It is Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air ( see also nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide), so in the spirit of Valentine, here are some of our favourite stories about love on Iko;

More often than not, love comes by and leaves us in a different position than we would find ourselves. We do not know what our next lover feels like, and we are only sure of the type of lover we are. We can only hope that our next lover loves us in the way we like to be loved. 

“This person I am is not fit to be loved right? Why am I undeserving of being fought for? My myopia will make it impossible to see but my heart is sure to feel it.”

Akapo Temitope’s I Hope My Next Lover Likes Thinking About What To Eat for Dinner is a piece that shares the depths of one’s love while waiting for the next lover. What happens till the next lover arrives?

Tattoos and love stories go hand in hand. Love does not just fade away, just like how tattoos do not. In Love, Inked, Shoteh Ologun tells a story of how love, even if forgotten, will always come back to hold and save you. “I asked my father what drew him to my mother and he said her unwillingness to be tamed.” she writes, “He liked that she was fierce and was stubborn. He liked that he didn’t have to pretend to be someone else when he was with her. He was that way, too. She was his reflection.”

Everyone loves a good DIY here and there, but what happens when you cannot seem to express the love you have in your heart minus the money bouquets? Here are 7 Ways to Say I Love You by Temidayo ‘Dayz ii’ Olabiwonnunu, a collection of poems that speak to love in its many ways. 

For the single pringles, here is something for you. It is perfectly okay to join the  “it’s even plastic” gang, but you can also celebrate Valentine’s, partner/lover or not. In  Your Valentine is Not My Valentine, an honest and absolutely hilarious telegraphing of all our thoughts, Nanya Okike writes to all lovers and singles.

Love takes on many forms, and in “Tutu Mkpa”, we see that a steady, ever-present light can do wonders where a bright flash may obliterate. 

“If I had to pretend to be strong for her, I would pretend every day for as long as she needed me. One day, I realised I wasn’t pretending to be strong. Loving her, loving Aly, made me strong.”

Nico and Seraphina are friends who love each other, and sometimes, that has to be enough, no? Read “Tutu Mkpa” here. 

Remembering love is something beautiful, holding onto the moments you have lived and something you were utterly consumed by. Moty meets Omar, and soon enough, glasses are clinking, stomachs are churning, lips are lockin, and a love story unfolds. Cupid needs to do more chaperoning; what was he thinking leaving these two unsupervised? Karen George gives more than a story in  I Once Loved You: A Tale of Love, Loss and Hope. 

The opening line of Kegbu Blossom’s “love is a living thing” draws you in and you stay for the honest depictions of love lost and the regrets that follow. Read the heart wrenching story here. 

Our next pick is a house favourite; none other than Angel James’ “Na only you go be my lover”.  Our Protagonist, Asari, is a septuagenarian who reminisces on the day she found her true love as she takes us on a time travel trip to the year 2074 and brings us right back. A truly warm story of love, loss and every other thing in between.

Love letters are flying around, and what better way to express love than with words straight from the heart? In “A Letter to My Lover”, the author, mysteriously named @strange, carefully explains to his lover what she made his heart do, things that he thought only the feet could, like a backflip (Love, right?!” being the first amongst many others. 

What are your favourite stories of love in its many forms?

We’d love to read your yearning and feelings about the most revered concept in the world. 

Thanks for reading and writing - Happy Valentine’s Day.

Tarinabo Diete,

Iko Editorial.