Uninterested in the mating ritual of his people, Amu dreams of causing male screams of passion, and he confides in Owa, the young tribal storyteller, his desire of being in another man’s arms and kissing his lips. Discovering one night that Owa is a follower of the white fluid, Amu’s passion is ignited, but both men know they must hide it from their fellow tribesmen, lest they suffer the same fate as Kwamie and Kitru, fellow swallowers of the snake.
Before dawn broke from somewhere in the Land of the Coming Sun, Amu and Owa awoke. Owa knew he had to leave first to return to the village. They dare not return together, lest someone figure out what had transpired between them. Violating the taboo of two men together the way they had been would have meant exile to a deserted isle several hours away where they would most likely perish.
Amu returned to the village a short while later, immediately grabbed his fishing net and spear, and like most of the men, he was whistling and humming and extremely happy for the first time in his life, though obviously for a different reason than the other men. He listened to the men brag of their first night with a new partner, how they did it, and how they made their women scream in ecstasy, and how many times they did it.
On the third night of mating, Owa mentioned that he was especially hungry for some fruit and was going to the forest to find some. He looked at Amu as if extending an invitation to join him before taking the trail out of the village that led to the trees where they had enjoyed their first encounter. Amu was in turmoil. He so wanted to follow but knew they were violating a taboo. He watched as Owa departed. He bedded down in the long hut and tried vainly to sleep, but the thoughts and feelings of their first encounter kept his mind active.
He rose and silently took the path into the forest, tripping now and then in the near total darkness over roots and vines that clogged the path.
“I was hoping you would come,” Owa whispered as he heard the sounds of dried branches cracking under Amu’s feet and saw by starlight the figure finally draw near.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Owa extended his hand to Amu. Amu grabbed it, interlaced their fingers, and let Owa draw him close. Lips found lips, and all the senses except sight came into play. The heat from bodies pressing close together, the taste of each other’s mouth, the smell of each other’s skin – all were heightened by the darkness.
“Teach me how to please you the way you pleased me,” Amu said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Then do what I do.”
Owa began his seduction of Amu, and Amu reciprocated, eager to please his new lover.
