© copyright, Raymond Descheneaux, 2019 * In the western desert, near the north coast of Africa, lies the city of Marrakesh. Two hundred years ago, the peace-loving people of this region were conquered by a radical sect that believed in a single, all-powerful god. This inscrutable deity forbade all forms of sexual pleasure. Sinners were regularly denounced...
It was a hot August afternoon. Cicadas buzzed lazily in the trees. The oppressive heat of summer was just beginning to give way to the brisk comfort of autumn, and to celebrate the end of the season, Michael and Rose were hosting a barbecue for their friends. Little did they suspect, though, what would happen before the sun set on that day. Michael and Rose...
New readers - and previous readers who might have read the last chapter quite some time ago - know that it is advisable to start at the beginning of the series in order to know about/remember the characters and the sequence of events. ***** "Sir, I have to talk to you," said Amanda in a rather authoritative voice. "Yes Amanda, what can I do for you?" I...
Oh my beloved Samira... I can still remember her sweet face; her dark, doe-like eyes and those deep, ruby red lips. She stole my heart, and one day, inshallah, I will return to Iraq and find her again. I suppose that for many of you Americans, Brits and other westerners reading this right now, the idea of Iraq as being a 'romantic' place might seem more than...
Rooster woke up grouchy. The party the night before had been fun, and now he was paying for it. Ever since turning 30, he found that he didn't nearly drink as much as he used to, like when he was 20. It wasn't that he had started going to AA or anything, he simply found he couldn't keep the habit going in the same way. So when he and Callie found themselves...
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Abd-Al-Karim Mosque of Greater Toronto, Province of Ontario. This place of worship has become the rallying symbol of the Muslim community of Greater Toronto after much social and political unrest. Our new Imam the quietly legendary Ahmad Almas is dedicated to leading it into the twenty-first century. Membership has increa...
Shit....this suit is very tight, I am going to have serious chaffing and quite possibly red marks across my body. Why did I have to eat pizza at lunch? I have clearly put on a few pounds. Alright... fine, tomorrow I will join the gym and try and lose a few pounds. After all a girl in my position cannot afford to get fat. My auntie Suha is large as a whale an...
Lolita has lovers in almost every country of the world. Acquiring them is a fetish of hers that developed- initially at least- quite unintentionally, and rather spontaneously, and has somehow come to resemble a trend that she finds no immediate desire to escape. Now Lolita is sitting on a couch opposite a man in a hostel in Tehran. He is watching her eat w...
The noonday sun was perched high in the sky that day, the first day of Spring, shedding warmth and light upon the rugged countryside. Appropriately enough, the entire hillside was covered in a verdant green, with flowers in full bloom. As Iksander made his trek up the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, he took a moment to savor the sweet smell of the wild fl...
Callum Hayes liked to think that he'd made good of his time at university. He had just started his second year at Stepchurch, a new-build Poly in East London, and people were starting to know his name. It wasn't the best university out there, but his A-Levels hardly set the world on fire. At the time he'd blamed this on external circumstances, such as having...