She was lovely on the inside as well as the outside. My heart burst with love. She told me about her life with the family she lived with. She said that Angelo, the young man, the only child of the couple she lived with, was a nice person. She said he had declared his love to her, but she was not sure if she felt anything for him. Loula said he had asked for her hand in marriage, but she refused him, saying she was not ready for marriage yet.

I was holding my breath, and when I heard her answer to Angelo’s marriage proposal, I let out a big sigh. I was so glad she had turned him down. I was having the best time of my life until Loula stood and announced that she had to return home because it was getting late. I asked her if I could see her again, and she threw me the most beautiful smile I had ever seen and said she would meet me here in this spot on the morrow.

We walked back in silence, each in our own thoughts. I was overjoyed. This was the happiest moment of my life. Tomorrow, I would tell her everything. I would pour my heart out, and then I would beg her to come with me to Arabia.

Right before we reached the town square, Loula turned, looked me in my eyes, and said. “Thank you, I had a lovely time. I feel like I have known you for years. Have you visited our town before, because you look very familiar?”

My heart skipped a beat. She was remembering me from another time, another dimension. I just knew it! But I could not tell her the truth yet. I did not want to scare her.

Loula said softly, “Nidal, I’m sorry but you cannot walk with me after this point because someone might see us together, and that would create major gossip, which isn’t good for my reputation.” I immediately withdrew from asking if I could walk her all the way home.

I bid her good night, but not before asking, “Can I meet you at the prairie again tomorrow?”

She smiled at me, and my heart stopped.

I whistled all the way to the ship. This was one of the happiest days of my life. Being in love was one of the nicest feelings in the world. When I reached the ship, I found Billal drinking whisky on the deck with his mates. Billal was surprised when he saw me, and he followed me to our cabin. He wanted to know where I had been all day, and I told him. He thought I was a nut. But that did not bother me. I was in love, and that was all that mattered.

I went to meet Loula in the prairie every day after the day I first saw her. It was the best time of my life. I was dancing to the tune of my heart. Our time together was so special, so beautiful, and so real. Two days before my ship was to set sail, Loula and I were walking away from the prairie.

“Loula, there is something I need to tell you,” I said. I wanted to tell her everything, including how much she meant to me. “Please come to the prarie tomorrow,” I begged.

In response, she leaned over and kissed my lips. It was a simple kiss, but I almost lost control of my legs. I stood there frozen like a lovesick puppy. I lost my voice, and terrified, I turned and ran away, leaving Loula behind just staring after me. My private part was rock solid the rest of the night, and I masturbated with her on my mind to release all the tension.

I could not sleep that night. I tossed and turned and argued with myself.

“Will you please stop acting like a nut!” Billal yelled, “She is just an American and we will never see her again. Get over it!”

I knew he would never understand, so I just dropped it. The ship was going to sail the day after tomorrow. I had to tell Loula my feelings before then and beg her to come with me.

On the last day at the prairie, I listened to her chattering away about the different kind of loaves of bread that the bakery offered, while my mind wandered to the kiss she had given me the day before. It was almost sunset, and just as I mustered up the guts to tell her my most inner thoughts, we heard someone calling her name. We both turned at the same time and saw Angelo running to us, angry as could be.

“Loula, where have you been? I have been looking all over for you!” he scolded. Then he threw me a mean look and said, “If you go near her again, I will kill you.”

Angelo took her by her arm and dragged her home, while I just stood there openmouthed. I wanted to rip her out of his grip. She was mine. She belonged to me!
Soon
, I thought,
she will be in my arms
.

I followed them from a distance until they disappeared inside their home. I was overwhelmed with sadness. The day had not turn out as I had hoped. I never got the chance to tell Loula how I felt. I thought to visit Loula early in the morning, right before we set sail, and declare my love for her.

I went back to the ship and drank a bottle of vodka. I got drunk and passed out in my cabin. The next day in the afternoon, I awoke with a pounding headache to the sunshine that had made its way inside my room through the small portal. I slowly looked around the room and tried to adjust my eyes to the brightness of the room. That was when I felt the ship moving, and I jumped quickly to my feet and ran out of the cabin and onto the deck.

My suspicions were real. We were in the middle of the ocean, miles from shore. I got sick to my stomach and ran to the side of the ship and barfed. My men came running to my aid, and I pushed them away from me.

“Why have we sailed away without my permission?” I angrily yelled at my men.

The only answer I got was that the tide had set in earlier than expected and we had to leave immediately. Besides, they chimed, the king had warned them to return on time, or else he would behead them. So they wanted to make good time reaching Arabia. I was devastated. My whole world came tumbling down.

I was a tormented soul thereafter. By the time we reached Arabia, I was a mess. I had lost my appetite, and I cried myself to sleep every night in my cabin. I, the crown prince of Arabia, who had not cried ever, cried now for Loula like a little baby. Billal told the crew what I was suffering from, and I was the laughing stock on the ship. But I did not care. I loved Loula, and one day, I would be back to claim her as mine.

When we reached Arabia, the king was told of our adventures, including the part about Loula. He was not pleased with that specific information, but I pleaded my love for her, and he just shrugged it off as if it did not matter. I was devastated that he would not even hear me out. He laughed at me every time I mentioned her name.

One day, he brought a harem to the palace as a gift to me, saying these women would make me forget I had ever met Loula. I rebuked his gift, locked myself in my room, and cried all night

The years passed by quickly, and I still could not get Loula out of my mind. I loved her even more now. I was twenty-five years old. Six years had passed, and Loula was still fresh on my mind. I did not want any other woman, only her. The people of Arabia could not believe that I was twenty-five and still not married. They could not believe that their prince was still a virgin, and they could not get over the fact that I still refused every girl they brought me to marry.