Înflori by A.F. Henley

 Dustin gave up on being worthy of anyone's affections a long time ago, drowning his problems in substance abuse and meaningless encounters. He has learned it's better to avoid love altogether than risk the inevitable moment when it all comes crashing down.

Nicolæ has neither eyesight nor excess, but he does have a wealth of family and intuition. He is nothing that Dustin would have anticipated in a potential lover, but the more Dustin discovers, the more he finds himself willing to accept the risk - even if his conscience and the people in his life keep warning him away.

While I could call this book a quick read, one that just flows so smoothly you are caught up in it and before you know it you are turning the last page, this is also a book I can see myself going back over many times to catch all of the deep hidden meanings. 

Dustin didn’t come from a happy home, his mother was horribly abusive to him, but he did come from a place of material riches.  Even with all of the material comforts in life, he was an empty shell of a man, looking to fill the voids with drug/alcohol and meaningless sex.  Never one for being able to handle silence, because then his brain would have to think, he fills his space with noises that will keep him from dealing with the real issues inside.  One rainy day, he encounters a blind man with two dogs and a cup of tea.  Little did he know his life was about to take a major change.

Nicolæ had nothing to offer anyone but himself, but that was more than enough.  He might not be able to see as we do with our eyes, but he could see in ways we could only imagine.  He was filled with nothing but life, love and acceptance, but he communicated in cryptic messages and questions that led the others to think about the true answers they were seeking.  He took Dustin as a man who was searching for his meaning to life and Nicolæ helped him find a place. 

With the past family dramas and now current dramas with Nicolæ and Dustin being together, they had to balance the truth.  This was a depressing story at times, with a smattering of sexual tension between the two and many hidden messages that could apply to all to the reader’s daily life.  It isn’t a book you will grasp all of the meaning in one read, but it will take many times to go and search for the right questions so you will obtain the correct answers.  This is why I find it a brilliant book, the author gave us Nicolæ in the form of a book.  What you are reading and feeling is what I would assume Dustin felt when he encountered Nicolæ  for the first time.  What am I meant to understand? 

I would recommend this book, not only for the beautiful story of healing and becoming who you are meant to be, which is what Dustin found, but for the intrigue and mystery that Nicolæ gave Dustin and the author gave us in this book.