Simba slept on the sofa. He wanted to throw Tariro out of his house but how could he? What if it backfired? He didn’t want trouble. He always knew women as emotional objects and he hated noise so he had to stay calm.

Tariro knew what Simba had seen and went to find him on the sofa. She took a razor and made a small cut on his wrist. She did the same to her own wrist, and dripped her blood onto his.

“You are mine…You won’t run away from me. You are mine,” she whispered in his ear.

His body was trembling with fear. Looking at the wound, he wanted to cry: watching the blood seeping out frightened him. She dressed up and left his house, leaving him still like a robot. Blackness fell over his eyes and he dropped as if he was dead.

The pain in his back woke him up. He stretched. He couldn’t remember what time he had fallen asleep. He thew back the blanket and all the recent events came flashing back. Tariro had gone home, and he felt relieved. He made his bed and cleaned up before preparing for work. He saw the fresh wound on his wrist and tears just poured down. His blood was dripping bit by bit. He couldn’t remember hurting himself.

“Since I met this lady…Oh no man!” He punched the tiles in the bathroom.

He put a bandage on his injury and wore his formal clothes. He wished he could ask for an off-day: his mind was lost. He needed more sleep, but their office had plenty of work due. He was restless and uneasy, not concentrating well, and he kept on drinking coffee to keep himself awake.

After work he visited the bar again to look for Tariro but she wasn’t there. He needed answers about why she had declared him hers. He didn’t normally drink in the middle of the week, but he approached the bartender while scanning the crowd.

“I am looking for Tara…No, it’s Tari,” he said loudly.

The music was overbearing: it was hard to hear one another.

“I don’t know her,” the man said, shaking his head and continuing to mix beers in a silver bottle.

Simba felt uneasy and drained like he was carrying evil spirits. Annoyed, he decided to go home. He was hungry when he got there, but sleep overtook him.

The next day he felt better but even more hungry, so he bought takeaways and hot coffee and ate at his office before advancing for the day. He looked for Tariro again after work but didn’t find her. The next day he did the same. He wanted to know her. He had forgotten about the wound now because it wasn’t there anymore. It had vanished like Tariro. He had so much interest in Tariro and he didn’t know where the feelings came from. He was tired of asking for her, he knew hardly anything about her. Finally, he decided to give up on her because she didn’t want to be found.

Tell us: What do you think Tariro will do next?